Doing the “RITE” Thing

Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE) is a usability method that gives a design team quick feedback and turnaround on usability issues so that recommended changes to a user interface can be made—and tested—as soon as possible. Each RITE session is observed by the entire design team. Following each RITE session, the user research and design teams meet to discuss the problems that were uncovered during the session.

The team decides which changes to implement after each session. Sometimes a change is obvious after only 1 or 2 users—if the usability problem is clear, and the solution is both quick and feasible. Sometimes a problem requires more sessions to diagnose.

Changes are immediately folded into a revised prototype and tested. The cycle continues until the users’ experience meets the usability criteria set by the team.

Early in the design process, RITE studies can be conducted using paper prototypes of the interface being evaluated. Prototypes increase in fidelity as RITE iterations continue, and RITE studies often end with a “verification” test of a functional prototype.

Tec-Ed recently conducted RITE sessions for a social networking site, using paper prototypes and making changes between user sessions. After a series of two RITE iterations, we conducted a verification test of a moderately functioning prototype before the final design was released.

In another example, Tec-Ed conducted RITE sessions for a new way of searching on an e-commerce site, using a highly interactive prototype and making changes after sets of 3 user sessions for a series of 6 iterations.

To be successful, the RITE method requires that the design team observe all sessions so that changes are discussed, agreed on, and implemented in rapid succession. Finally, it requires that changes are validated by a sufficient number of users to confirm their usability.