The purpose of conducting a usability test is to get the perspective of an end-user on your design process. It’s important to run a usability test when a higher frequency of testing correlates with an increase in ROI. The goal here is to determine what you want to study and whether an app functions the way it’s intended to.
You’ve probably heard of usability testing methods including guerrilla testing, unmoderated remote testing, contextual inquiry, or even card sorting. UX specialists will need to decide which method best suits their project and whether it is flexible enough to accommodate changing priorities.
A thorough usability test typically leads to better user experience for the released product. To truly understand the essentials of UI/UX testing, you would need to first ask for personal impressions of your conceptual framework and then assemble a prototype of an interactive wireframe.
Here is a 6-step road map to conducting a usability test:
1. Build a Product to Test with User Tasks
Having well-defined goals and targeting precise metrics will result in a successful test. Sometimes, the screen is cluttered with elements and too confusing to navigate. In other cases, you might want to change the graphics to make the core features stand out. If that happens, you can use prototyping tools to fix your app interface.
In many scenarios, test participants are given a set of tasks to compete in a controlled environment without receiving outside input, to get a sense of how consumers use their apps. Real users are later surveyed about their personal habits when interacting with these programs.
It can be quite challenging to simulate a realistic user scenario, especially if you’re testing a series of interface elements with a long list of features. User research involves knowing your user’s pain points and deciding how much resources to expend on a particular test method.
2. Propose an Agreed-Upon Test Script
The first step is to write a list of the top user tasks instrumental in evaluating the usability of your device or application. This planning phase should account for testing, support, research, and the objectives moving forward so you know what key points to measure.
You can ask questions or assign open-ended tasks to guide users through your prototype. It is a great way to pinpoint and resolve common issues. How long does it take for them to become fluent in navigating the app? What are some popular user actions across the board?
Specific tasks serve a different purpose: They tell users what the objective is and how to reach it. This test measures the difficulty of performing certain tasks to explore a concrete functionality or a complex product with several testing stages.
3. Recruit Participants to Test Your Model
The next step is to consider your ideal customer persona, in other words, who would be most interested in buying your app. You’ll find it easier to recruit users for a UX test if you already know your target audience. This is a time-consuming process because you have to define a series of user preferences linked to that particular persona.
It becomes a matter of reaching out to users through various advertising channels until you find someone who matches your set criteria. You might have to interview customers to collect data on how they interact with similar brands. What are the goals and concerns of your typical buyer?
Before you implement new features or start fixing reported bugs, you should consult with your company’s stakeholders.–Schedule meetings with product teams, documentation specialists, customer support, or the UX training staff to discuss a timeline for crafting a B2B/B2C buyer persona derived from their purchase patterns.
4. Perform a User Study in Multiple Sessions
Related user tasks and stakeholder concerns can be condensed into a single problem statement to help align research goals with a list of potential solutions. When you gather data on research activities, be sure to measure the analytics to see how they change while a user study takes place.
UI/UX testing can be done in several formats such as by serving as a moderator to guide test participants when they are stuck on a task. Timed sessions are prone to errors so you have to be prepared for unexpected circumstances if participants don’t show up or the prototype malfunctions in the middle of testing.
As such, there needs to be a backup plan to prevent these problems from interfering with your data collection methods. Another research method is to start a session with an unmoderated remote study. This gives users a natural setting to test your app or product, which means receiving honest and unbiased feedback in a specific context.
5. Record the Relevant Findings of Your Test
Now it’s time to reflect on your research goals arising from the initial problem statement. Were you able to find out why users have a hard time navigating your app or device? At this stage, you should summarize and document the test results to see if the data makes any sense.
It is crucial to document your findings in the correct format: You can take notes in a spreadsheet, create a video or audio recording, send surveys to test participants, and calculate the success or error rate percentage. After collecting these results, it is recommended that you present them to address the following:
- What the test is designed to accomplish (characteristics of the prototype)?
- The UI/UX test methodology used to evaluate your digital product
- Patterns and trends displayed in a chart or diagram disclosing the percentages
- A detailed analysis which includes suggestions for your UX team
What are some potential solutions to the issues brought up by your users? For one, you can place the instructions on a more visible area of the UI. If you improve the spacing and position of elements, it would help users access features included in your app.
6. Enhance the Core Performance of Your App
After observing user behavior relevant to your research goals, it is time to determine which activities indicate a success or a failure in using the app. The final process involves fixing bugs, removing errors, and optimizing the user experience.
Roadblocks in UI/UX design are easier to overcome once you have the prototype and user reviews to fall back on. At the conclusion of the test process, you will need to collaborate with your developers to implement some working code updates.
When you have come up with enough fixes, you can identify which ones are best suited for a particular demographic. Ultimately, you should strive for a “one size fits all” solution. In order to assemble a user-friendly product for release, it is essential to conduct a well-researched usability test.
User Research is the Backbone of UX Testing
User research and testing are affected by the environmental context of where an app is being used. In fact, user scenarios correspond with research studies where users are asked to follow a set of instructions during a task. Participants will later explain how they approach the system when given a setup guide.
In user research, the UX team writes a plausible user story to imitate real-life interactions with digital apps and products. The good news is, this testing process works just as well for a smaller team with limited budget and resources. Given that there are many types of testing methods, developers can obtain exceptional insights about their product framework, both qualitative and quantitative.
User research allows UX professionals to distinguish between what people say and what they do. They must prioritize the most important tasks while keeping track of participant activities. User testing lets them discover which system aspects are causing problems and sort them into groups. User testing should not be treated as an afterthought and is a valuable asset to companies invested in mobile technology.
