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

Preparing for the study


Once the script has been crafted and added in a survey tool, there are just a few more things to check before starting the study.

Dry run

  • Check the product under testing to make sure that participants can access it. This includes checking the URL, credentials, or the installation of an executable.
  • Run through the script to confirm the following:
    • The instructions contain all the necessary information.
    • The tasks follow a logical sequence.
    • The right question type has been used to get the intended type of results.
    • The session time estimate is accurate.
    • Any branching is correctly configured.
  • If the study is a team effort, then make sure that one person is appointed as the main point of contact. This person should be available to follow the progress of the sessions and be ready to jump in should participants have questions.

Scheduling participants

Once participants have been recruited as described in Chapter 3, How to Effectively Recruit Participants, scheduling is pretty straightforward...