Hi there. Please silence your mobile phone. Offenders will be invited to approach the front and sing I’m a Little Teapot http://flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/869847216/

Would you like the slides? http://www.raena.net

Champagne Usability on a Beer Budget Raena Jackson Armitage linux.conf.au Hobart, 2009 http://flickr.com/photos/tyla/3153439546/

Let's chat about... What's usability all about? Good usability Testing Choosing users Thinking of tasks Recording the results Working on it More reading

Let’s have a show of hands

What is our goal?

Usability Ease of use Is the interface clear? Efficiency Is the user getting the job done in the most efficient manner? Satisfaction Will a user want to use this app again? Will they choose it over another app? Will a user recommend this to their friends?

Grandma?

We want to know… Is this part of my app easy to use? Is this new feature easy to learn? Is this the most efficient use of their time? Does the user enjoy using it? Also... Is this an improvement on the last version? Which version of the interface works best? Does my app do a better job at $TASK than $PRODUCT?

We don’t want to know Checking for bugs Checking for performance Deciding what to document Ensuring you stuck to the guidelines

When should I test? Earlier is better... You can even test without a finalised interface ...but later is better than nothing You'll know better for next time

Formal usability testing Laboratory Cameras Two-way mirrors Scary! Scientifically rigorous Larger sample Lots of planning Big bickies $$ http://flickr.com/photos/dbarefoot/3177458620/

Beer budget usability testing Do it anywhere Just you and your PC Few testers More casual Easy to plan and organise Cheap as! http://www.flickr.com/photos/wickenden/2753106071/

Goals and tasks What are you hoping to learn from the test? This affects the kinds of questions you might ask Pick some appropriate tasks What tasks best relate to your goal? Pick one or two more complex tasks

Solid, real life tasks Describe tasks as plain English scenarios “You'd like to write a quick letter. Make a new document, write the letter, then save the letter to your desktop.” “You'd like to make a music CD to play in your car. Add some tracks and burn the disc.”

Choosing test subjects Choose people who'd be likely to use your app Total noobs? Existing familiarity? Try not to choose other developers You can’t do it right :( Offer an incentive Coffee vouchers, pizza?

Recording? http://flickr.com/photos/zoomar/2265202595/

Record? Maybe you want to take notes later? Or you'd like to share your tests with someone else? RecordMyDesktop vnc2swf Istanbul?

Set up the room Free of distractions Use standard equipment Snacks and drinks Notepaper Print your tasks Your tester can refer to the paper if they forget

Set up the machine Install a stable version Clean up the desktop (maybe a new user account?) Turn off background processes Yes, leaving your torrents on is tempting No, that’s not cool Prepare for recording

Conduct the test Introduce yourself Explain the purpose of the test It's not a test of their skill, it's a test of your app Explain how it works Explain how long it will take Ask permission for recording See if they need anything (water?)

During the test Stay calm :) Watch the screen and the tester Listen carefully Keep encouraging them to speak out loud “What are you thinking about right now?” “You seem to be comfortable with this” Try not to give anything away “Let's see if you can find it first.” Let them stop if stuck

Take notes What tasks did they successfully complete? What tasks were abandoned? Did they resort to using help? Did they make any mistakes? Take note of expressions Frustration, satisfaction...

Evaluate the results Your notes What was harder? What did they try to do? What was easier? Their comments What did they like? What did they dislike?

More reading... Places to look usability.gnome.org usability.kde.org openusability.org useit.com

Anything to add?

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