Usability Testing: What to Expect
We work closely with each of our clients to design usability studies that meet their objectives. While each usability test is unique, there are elements that are common to each initiative. Here’s what you can expect from a typical usability testing engagement:
Preparing for Testing
Testing projects usually last anywhere from three to six weeks. Each project begins with a kickoff meeting that brings our teams together to review your goals for the initiative. At the kickoff meeting we’ll discuss:
- Business objectives for the product or site being tested
- Key discussion topics, tasks and scenarios to include in the sessions
- Dates and location of testing
- Recruiting criteria for test participants
Once we’ve identified the types of people to include in the study, we’ll draft a screener for your review and approval. The screener contains a series of questions that will be used to recruit participants by determining if someone is qualified to participate. We place a great deal of emphasis on ensuring that the participants we recruit represent your target audience and are sufficiently articulate to provide valuable data during the session.
After recruiting is underway, we’ll turn our attention to crafting the key discussion topics and testing scenarios for the sessions. We’ll review and finalize these materials with your team to ensure they are designed to get you the information you need.
On Test Day
Most testing projects consist of one or two days of back-to-back test sessions. Whether we’re testing at
Centralis Lab, a market research facility, your offices or another location, we’ll arrange for your team to observe the sessions through a one-way mirror, a closed-circuit video feed or remotely over the Internet.
In each session, we’ll begin with a brief interview to put the participant at ease and establish rapport. Then we’ll ask the participant to complete a series of tasks with the product or web site while thinking aloud. The facilitator watches and asks targeted questions to assess the participant’s understanding of the interface. During the session we can also explore other topics of interest, such as reactions to new features, product concepts and brand communication.
Throughout the project you’ll have two User Experience Specialists on your research team. On test day, one of us will facilitate the session with the participant, while the other will join you in the observation area to make sure you’re getting what you need. The two facilitators communicate via an instant messaging link; if you have questions or additional areas to explore, we can send those comments directly into the session.
Post-Testing Workshop & Final Report
We know you’ll need to react quickly to the data from usability testing. On the day immediately following the test sessions, we’ll facilitate a collaborative workshop to discuss the findings and explore design implications. In the workshop, everyone who observed the sessions is invited to share their observations in a structured manner that focuses on establishing consensus. As a group we’ll identify the highest priority usability issues and begin sketching solutions to address them.
After the workshop, our team analyzes the data in-depth: task-by-task and screen-by-screen, covering all aspects of the interface. We’ll package our analysis in a comprehensive but highly visual, easy-to-read final report that highlights the major findings, illustrates key issues and provides specific recommendations for improving the user experience.