How do you evaluate software for usability?

1 Define your user needs

Before you start evaluating software for usability, you need to have a clear understanding of who your users are, what they need, and what they expect from the software. You can use various techniques to gather user needs, such as interviews, surveys, focus groups, personas, scenarios, and user stories. User needs should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They should also reflect the context and environment of the users, such as their roles, tasks, workflows, preferences, skills, and devices.

2 Choose your evaluation methods

There are many methods to evaluate software for usability, but they can be broadly classified into two categories: testing and inspection. Testing involves observing and measuring how real or potential users interact with the software, while inspection involves examining and evaluating the software based on established principles and guidelines. Some of the common testing methods are usability testing, user testing, A/B testing, and beta testing. Some of the common inspection methods are heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthrough, and expert review. You should choose the methods that best suit your goals, budget, time, and resources.

4 Analyze your evaluation results

After you have conducted your evaluation, you need to analyze the results and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the software in terms of usability. You should look for patterns, trends, outliers, and correlations in the data and compare them with your expectations and benchmarks. You should also prioritize the issues and problems that need to be addressed and suggest possible solutions and improvements. You should document and communicate your findings and recommendations clearly and convincingly to the stakeholders and decision-makers.

5 Validate your evaluation outcomes

The final step in evaluating software for usability is to validate your outcomes and verify that they have achieved your goals and met your user needs. You can do this by repeating some of the evaluation methods with the same or different users and comparing the results before and after the changes. You can also use some metrics and indicators to measure the impact of the changes on the business outcomes, such as user adoption, retention, loyalty, satisfaction, productivity, revenue, and costs. You should monitor and evaluate the software continuously and iteratively to ensure that it remains usable and relevant for your users.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?