#flashtest: User Research Live

Kirk Doggett Manager, Global UX Research, Vistaprint @GR8UX

#FLASHTEST: User Research LiveUXPA Boston, 2014

Kate LawrenceDirector, User Research, EBSCO Information Services @bykatelawrence

Kirk

What you will learn today about the usertesting.com tool:

We’ll launch a test, and while it’s running, tell you how Vistaprint and EBSCO structure their tests and report on the findings.

One size does not fit all; we’ll tell you when it is appropriate to use a tool like usertesting.com and when you are better off with another method.

Why un-moderated testing tools should be a part of your research toolkit, and why Usertesting.com works for Vistaprint and EBSCO.

Why we like it When to use it How to use it

3, 2, 1.…. Launch!

• Single largest player in the internet printing market, helping small businesses around the world create professional marketing products at an affordable price

• 25 localized websites • 17 million customers• 3 state of the art manufacturing plants• 13 offices worldwide and growing

Kirk

User Research at VistaprintHow:• In-person

testing• Remote testing• UT.com• Phone Surveys• Field Research• Customer

Council• M-Turk

What:• Our site• Competitors• Prototypes

Kirk

• Premier provider of research databases, eJournals and eBooks worldwide

• Powerful discovery tools & management resources for libraries and other institutions

• Point-of-care medical resources and corporate learning tools

• We’re hiring! www.ebscohost.com/careers Ipswich location, electric car charging stations & river views

Kate

User Research at EBSCO

Primary Research: Asking the users ourselves

Data/Usage Analysis:

What do the metrics show?

Review of Secondary Research:

What did others learn?

Kate

Broad Selection of Tools

Kirk and Kate

+

“It’s the

next best

thing to

cloning

yourself.”

“REALLY?

I’m in!”

What we like about Usertesting.com

It’s fast – results are typically back within 1 hour.

You can recruit specific users – gender, age, country, income, web expertise, other (must be a small business owner, must be a college student, etc)

You can provide a URL where you want users to start – can be a site, dropbox, sharefile, etc.

Test anything – powerpoints, prototypes, sites (yours, competitors)

Give users 15 minutes worth of work

Have 4 free-text questions after the tasks are complete.

Kate

What We’re Testing Today

Test Details

Website URL: http://www.vistaprint.com/business-cards.aspx

Scenario: Imagine you need to get business cards to represent yourself and your profession.

Tasks:

1. Familiarize yourself with this page, and mention your first impressions.2. Click the “Browse our designs” section to continue.3. Look carefully to find a business card that appeals to you and represents you/your

business; Find one you would *really* want to buy.4. After finding the design you like best, stop at the point where you begin to customize

the card. Comment on the process of finding a design.

Questions for Participants:

1. What options or tools did you notice to help find your design? Was there anything missing?

2. What was the best part about finding a design?”3. What frustrated you most about the process of finding a design?4. What is the one most important improvement this site could make to make it easier

to find a design?

Participant Demographics

Gender – 50% M; 50% F 30 to 60 years of age Country: US Income range from $40K+ Web expertise: average web user One other such as “must be a small business owner”

Power Tip: The Pilot Test

• Use a single session to test the clarity of your instructions

• How well does the panelist respond?

• Are you learning what you set out to learn?

• If the pilot works, then run the rest of the sample

• If not, modify the test, and pilot again

Vistaprint: One-Week Test Plan

Monday

• Kickoff• Goals• Expectations• Budget

Tuesday

• Starting URL• Scenario• Tasks• Questions• Demographics

Wednesday

• Refine plan• Sign-off• Staging site• Prototype, etc.

Thursday

• Pilot• Launch• Analysis• Begin report

Friday

• Report results

UX Research

Business Stakeholders

Kate

Usertesting.com for Branding

Flipster

UnfoldImagis

Flipper

eRack

Skoodle Perooz Nimbus Iris Snap Right Now Breeze Bloom Boundless Launch Rendezvous

eMagazines

Flexible

Anytime

Anywhere

Holidays

Evenings

Weekends

No travel

Benefits

Can also be used for Mobile Phones & Tablets

Kirk

• Quick & easy• Great for targeted tasks (“surgical

strike”)• A great value• For desktop or mobile• Test anything from wireframes to

competitor sites• Videos play in the browser• Efficient - playback 1.5X or 2X• Videos are downloadable• Clips and annotations

• Tasks must be very clear – remember, users are working on their own

• Users have to actually follow directions

• Un-moderated: No way to course-correct

• Not for time-consuming, complex tasks

• Selection bias: higher expertise user base

• You must watch all the videos

Usertesting.com – When To Use ItGreat

!

Consider another method

Kirk and Kate

VideoAnswersUser stats (technographics)Video annotationsVideo clipsDownloadable videosspreadsheet

Review Live Results

Questions?

Thank you

[email protected]

[email protected]

@GR8UX

@bykatelawrence