Usability Testing

In today’s class I learned about the importance of usability testing and how a good interface makes it easy for users to understand and use a product. I am someone who’s already fond of user testing as this is something that I actively do when creating a product, I feel as though getting feedback whilst working on a project makes the workflow more efficient and interesting.

I gathered that if a user is thinking why they’re using your product then it’s not a proficient product; and this is why usability testing is incredibly crucial when it comes to designing a product as this allows designers to focus on the needs of the demographic; because as we know it as designers we sometimes get lost in our own designs and we start to deviate from what the client needs.

Some key take aways from todays lesson:

• Content should be clear to avoid misinterpretation.
• People don’t read word for word, rather, they scan over texts in an “F” formation.

• Using 56 characters per row in a paragraph is a good measure when it comes to reading as it makes it easier and desirable to read.
• 5 user tests will find 80% of your design flaws; and it is best to start testing early.
• It is best to write a script for a qualitative and/or in person testing because it ensures consistency throughout the process.

Difference between quantitative and qualitative

Another thing that stood out to me today were these 2 words, quantitative and qualitative testing; I am familiar with these words from my P.E. course back in high school; today’s lecture refreshed my memory on what they mean and how they’re done, regardless I decided to do my own bit of research to find out more in depth about these 2 types of testing because as a designer I feel as though it is important to establish a method that ensures good and reliable feedback that will help a lot during the iteration process of a design.

Qual Data

This data is more raw because the designer(researcher) can observe the issues that users come across and they can even ask them questions during the testing process. Designers can get answers straight from the testers, telling them about issues they come across or they can even ask ask what a design element is supposed to do; and from the intel gathered the designer can apply the feedback to the product.

Quant Data

This from of data is indirect and primarily relies on numbers and ratings. They are usually done to test a user’s performance during a test and not the issues they come across. For example most of the users might successfully complete the test but the results gathered will only show their overall satisfaction, this form of data cannot be used to aim at specific issues users come across. Quant Data is helpful when it comes to comparing a newer version of a product to an older version.