“But I’m Not a Usability Expert”: Testing Tips for the Resource- Sharing Professional Uta Hussong-Christian Jane Nichols Jennifer Ward September 15, 2011

overview What > Jane How-to > Jennifer Applying > Uta Q & A

what is usability?

User Centered Photocopy? Docline?

what is usability? Usability refers to how well your users can learn and use your web site And, refers to the methods you can use to evaluate your site and your user’s experience Usability Basics Usability.gov

5 usability attributes Ease of learning Efficiency Memorability Error frequency and severity Subjective satisfaction U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”

How quickly can a user who has never seen your site before learn it well enough to accomplish basic tasks? Ease of learning Efficiency of use Memorability Error frequency and severity Subjective satisfaction U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics” How do I request something from ILL?

Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks? Ease of learning Efficiency Memorability Error frequency and severity Subjective satisfaction Nielsen, “Usability 101” U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics” How quickly can I fill out a form?

When your users return to your site after not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency? Ease of learning Efficiency of use Memorability Error frequency and severity Subjective satisfaction Can I get back to ILL forms? Nielsen, “Usability 101” U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”

How often do users make errors, how serious are the errors, & how easily do they recover? Ease of learning Efficiency of use Memorability Error frequency and severity Subjective satisfaction When going from the openURL resolver to the ILL form, I get lost-badly-how do I get back? U.S.D.H.H.SU.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics” U.S.D.H.., “Usability Basics Nielsen, “Usability 101” U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics”

How much does the user like using the system? Ease of learning Efficiency of use Memorability Error frequency and severity Subjective satisfaction U.S.D.H.H.S., “Usability Basics” Fun factor, or at least pleasing

usability and user experience Usability “Can the user accomplish their goal?” Did they choose the right form (book, article, etc) for their request? User experience “Did the user have as delightful an experience as possible?” Were they able to move from identifying a citation in a database to filling out a request form and go back to the database or their next task with ease? Mifsud, “The difference between usability and user experience”

more about user experience Morville, “User Experience Design”

start small and expand Some rights reservedSome rights reserved by jakeandlindsayjakeandlindsay

how do i…

heuristic evaluation What –systematic inspection of a user interface design for usability When –any time! Especially useful before you start redesigning/testing with users Why –it’s cheap and easy, with a very high return on investment What you’ll get from it –a (page or process) design that’s had a lot of eyes looking at it intensely for flaws. Guaranteed improvement and therefore a good baseline from which to start testing with users Nielsen, “Heuristic Evaluation”

10 heuristics 1.Visibility of system status 2.Match between system and the real world 3.User control and freedom 4.Consistency and 5.Error prevention 6.Recognition rather than recall 7.Flexibility and efficiency of use 8.Aesthetic and minimalist 9.Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors 10.Help and documentation Nielsen, “10 Usability Heuristics”

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task-based usability testi ng What: –involves watching people trying to use something for its intended purpose When: –because it’s expensive, usually done at a point when you have a design/process/architecture that has been created using good design principles and as user-centered as you can make it Why: –EVERYTHING should be useful, usable, desirable, valuable, findable, accessible, and credible What you’ll get from it: –a very humbling experience –data that can be used to inform (re)design decisions Rubin & Chisnell

example usability test workflow 1.develop scripts 2.develop scenario-based task list 3.recruit participants 4.conduct tests o welcome/disclaimer (we're testing the system, not you) o pre-test survey (sometimes) o conduct tasks (somewhere between 7-10, depending on complexity) o post-task activity (survey, Xs/Os) for participant while facilitator talks w/ observers o thank you, give the participant an incentive 5. share results (reports, videos, oral briefings, etc.)

Xs/Os What: –method that gives the user the power to design in a very low-stakes way When: –we tend to use it as part of a usability test session, but it can be done at any time. Would be easy to take it to the campus union building and get quick feedback. Why: –it’s easier for users to tell us what to add/remove/change in response to a paper protoype than the dreaded “what would you change?” question –it’s fun for the user – they get to use The Red Pen and tell us what to do! What you’ll get from it: –a pretty clear indication of what users say they will/won’t use and what they’d like to see in the design

Xs/Os “Now I'd like to know more about what specifically you use/don't use or like/dislike about the content on this page. Instructions: circle any items on the page that you like and would use the most cross out any items on the page that you don't like and don't use add any items that are not on the page that you would like to have there for your own use”

applying usability

got data, now what? Convey findings Decide on/implement changes Sit back and relax RETEST “The first few iterations can probably be expected to result in major gains in usability as the true "usability catastrophes" are found and fixed.” Jakob Nielsen, “Iterative user-interface design”

convey findings Keep notes – Who tested – Usability task – Completion rate – Observations Summarize finding – Show video if available

decide on/implement changes Prioritize problems to fix – head slappers – cheap hits – severity vs. priority Figure out how to fix them – test subjects may supply this Clark, “Issue Priority and Severity Krug, Don’t Make Me Think ” “The important things that you learn from usability testing usually just make sense.” They tend to be obvious to anyone who watches the sessions.” - Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

testing 3 undergrads / 3 grads & faculty 50% task completion rate overall – Find copy of article for reading due tomorrow Hoped they would use “check catalog” link – Find copy of article needed for grant due in several weeks Hoped they would use “submit a request” link

“…tempted to just choose first option instead of going to sentence below.” “…put them side by side.” as the user sees it! “No online full text…” line is loud and clear. It just says to me that it is not available at OSU.” “Don’t use too many words. I don’t need to read so much.”

the bottom line Difficult web forms/processes result in: Lost research productivity Lost study time Lost staff time “Image” problem

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references & resources Clark, P. (n.d.). Issue priority and severity. Retrieved from Gaffney, M. (2009). Reflecting usability engineering goals in interlibrary loan user interfaces. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve, 19, doi: / Krug, S. Krug, S. (2000). Don't make me think!: A common sense approach to web usability. Indianapolis, Ind.: Que Corp. Lehman, T., & Nikkel, T. (2008). Making Library Web Sites Usable: a LITA Guide. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers. Retrieved from Morville, P. or Morville, P. (2004). User experience design. Retrieved from Nielsen, J. Nielsen, J. (2005). 10 Usability Heuristics. Retrieved from Nielsen, J. (2005). Heuristic Evaluation. Retrieved from Nielsen, J. (1993). Iterative user-interface design. Computer, 26(11), doi: / Nielsen, J. (n.d.). Usaibility 101: Introduction to usability. Retrieved from Mifsud, J. (2011). The difference (and relationship) between usability and user experience. Retrieved from difference-between-usability-and-user-experience/ difference-between-usability-and-user-experience/ Ribeirinho, A. (2007). The User Experience Honeycomb. Retrieved from Rubin, J., & Chisnell, D. (2008). Handbook of usability testing: How to plan, design, and conduct effective tests. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Pub. “start”. Flickr user jakeandlindsay. Retrieved from University of Washington Libraries Usability Usability4lib list U.S.D.H.H.S. (n.d.). Usability Basics. Retreived from

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