Book Image

Remote Usability Testing

By : Inge De Bleecker, Rebecca Okoroji
Book Image

Remote Usability Testing

By: Inge De Bleecker, Rebecca Okoroji

Overview of this book

Usability testing is a subdiscipline of User Experience. Its goal is to ensure that a given product is easy to use and the user's experience with the product is intuitive and satisfying. Usability studies are conducted with study participants who are representative of the target users to gather feedback on a user interface. The feedback is then used to refine and improve the user interface. Remote studies involve fewer logistics, allow participation regardless of location and are quicker and cheaper to execute compared to in person studies, while delivering valuable insights. The users are not inhibited by being in a new environment under observation; they can act naturally in their familiar environment. Remote unmoderated studies additionally have the advantage of being independent of time zones. This book will teach you how to conduct qualitative remote usability studies, in particular remote moderated and unmoderated studies. Each chapter provides actionable tips on how to use each methodology and how to compensate for the specific nature of each methodology. The book also provides material to help with planning and executing each study type.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
Dedication
Packt Upsell
Contributors
Preface
8
What to Consider When Analyzing and Presenting the Study Results
Index

The product being tested


The UX researcher running the usability study has to thoroughly understand the interface that will be tested. This is a prerequisite for being able to write an effective discussion guide or script. The following are some questions that we like to ask the study sponsor during a kick-off session:

  • How would you describe the purpose of the interface?: Admittedly, it's rare that we don't have any idea what the product does before we start a usability study, but it is always useful (and interesting) to understand how the study sponsor views it. In extreme cases, this view may strongly deviate from the UX researcher's perception of the product. An unnecessary discussion can be avoided by asking the actual users in the study how they perceive the product.
  • What are the most important functions of the product?:  This answers the question of the user's goal. Nobody installs an app because they want to create a user account. It is a necessary means to an end – the end being the...