Usability Testing
summary | detail | methodology
- Why usability testing?
- Usability testing yields unique insights about target users’ needs and preferences through observation of participant behavior as they perform typical activities. What people say they do with products is not always what they actually do. Designing successful products depends on knowing about users’ behavior as well as their preferences.
- What is usability testing?
- In usability testing, people individually perform a series of typical tasks with your product, website, or service (or a prototype). We control as many conditions as we can, to identify problems and their causes. An experienced researcher facilitates and observes the sessions.
- The two most important components are realistic scenarios and representative users.
- What does it take?
- Focus—You cannot test everything. Identify and prioritize the top issues to explore and the criteria that indicate problems or success.
- Time and place—Sessions can take place in your company’s offices (or usability lab), at Tec-Ed’s Midwest test facilities, or at a rented facility. Sessions can be an hour long or longer. We usually need 2–3 weeks of planning, preparation, and participant recruiting before conducting sessions.