USABILITY TESTING BASICSStephen FrancoeurUser Experience LibrarianBaruch College (New York, NY)
About Me
User experience librarian @ Baruch College
Blogger• Beating the Bounds• Digital Reference• Stephen Francoeur’s Commonplace Book
On (too) many social networks
ecahoy. “Finding Time in the Penn State Libraries.” YouTube. 2007. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
Learning Goals
Define usability
Identify what to test
Run a basic test
Act on test results
User Experience
Mindstate of the user
System characteristics
Context of the interaction
Adapted from Marc Hassenzahl and Noam Tractinsky, “User Experience - a Research Agenda.” Behaviour & Information Technology 25.2 (2006): 91–97.
Usability
Learnability
Efficiency
MemorabilityError
s
Satisfaction
Nielsen, Jakob. “Usabiilty 101: Introduction to Usability.” useit.com. Web. 26 Mar. 2012.
Highly Recommended
Usability Tests
Start new test
Identify 3-5 tasks to test
Observe test participants performing
tasks
Identify the 2-3 easiest things
to fix
Make changes to site
Why Test at All?
User-centered design
Grounds design
debates
Methodical Surprising results
What Your Library Can Test
Things You
Control
Things You Kind of Control
Things You
Barely or Don’t
Control
Things You Control
Library website
Things You Kind of Control
Catalog
A-Z journals list
LibGuides
Things You Barely or Don’t Control
Databases
Ebook platforms
Digital reference
Identify Tasks for the Test
Known problem
areas
Most commo
n activitie
s
Popular pages
New pages
or service
s
Recommended Gear
Computer(or paper prototype)
Screen recording software(or observer)
Microphone(or observer)
Tasks
You want to renew the loan period on a book you’ve checked out.
You need to find an article on the role of genes in schizophrenia.
You want to see what hours the library is open next Monday.
Screen Recording Software
Price
Features
Staff of One
Recruits test participants Runs the test
Records the test
(screen recording software & mic)
Preps test environment
before & after test
“Guerilla testing!”
Click icon to add picture
Photo and caption credit::Amanda Etches http://instagr.am/p/IuHhRri-wS/
Staff of Two
Recruits test participants
Runs the test
#1Observes the test
Preps test environment before & after each test
#2
Draft a Test Protocol
Tasks
Script
RecruitmentGoals
Staff Roles Equipment
Before Each Test Participant Arrives
Check mic
Check screen recording software
Clear cache in browser
Getting Each Test Participant Started
Explain why you’ll be reading from a script
Chat about websites they like
Don’t show website until first task is introduced
Working Through Tasks
Stick to the script
Encourage participant to speak aloud
Don’t help the participant
As Each Participant Finishes
Thank participant profusely
Give participant any payment or reward
End and save the screen recording
After Test Is Done
Make Notes
• ASAP (same day)• Identify common problems
Write Report
• Keep it simple• Focus on fixing just 2-3 things
Test Again
• Might not be same tasks• Lather, rinse, repeat
Focus on Fixing Easy Things
Small changes
Iterative development and testing
A website that
keeps up with users
For More InfoFrancoeur, Stephen. “Usability Testing Our New Website.” Beating the Bounds. 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. link
Hassenzahl, Marc and Noam Tractinsky. “User Experience - a Research Agenda.” Behaviour & Information Technology 25.2 (2006): 91–97. link
Krug, Steve. Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems. Berkeley, Calif: New Riders, 2010. Print.
Nielsen, Jakob. “Usabiilty 101: Introduction to Usability.” useit.com. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. link
Reidsma, Matthew. “How We Do Usability Testing.” Matthew Reidsma. 15 Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. link
Reidsma, Matthew. “Why We Do Usability Testing.” Matthew Reidsma. 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. link
University of Texas at Austin. “Usability Testing.” Web Publishing. University of Texas at Austin. 27 Mar. 2012. link