Usability Testing David Rashty

"I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way." Franklin P. Adams (1881-1960)

Sounds familiar? Not being able: to find the information you are looking for. to find a page you know is out there. to return to a page you once visited. to determine where you are. to visualize where you have been and where you can go.

What is usability? Usability is closely related to: Ease of use effective performance of tasks. Efficiency resources expended in relation to the accuracy of goals achieved. Satisfaction the comfort and acceptability of the interaction. Effectiveness is the accuracy and completeness which specified users can achieve specified goals in particular environments. Efficiency: the resources expended in relation to the accuracy and completeness of goals achieved. Satisfaction: the comfort and acceptability of the work system to its users and other people affected by its use.

Usability testing Usability testing is a methodology that employs potential users to evaluate the degree to which a website/software meets predefined usability criteria.

Usability testing – basic elements Problem statement Testing methods Getting test users Observation and testing Output and results

Problem statement Before conducting a testing one should clarify the purpose of the test since it will guide the rest of the testing procedures. Important issues: What do you want to achieve? Are there any navigational and organizational problem areas within the site? Is there any confusing terminology within the site?

Testing methods Short description Method A room with computer equipment, a place for an observer to sit and a special observation area. Usability laboratory Online evaluation with live feedback from users. Web-based A test subject thinks aloud while navigating the site. Thinking aloud Visiting the users and observing them work. Observation Site or email questionnaires are an effective way of measuring user satisfaction. Questionnaires

Testing methods Short description Method Well suited to exploratory studies where one does not know yet what one is looking for. Interviews Users are brought together to discuss new concepts and identify important issues. Focus groups Looking at an interface and trying to come up with an opinion about pros and cons about it. Heuristic evaluation The computer automatically collect statistics about the detailed use of the system. Log file analysis Shows the immediate and pressing concerns, is an ongoing process and is adapts quickly. User feedback

An example: usability labs Requirements: Provide test room Provide data analysis tools Have a supportive environment Provide portable tools Have space for group testing, focus groups and task analysis. Staff Usability engineer for administering the activities in the lab A psychologist and a computer specialist for analyzing the data from the experiments

An example: usability labs The subject room must contain office furniture, video tape equipment, a microphone and a computer with appropriate software. The observer side must contain a powerful computer to collect the usability data and analyze it. A one-way mirror separates the rooms.

An example: heuristic evaluation A technique for finding usability problems with a user interface. A small number of trained evaluators separately evaluate a user interface by applying a set of broad directives that are relevant to the case in question. They then combine their results and classify each problem according to its importance defining the solution process.

An example: heuristic evaluation visibility of system status match between the system and the real world user control and freedom consistency and standards error prevention recognition rather than recall flexibility of use minimalist design help users diagnose and recover from errors help and documentation Jakob Nielsen identified 10 heuristics which are broadly helpful in spotting the vast majority of problems.

Getting test users It is important to identify target users and then recruit them to participate in the usability test. Research indicates that five to seven participants are enough to show trends.

Observation and testing The test is divided into four phases: Preparation Test room is ready, computer in start state and written material available at hand. User explanation Purpose of the test, computer setup, test procedure. Running the test Test according to method choice. User feedbacks Satisfaction questionnaires

Output and results A usability report should contain references to the following topics: A statistical analysis on the usage of the different regions in a website; A qualitative and quantitative comparison of different models for the main elements in the site; Recommendations with respect to labeling, searching, organization and navigation tools.

Output and results What does your organization do after receiving a usability report? Implement changes The implementation requires a concentrated effort in order to fix all usability problems. The implementation may require further consultation with specialists in user interface design and information architecture in order to implement the proposed changes.

Usability testing: costs Website usability review by Nielsen: $30,000 Average cost of an advanced usability lab: $20,000 Web-based usability testing: $20,000

Usability study: MOF case The Israeli Ministry of Finance previous website had 5,000 pages, was updated daily and had more than 40,000 visitors monthly. But… 60% of users stayed less than a minute in the site. Only 8% stayed more than 10 minutes.

Usability study: MOF case The results of a thorough usability study show that: Users spent 30% more time in the site. The number of pages visited grew by 25%. The number of users that left the site after visiting the home page get smaller by 50%. Navigation and searching systems more intuitive and simple.

Conclusions Usability is essential to survival. Usability is the key technique for superior customer relationships. Attention to usability increases the percentage of those who complete a purchase after visiting a website.

“Usability rules the Web “Usability rules the Web. Simply stated, if the customer can’t find a product then he or she will not buy it.” “The Web is the ultimate customer-empowering environment. He or she who clicks the mouse gets to decide everything. It is so easy to go elsewhere; all the competitors in the world are but a mouseclick away." Jakob Nielsen

References Sites on usability www.useit.com: Jakob Nielsen’s website www.usableweb.com: 793 links about web usability www.usabilityfirst.com: A guide to usability resources www.webword.com: Usability and human factors www.usability.org: Usability and general resources www.uie.com: User Interface Engineering www.webpagesthatsuck.com: Good counter examples www.vividence.com: Offers online testing www.microsoft.com/Usability: Usability at Microsoft