usability testing - sivaprasath selvaraj

Usability Testing

What is Usability?

What is Usability Testing?

Why are you conducting a Usability Testing?

Benefits of Usability Testing?

Usability Testing of what?

When to Test?

What you Learn?

What to Observe During Usability Test?

How many test sessions should be conducted?

Four Things to Keep in Mind while doing Usability Test.

Cost

What makes Usability into Design?

Flow Diagram of Usability Engineering in SDLCHow to fit Usability Engineering in SDLC? Step 1 – Pursuit

Agenda

What is Usability?► Several formal and informal definitions of usability exist. The most widely

recognized is probably the ISO definition:► The usability of an interface is a measure of the effectiveness, efficiency

and satisfaction with which specified users can achieve specified goals in a particular environment with that interface.

► Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object.

What is Usability Testing?

Usability testing is a technique used to evaluate a product by testing it with real users. In the test, these users will try to complete typical tasks while observers watch, listen and takes notes.

In simple word Usability Testing is,The process of having real users experiences your site, application or product.Performance-based evaluation.An ongoing process, not a one-shot evaluation.A key component of the User Centered Design Methodology.It’s different from other evaluation techniques.You can only test after you have designed.

Why are you conducting a Usability Testing?

Checking to see if the design works.Diagnosing Problems.Comparing alternatives.Verifying that design goals are met.

Benefits of Usability Testing?

Gets feedback directly from end users.Provides clear data for design.Saves development time by avoiding extensive rework after the development process.Creates a positive Return On Investment (ROI).

Usability Testing of what?

The four focal points of design:NavigationContentPresentationInteraction

When to Test?

► You should test early and test often. Usability testing lets the design and development teams identify problems before they get coded. The earlier those problems are found and fixed, the expensive are less.

What you Learn?

You will learn if participants are able to complete identified routine tasks successfully and how long it takes to do that. You will find out how satisfied participants are with your product. Overall, you will identify changes required to improve user performance. And you can match the performance to see if it meets your usability objectives.

What to Observe During Usability Test?

Were users able to perform requested tasks?Was the desired information found?Did users find an efficient path?Did they understand what they were doing?What problems did they encounter?

Could they recover from errors?

1. Terminology2. Not knowing where to go or what to do next3. Not finding what they were looking for

How many test sessions should be conducted?

This depends on the complexity of the system, the number of intended users, and budgetary constraints. Even one test session is better than none, but 6 to 8 will tend to uncover the majority of significant issues.

Four Things to Keep in Mind while doing Usability Test

1. Testing the Site NOT the Users We try hard to ensure that participants do not think that we are testing them. We help them understand that they are helping us test the prototype or product.

2. Performance vs. Subjective Measures We measure both performance and subjective (preference) metrics. Performance measures include: success, time, errors, etc. Subjective measures include: user's self reported satisfaction and comfort ratings. People's performance and preference do not always match. Often users will perform poorly but their subjective ratings are very high. Conversely, they may perform well but subjective ratings are very low.

3. Make Use of What You Learn Usability testing is not just a milestone to be checked off on the project schedule. The team must consider the findings, set priorities, and change the prototype or site based on what happened in the usability test.

4. Find the Best SolutionMost projects, including designing or revising Web sites, have to deal with constraints of time, budget, and resources. Balancing all those is one of the major challenges of most projects.

Cost Cost depends on the size of the site, how much you need to test, how many different types of participants you anticipate having, and how formal you want the testing to be. Remember to budget for more than one usability test. Building usability into a Web site (or any product) is an iterative process.

Consider these elements in budgeting for usability testing:

Time You will need time to plan the usability test. It will take the usability specialist and the team time to get familiarized with the site and do dry runs with scenarios. Budget for the time it takes to test users and for analyzing the data, writing the report, and discussing the findings.

Recruiting Costs Recruiting Costs: time of in-house person or payment to a recruiting firm. Developing a user database either in-house or firm recruiting becomes less time consuming and cheaper. Also allow for the cost of paying or providing gifts for the participants.

Rental Costs If you do not have equipment, you will have to budget for rental costs for the lab or other equipment.

Presented by: Sivaprasath Selvaraj

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