Rambling thoughts and observations

Notes from a presentation by Natasha Lampard, at “Engage your community” Conference at Massey University, Wellington on 12 November 2009.

Look at what options are available. Contextual inquiry is a user-centered design method that happens at the beginning of the life-cycle. Live the day in the life of the users.

Usability is about removing friction and making things easier, faster, and is about obtaining a goal.

Look at the usefulness; learn-ability; efficiency; forgiveness; satisfaction of a site. If it’s too hard, the users will leave.

“Really great user experiences are not that common.”

Often there is too much emphasis on the product and too little on the end user and what they want to achieve.

Users want something credible; they want to be valued; they want to know that they have learned something; they want to come back; they want to know that it is a secure environment; that they had a satisfying experience; that they achieved something; that they felt welcome; that the site was responsive; that the user felt comfortable; that the user felt smarter; that the site was consistent; and that it was an experience “I” liked.

“It’s about being a good host - usability is courtesy, it’s about good manners.”

Let’s give people a break and give them what they want. Let’s meet and exceed user’s expectations.

User testing - set real world tasks for participants to complete. Watch and note any problems and issues.

Try “Guerrilla user testing” - this is ad hoc, informal testing, but it’s cheap, quick and it will give you results. This is better than no testing at all.

User testing stages - Prepare, test, report.

Set objectives, including up to five real world tasks. Take no longer than one hour. Aim for 45-55 minutes.

The aim is not to test the user. The testing is a test of the site and how well it meets the users needs. As the person managing the usability testing, do not take ownership of the site. This is to allow users to be open and honest about the site. Ask participants to think out aloud. You can pay people for their time, e.g. money or something as simple as a chocolate fish. It is good to reward participants for their time and energy.

Pay attention - it is what the users do, not just what they say. Use some moderation techniques - e.g. ask “what are you currently thinking?”

Performance metrics are - completion rate; time on task; page views; errors; and satisfaction rates.

Your users goals are your goals. Find out what the majority of people are doing on your website and work back from that to set usability tasks.

Read also the following report by Stephen Blyth:
“No excuses - budget usability testing”