Usability Testing

If you find yourself short on money, time, or both, you might be tempted to consider skipping the usability testing phase. Rather than skipping this process altogether, it's far better to test on an abbreviated, informal scale. It's better to conduct a number of small, fast tests during development, rather than one big test at the end - especially if that final usability test is to be scheduled just before the site's launch.

The main goal of usability testing is to make sure your final-version, live web site is user-friendly and works well for your visitors. Three main dimensions of usability testing are effectiveness (testing to see if the user can accomplish desired tasks), efficiency (testing to see how much effort is involved in accomplishing the desired tasks), and satisfaction (testing to see if the user has a satisfactory experience and will return). (Dey Alexander, Quick Wins with Usability Testing (presentation, Web Workshop Series at Monash University, Melbourne, 2002), slide 3.) Use the following checklist as a guide to determining and conducting your usability tests.

List test objectives and concerns

Be specific, making note of tasks and areas of the web site that might be of concern - for instance, forms that might be difficult to complete or use, or the methods by which users are expected to find certain products. Be sure to specify these age groups and computer skill levels that you wish to test.

To help determine your objectives and concerns, check with your clients, management, designers, developers, and others involved in the project.

Choose test approaches

Numerous approaches have been developed to testing various aspects of sites' usability. In planning your usability tests, it's important that you research and consider the available approaches in light of the resources and time you have available.

For example, you may choose to use personas or card sorting to help test your web site's information architecture - one single, but critical aspect of your site's usability. By creating personas, you can document the steps typical visitors would take to accomplish particular objectives, then test those steps - looking specifically at the information architecture, navigation, and forms, for example, that that persona might use to achieve that goal.

Card sorting can be a helpful way to understand how your web site visitors will likely understand and explore the information on your site.

Conducting a Card Sorting Test
To conduct a card sorting test, give users index cards on which are written the titles of pieces of content, features, or categories. Include brief descriptions on each card, but don't hint at any information structure or classification. If you plan to add more content to your web site in future phases, it can help to add those specific elements to the cards if you can.

Be sure to brief your test users, explaining that there are no right or wrong answers. Ask them to read each card carefully and group them into piles that make sense to them. If the users aren't sure about a card, they can set it aside and come back to it whenever they wish. When they finish, ask them to label each pile.

Compare the results with your web site's information architecture as one way to determine whether or not further tweaks or changes are required.

Recruit users for testing based on your target market

Test users should represent your target audience profiles. For example, if your typical users aren't very technology-savvy, but you test with technology-savvy users, your test results won't uncover potential technology-related problems, such as confusion with drop-down menus or multiple browser windows.

A test group of five users is considered large enough to provide information that will help improve your site's usability.

Prepare an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) ready for users to sign prior to starting your tests