#flashtest: user research live
DESCRIPTION
Kirk Doggett and Kate Lawrence's presentation from the UXPA Boston 2014 Conference.TRANSCRIPT
Kirk Doggett Manager, Global UX Research, Vistaprint @GR8UX
#FLASHTEST: User Research LiveUXPA Boston, 2014
Kate LawrenceDirector, User Research, EBSCO Information Services @bykatelawrence
Kirk
What you will learn today about the usertesting.com tool:
We’ll launch a test, and while it’s running, tell you how Vistaprint and EBSCO structure their tests and report on the findings.
One size does not fit all; we’ll tell you when it is appropriate to use a tool like usertesting.com and when you are better off with another method.
Why un-moderated testing tools should be a part of your research toolkit, and why Usertesting.com works for Vistaprint and EBSCO.
Why we like it When to use it How to use it
3, 2, 1.…. Launch!
• Single largest player in the internet printing market, helping small businesses around the world create professional marketing products at an affordable price
• 25 localized websites • 17 million customers• 3 state of the art manufacturing plants• 13 offices worldwide and growing
Kirk
User Research at VistaprintHow:• In-person
testing• Remote testing• UT.com• Phone Surveys• Field Research• Customer
Council• M-Turk
What:• Our site• Competitors• Prototypes
Kirk
• Premier provider of research databases, eJournals and eBooks worldwide
• Powerful discovery tools & management resources for libraries and other institutions
• Point-of-care medical resources and corporate learning tools
• We’re hiring! www.ebscohost.com/careers Ipswich location, electric car charging stations & river views
Kate
User Research at EBSCO
Primary Research: Asking the users ourselves
Data/Usage Analysis:
What do the metrics show?
Review of Secondary Research:
What did others learn?
Kate
Broad Selection of Tools
Kirk and Kate
+
“It’s the
next best
thing to
cloning
yourself.”
“REALLY?
I’m in!”
What we like about Usertesting.com
It’s fast – results are typically back within 1 hour.
You can recruit specific users – gender, age, country, income, web expertise, other (must be a small business owner, must be a college student, etc)
You can provide a URL where you want users to start – can be a site, dropbox, sharefile, etc.
Test anything – powerpoints, prototypes, sites (yours, competitors)
Give users 15 minutes worth of work
Have 4 free-text questions after the tasks are complete.
Kate
What We’re Testing Today
Test Details
Website URL: http://www.vistaprint.com/business-cards.aspx
Scenario: Imagine you need to get business cards to represent yourself and your profession.
Tasks:
1. Familiarize yourself with this page, and mention your first impressions.2. Click the “Browse our designs” section to continue.3. Look carefully to find a business card that appeals to you and represents you/your
business; Find one you would *really* want to buy.4. After finding the design you like best, stop at the point where you begin to customize
the card. Comment on the process of finding a design.
Questions for Participants:
1. What options or tools did you notice to help find your design? Was there anything missing?
2. What was the best part about finding a design?”3. What frustrated you most about the process of finding a design?4. What is the one most important improvement this site could make to make it easier
to find a design?
Participant Demographics
Gender – 50% M; 50% F 30 to 60 years of age Country: US Income range from $40K+ Web expertise: average web user One other such as “must be a small business owner”
Power Tip: The Pilot Test
• Use a single session to test the clarity of your instructions
• How well does the panelist respond?
• Are you learning what you set out to learn?
• If the pilot works, then run the rest of the sample
• If not, modify the test, and pilot again
Vistaprint: One-Week Test Plan
Monday
• Kickoff• Goals• Expectations• Budget
Tuesday
• Starting URL• Scenario• Tasks• Questions• Demographics
Wednesday
• Refine plan• Sign-off• Staging site• Prototype, etc.
Thursday
• Pilot• Launch• Analysis• Begin report
Friday
• Report results
UX Research
Business Stakeholders
Kate
Usertesting.com for Branding
Flipster
UnfoldImagis
Flipper
eRack
Skoodle Perooz Nimbus Iris Snap Right Now Breeze Bloom Boundless Launch Rendezvous
eMagazines
Flexible
Anytime
Anywhere
Holidays
Evenings
Weekends
No travel
Benefits
Can also be used for Mobile Phones & Tablets
Kirk
• Quick & easy• Great for targeted tasks (“surgical
strike”)• A great value• For desktop or mobile• Test anything from wireframes to
competitor sites• Videos play in the browser• Efficient - playback 1.5X or 2X• Videos are downloadable• Clips and annotations
• Tasks must be very clear – remember, users are working on their own
• Users have to actually follow directions
• Un-moderated: No way to course-correct
• Not for time-consuming, complex tasks
• Selection bias: higher expertise user base
• You must watch all the videos
Usertesting.com – When To Use ItGreat
!
Consider another method
Kirk and Kate
VideoAnswersUser stats (technographics)Video annotationsVideo clipsDownloadable videosspreadsheet
Review Live Results
Questions?