Usability testing

There are a lot of discussions on usability testing topic: who should do this type of testing? Should each tester on every project pay attention to the product usability? Or even a special company should be hired to perform this testing??

And before we try to answer these questions let’s figure out the main definitions.

Usability is often confused with UI/UX definitions.?

UI (User Interface) design refers to the visual and interactive elements of a product or website, such as buttons, menus and forms. In other words, it is all about how things look and feel to the user.

UX (User Experience) encompasses a user's entire journey while using a product. It's about making sure the user's needs and goals are met in a smooth and enjoyable way, from start to finish.

Usability is a measure of how well a specific user in a specific context can use a product/design to achieve a defined goal effectively, efficiently and satisfactorily.

So, Usability is a component of user experience (UX) design. Unlike UX, which is formed on the user's side, usability is the property of the product itself to be simple and convenient to use. Usability is difficult to measure in any numerical terms: it is usually measured by the presence or absence of problems or frustrations for the user during the use of the product.

Usability is defined by 5 quality components:

• Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
• Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
• Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
• Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
• Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

Thus, Usability testing is testing to evaluate the degree to which the system can be used by specified users with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use. (ISTQB)

Any problem with the comfort of the product leads to the fact that at least some of the users refuse the product. It can even be a small problem, for example, incorrect rendering of some not very important button, or too small a font.

A positive user experience is what attracts users and keeps them in the product.

It's good practice to test product usability early in the development life cycle. This allows any usability issues to be identified early and fixed before release, saving time and effort as fixing bugs late in the cycle is much more expensive and brings more problems.

What to pay attention to first of all?

Accessibility

The product must be accessible to a large number of potential users, including users with disabilities, they must be able to use the product as easily as the average user. But accessibility isn't just about people with disabilities: for example, a busy road driver who uses a navigation app is also limited. The product should be able to be used by people with different backgrounds, different origins, and speaking different languages. This includes a separate version of the app/website for mobile devices.

Ease of perception

To be comprehensible, the content in a product must be accessible to users through the ways they normally use. All parts of the interface should be clear, and also have some alternatives. For example, if an image is not loading due to low internet speed, it should have alt text and/or an explanatory caption.

Speed and performance

You need to control the loading speed of pages and content, especially for large images. A common problem is content with images and illustrations that take a long time to load. You should make sure that the content loads quickly and evenly.

Intuitive interface

The content on the page/screen should be readable, especially when it comes to fonts and color combinations. The right interface is intuitive, then users do not make mistakes.

Ease of navigation

Product navigation is one of the top factors in attracting users and retaining them. Navigation should be simple, easy, intuitive, so that users do not think about anything else but their tasks. Bad navigation does real harm: it annoys, confuses users and encourages them to exit the app or close the page.?

Smoothness

A good website or app runs smoothly, without stuttering or freezing, on any device. The product should be comfortable for the user to respond to his actions, regardless of platform, screen size and orientation.

Usability testing also controls:

Integrity, consistency and consistency of content

Compatibility

Ease of development / learning to work with the product

Reliability, accuracy and usability of content and navigation

So, the goal of usability testing is to satisfy users and it mainly concentrates on the following parameters of a system:

The effectiveness of the system

• Is the system easy to learn?
• Is the system useful and adds value to the target audience?
• Are Content, Color, Icons, Images used aesthetically pleasing?

Efficiency

• Little navigation should be required to reach the desired screen or webpage, and scrollbars should be used infrequently.
• Uniformity in the format of screen/pages in your application/website.
• Option to search within your software application or website.

Accuracy

• No outdated or incorrect data like contact information/address should be present.
• No broken links should be present.

User Friendliness

• Controls used should be self-explanatory and must not require training to operate.
• Help should be provided for the users to understand the application/website.
• Alignment with the above goals helps in effective usability testing.

Usability testing can be used in a variety of ways during your project lifecycle. Despite not being able to mimic real-life usage, usability testing is still the best method of ensuring the product supports users in achieving their goals quickly and easily.?

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