ACTIVITY

THE BRIEF• You need to provide solid proof to your stakeholders that your mobile

website meets the needs of your audience. You have two websites to test:• http://www.cottesloe.wa.gov.au/Home.htm• http://www.perth.wa.gov.au/

THE CHALLENGE• Run a usability test on your mobile device and provide qualitative insights

THE REQUIREMENTS• Write a script with at least 3 tasks which focus on:

• Locating key functionality• Testing the effectiveness of the content and labels • Testing the accessibility of the site

• Test with at least two participants• Record any insights and present back to the group

CREATE A TEST SCRIPT

Context:• Susie, 65• Lives in Cottesloe, Perth• Grandmother, learning to use technology from her grandkids. • The kids bought her an iPad mini for Christmas and she enjoys reading the

morning news at the breakfast table with her coffee• Macular degeneration has started to affect her reading ability and she has a

slight tremor in her hands

Goals:• She has learned to enlarge text in her browser• She is planning a big clean out of the garage and wants to find out the next

hard rubbish collection date. She is also interested in finding out about services and community groups for seniors in her local area.

Test participants to simulate limited vision & dexterity by wearing the supplied glasses and using their non dominant hand

YOUR AUDIENCE

SHARED LEARNINGSSHARED LEARNINGS

USABILITY TESTING 101

How do I write a test script?* Prior to testing know the objectives of why you are testing * Each task needs to have a clear solution to assist in

understanding task completion* Tasks need to realistic. Something the user would actually do* Turn the task into a scenario. This helps participants better

put themselves in the shoes of the user they are representing

* Unambiguous and simple* In the user’s language and related to the user’s needs

USABILITY TESTING 101

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS* Observations can have many interpretations

* For example, if a user did not click a link, maybe they did or did not understand it

* The questions you ask are just a way of probing and encouraging the user to say what they are doing and thinking

* Ask open-ended questions* Stimulates thoughtful, meaningful answers* Makes the participant think* Avoids single answer (yes/no) responses * Hands the control over to the participant

* Open questions usually begin with What? Why? How? Describe…

* Avoid leading questions, they can skew the test and result in inaccurate data.* “Don’t you think the navigation is difficult to use?” or * “What are your likes/dislikes on this page”?

USABILITY TESTING 101

MODERATING A SESSION* Becoming a great moderator takes practice, it is a learned

skill that improves the more you do it

* Bad interviews can result in: * Missing data* Misleading results * Incomplete detail * Partial insights / Lost opportunities

* A usability test moderator serves three parties: * First, and foremost the participant * the session observers * the rest of the design team

A VARIETY OF METHODS

Individual interviews allow you to probe their attitudes, beliefs, desires, and experiences to get a deeper understanding of the users who come to your site.

The researchers watch and listen as users work in the user’s own environment. Contextual interviews tend to be more natural and sometimes more realistic as a result.

An online survey is a structured questionnaire that your target audience completes over the internet generally through a filling out a form. Online surveys can vary in length and format

A long running research process that requires the user to create diary entries on a set interval. Allows users to be polled for longer periods.

Usability testing refers to evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users.

The process of co-design products, services and tactics with end users.

Interviews Diary Study

Usability Testing

Survey

Contextual Interviews

ParticipatoryDesign

A BALANCED MIX

A BALANCED MIX

PROTOTYPING

PROTOTYPING FOR PURPOSE

Using them to get everyone on the same page, avoiding misinterpretation of ideas, using them as a method to show and tell.

Prototypes act as a way to work through your design solution, giving you the ability to evaluate a few different options, tweak them, and come up with the best one.

Using them to sell your design solution to internal stake holders like senior management, other designers, or the engineering team.

Can this experience be built and implemented within the business? An opportunity to assess early on the scope for technical build & impact to the business.

Prototypes allow your end user to interact with your product from the earliest concept designsWork

through a design

As a common communication

platform

Sell your ideas

Gauge technical

feasibility

User research

PAPER PROTOTYPES