A simple approach to usability testing
Usability testing is an essential part of designing a website or an app. A lot of companies tend to think usability testing is “too expensive”, “too big of a deal” or “not worth the effort”. While these objections might feel reasonable, keep in mind: One usability test is 100% better than no usability test.
Usability testing involves watching a user try to complete typical tasks so that you can detect and fix issues that confuse or frustrate them. It gives a business direct input on how users use a system and where usability issues arise. To clarify, it is not A/B Testing or User Research.
Usability testing doesn’t need to be expensive, complicated or time-consuming, as long as we keep it simple. In this article, I will explain everything you need to know about Usability Testing.
Why is usability testing important?
If you want to have a great and successful website or app, you’ve got to test it. When you’ve worked in your business or on your website or app even for even a few weeks, you can’t see it fresh anymore. You know too much. You have developed familiarity, assumptions and biases.
Testing reminds you that not everyone thinks the way you do, knows what you know and uses websites or apps the way you do. It gives you a fresh perspective on your website or app and presents you with insight and opportunities for improvement.
What does bad usability do?
The simple answer: it pisses people off. A usability issue positions you badly from your users’ perspective. If usability frustrates your users enough, there’s a good chance that they will leave and never come back, or worse, they may think less of your brand. And the catch-22 is that most organisations have no idea that they have usability issues.
What does good usability do?
Good usability helps your users achieve their goals with your website or app in a positive emotional state. This leads to a better experience and better outcomes, whether it be higher conversions, customer loyalty, referrals or simply more engagement.
Usability testing helps you delight your users and significantly increases the chance of creating a positive emotional experience using your website or app.
When should you do usability testing?
Usability testing is most effective when it’s incorporated at the beginning of a project and continues throughout. It’s a lot easier to fix usability issues early on before you’ve committed to them later on in design and development.
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Unfortunately, usability testing is often done too little, too late and for the wrong reasons.
Keep usability testing simple, so it gets done.?At a bare minimum, I’d recommend doing usability testing once a month with at least 2–4 participants. If it’s too complicated or time-consuming it’s likely you won’t make time for it. A session with a couple of participants will help you identify enough usability issues to keep you busy until the next month. Pick a day of the month and designate that day for testing.
Who should you test?
Most designers will suggest performing tests with people who precisely reflect the target audience. However, this makes recruiting participants HARD. The truth is, with a lot of websites and apps, you can perform testing with almost anybody. Diversity in participants is highly beneficial.
There are benefits to recruiting participants who aren’t from your target audience:
Whenever a usability issue or problem comes up during a test with a participant that isn’t part of your target audience, ask yourself: “Would our users have the problem or was it only a problem because they don’t know what our users know?”
DON’T do usability testing with anyone that has a preconceived idea of your website or app — e.g. employees, managers, directors and owners.
Conclusion
No matter what kind of website or app you are creating, you should do usability testing, even if it’s at a bare minimum. If you do it once, you will see the value and I bet there’s a good chance you’ll continue doing it. And remember, one test is 100% better than no tests.
By doing usability testing, you will find flaws that might otherwise be overlooked. You’ll get vital insights into how well your design/product works. Then, you can leverage these insights to make improvements to create a great and successful website or app and reduce the risk of poor outcomes, wasted resources and potential failure.
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