User-Testing, Iterative Design & Comparisons

User-Testing

What is it?

A technique used to help discover problems in your design. Users are asked to complete a task, while being observed by researchers to see where they face problem and confuse. The method uses on measuring human-made product's capacity to meet its intended purpose. The objective is to identify any usability problems, collective qualitative and quantitative data and determine the participant's satisfaction with product. To execute an effective user-testing, first need to develop a solid test plan, recruit participants, analyze and report findings.

To Conduct User-Testing

1. Create a schedule
2. Assemble teams and establish roles
3. Define the scope of the research
4. Create a discussion
5. Recruit potential or existing users
6. Conduct user group testing and record data
7. Analyze and report findings

Advantages

• Feedback direct from the target audience to focus the project team
• Internal debates can be solved
• issues and potential problems are highlighted

The advantages effect in Business

• Increases the likelihood of usage and repeat usage
• Minimizes the risk of failing
• Users are better able to reach their goals

Disadvantages

• Not 100% representative of real life scenario
• Mainly qualitative
• Requires time, money and effort
• Only find problems related to the task
• Does not provide in-depth information about the users and context.

Why so important?

Owner want people to use the product at the end of the day and from a business perspective, a useful product will reap more financial benefits that products that do not matter at all.

From that, they are able to link the utility aspect to the user experience of an application. The goal is not just about provide a quick solution, they want to make users love your solution. 

Doing user tests will also help identify issues early on. It ensures a more promising result and makes all resources well worth its spend.

Conclusion

It can be used in a variety of ways during your project lifecycle. Despite not be able imitate real life usage, it is still the best method of ensuring your website supports users in achieving the goals quickly and easily. It is essential because it clearly illustrates the way the users are interacting with the product. 

Iterative Design

What is it?

A cyclical process of decision making based upon constraint satisfaction that is modified by personal or corporate beliefs and biases.

It comes in 3 cycles:

1. Constraint analysis
2. Method analysis
3. Comparing Personal assumptions/opinions

How to Execute?

To use the First Cycle, firstly identify the task and analyse the activity system of the subject. Evaluate What kind of theory is it based on. (theoretically?). Then question what the nature of this theory is, what the social and contextual relationship relationships among the collaborators is, what their goals and intention of those activities are, identify and further understand the culture behind it, and then identify any contradictions in the subject.

To do the Second Cycle, first examine the method used whether it is factual/conceptual/procedural/metacognitive knowledge. Then orient the curriculum based on the think that the RP’s need to do and will it be question based. Finally, present design assumptions and decisions.

To execute the Third Cycle, first need to present the assumptions and decision of the entire study. Through presenting, there may or may not be any constraint on the design that was proposed. Believers and environment factors may also affect the outcome.

*each constraint mention will contradict the previously identified problem.

Complicated, right?

Advantages

• Allows for rapid resolution of misunderstandings within the project team and established clarity early in the development lifecycle. 
• Gives the development team some certainty that their efforts are being focused on adding value for users.
• Brings out user feedback to ensure that system requirements meet user needs.
• Provides regular testing which can provide a strong desired performance framework for acceptance testing.
• Allows for easy incorporation of “lessons learned” in the final product.

Disadvantages

• Not suitable for smaller projects. 
• More management attention is required. 
• Highly skilled resources are essential for risk analysis. 
• Although cost of change is lesser - not very suitable for changing requirements. 
• More resources may be necessary.
• End of project might not be known risk.

Conclusion

It is a refinement process that allows the designer to improve on their design. They use a cycle of development & user-feedback, allowing different views and opinions, to help create a more a better product overall.

Comparisons

User Testing

Types

Comparative - Used to compare the usability of one website with another

Explorative - Establish what content and functionality a new product should include to meet the needs of its users.

Evaluation - This usability test introduces users to the new design to ensure it is intuitive to use and provides a positive user experience.

 

Uses

• Usability testing should be an iterative practice
• Completed several times during the design and development life-cycle 
• End result is an improved product and a better understanding of the users that we’re designing for 
• To ensure that the product is usable for your user

Iterative Designs

Uses

• Inconsistencies among requirements, designs, and implementations are detected early.
• It enables and encourages user feedback, so as to elicit the system's real requirements.
• Serious misunderstandings are made evident early in the lifecycle, when it's possible to react to them.
• A way of confronting unpredictable user needs and behaviors.

Comparisons

User Testing

• Goal to improve usability of a product
• Participants represent real users
• Participants do real tasks
• You observe and record what participants do and day
• You analyze the data, diagnose the real problems, and recommend changes to fix those problems

Strengths

• Direct feedback from the target audience
• Internal debates can be resolved
• Issues and potential problems are highlighted before the product is launched
• Increases the likelihood of usage and repeat usage
• Minimizes the risk of the product failing
• Users are better able to reach their goals

Weakness

• Testing is not 100% representative of the real life scenario
• Mainly qualitative

Iterative Designs

• Ensure the process/product optimum potential.
• A focus group of participants.
• Participants are not associated to the Product to produce unbiased opinion.
• Goes through a series of standardized process.
• Pin-point the problems diagnosed and try to solve it immediately for the next process testing.

Strengths

• Major problems are diagnosed in the early stages of the creation of the product.
• Enables solid feedback for requirements through a basic user view-point.
• Forces the development team to focus on the critical issues immediately.
• Workload for the process are spread out.
• Provides evidences of failing methods.

Weakness

• The Process for testing is rigid and fixed.
• Process cost may be high due to the repetition of the process.
• Architectural  and execution issue are not included during the process of testing.

In practical, user testings requires an audience to test the product and constantly updating while iterative designs able to do it on the company’s own end, does not have as big an outreach as user testing and requires constant pain-staking process.

Conclusion

User testing is still the best method of ensuring your product supports users in achieving their goals quickly and easily. While iterative design takes place throughout your whole process but guarantees you a more refined outcome.