Usability testing

Usability testing breaks down the wall between the designer and the user, and allows us to see how real users do real tasks in the real world. There are many benefits of usability testing, including uncovering pitfalls in a current system before a redesign and evaluating the usability of a system during and after design.

Benefits of this service

Usability testing should be an iterative practice, completed several times during the design and development life-cycle. The end result is an improved product and a better understanding of the users that we're designing for.

Advantages

• Increase total revenue by increasing the number of transactions, conversion and hence turnover and returning customers
• Save on development and maintenance costs
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Reduced training and support costs

Disadvantages

• They can be costly in terms of facilities and equipment and also staff time
• They are usually only possible to undertake with a small sample of potential users
• The data can be fairly complex and time consuming to analyse
• It is not always clear what is causing usability problems

The approach

We follow industry best practice and international standards on usability and we agree with you in advance detailed test plans and task lists. We use experienced testers who are familiar with a range of products and systems.

The process

We recruit a representative sample of your audience. These participants are asked to perform a series of tasks using your site that are typical of those a user would attempt in the real world. While performing the tasks at our state of the art usability facilities, the participants are observed and recorded.

During the usability testing participants are instructed to think aloud at all times. If they ever fall silent for more than a few seconds they're encouraged to keep talking. Our usability testers are expertly trained to ask questions and elicit thoughts in a non-biased and neutral manner. Afterwards participants are interviewed to gather further information about their experience.

The deliverables

We would typically look to deliver the following to your organisation as part of the usability testing that we run.

Usability Report - that describes the purpose of the study, a description of the procedures, a summary of the findings, and perhaps most important, the significant themes that emerged within and between testing sessions.

Video highlights - edited video clips of the most informative parts of the tests.

Presentation - an oral presentation communicating the most important findings and recommendations.

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