A Practical Guide to Usability Testing

Overview

Usability testing is the method of choice for organisations that want to understand how customers use their product, software or web site. In contrast to market research methods, usability testing delivers strong predictive value, demonstrating how real people will use the product in the real world.

But there are several different types of usability test, making it difficult for novices to choose a technique. Usability testing is also very different from interviews or focus groups and requires a well-trained test administrator. This workshop provides a practical path through the various methods, helping you pick the right kind of test for your product, showing you how to plan, carry out and analyse a usability test, and describing persuasive techniques for presenting the results to developers and managers. You will also get hands-on experience administering and observing a usability test and gain the kind of practical knowledge that you can’t get from reading a book.

After attending this usability testing training course, you will be able to confidently carry out a usability test of your company's product or web site. In addition to the course notes, we provide forms and templates you can adapt for your own usability tests.

"This course is excellent in providing you with a toolkit for usability testing. I've learnt things that I will really use."
– Helen Towers, Kudos Information Systems.

Printable pdf course description for this seminar

This usability testing training seminar is aimed at

• Interface designers who want to experience hands-on techniques for testing and evaluating their designs with end users.
• E-commerce developers who want to choose the right usability test for the current product lifecycle stage.
• Project managers who want to manage the usability testing process.
• Marketing managers who want to see samples of usability test reports, usability questionnaires, screeners and other deliverables from usability tests.
• Business analysts who want to use performance-based testing to communicate the cost-benefits of the user experience.
• web site designers who want to learn the kind of practical knowledge that you can't get from reading a book.

By attending this usability testing course you will learn how to

• Write a screener to recruit the right test participants.
• Write a usability test plan to get buy-in from management and the development team.
• Develop test tasks that are relevant to your customers and your business.
• Choose the right usability test method for your product and its lifecycle phase.
• Design usability tests that meet international standards in usability.
• Adapt our standard forms and templates for your own tests.
• Moderate usability tests.
• Collect and analyse behavioural data.
• Persuade managers and developers to take action based on your test results.

What will I learn?

Introduction – Why test for usability?

• Syndicate activity: Defining usability

Distinguishing usability testing from other user research methods

• Characteristics of tests
• Problems with opinion-based research
• Usability activities in the design lifecycle: from contextual inquiry to eye tracking

Forming a Test Strategy

• Four common mistakes in running a usability test
• How to write a test plan
• Writing a participant screener
• Examples of routine forms used in usability tests

Writing test tasks

• How to pick the right tasks
• The six-step scenario checklist
• Syndicate activity: write a scenario

Testing Early Prototypes

• How a formative test works
• Testing from the participant’s perspective
• Techniques for getting participants to think aloud

How to moderate a usability test

• Obstacles to good moderation
• When to use empathic questioning

How to log a usability test

• How to classify your observation
• Datalogging: Practical activity (includes video footage from a usability test)
• Syndicate activity: “thinking aloud” usability test

Testing Advanced Prototypes

• How a summative test works
• The pros and cons of usability labs
• The role of the administrator in a summative test
• Test bias and how to avoid it

Measures and Metrics

• BS-EN ISO 9241: The three elements of usability
• Software tools for usability testing
• Using the Binomial Confidence Interval and z-scores to account for variation
• Using test data to calculate the costs and benefits of usability fixes
• Tracking usability metrics: the four ranges
• Syndicate activity: summative usability test activity

Reporting Results

• Four ways to engage the design team with usability data
• How to use your results to influence managers
• The ANSI Common Industry Format for Usability Test Reports

What delegates say about this course

• “Very good materials. Excellent delivery.” – Jon Wyatt, Espresso Education.
• “I now realise that what we've been calling "usability testing" only scratches the surface of true usability testing. I'm looking forward to trying out some new techniques!” – Peter Dearden, Vertex.
• “I really enjoyed the hands-on testing in small groups and finding out how to formally carry out structured tests.” – Kellie Chandler, Interoute.
• “David's excellent delivery made a technical subject that much more understandable.” – Timothy Cox, Alcatel.
• “Before I did the course I had my suspicions that usability was a little hocus-pocus. Now I'm starting to see the light.” – Richard Pineger, Kudos Information Systems.
• “A very worthwhile day. I learnt several new techniques that I can apply immediately in my job.” – Tom Taylor, Euroffice.
• “It was great to expand my knowledge and pick up new 'tips and tricks'.” – Rebecca Trounson, hotonline.com.

Duration

This usability testing course lasts one day.

Continuing Professional Development

Each course delegate receives a certificate of attendence showing 8 CPD hours. More about CPD.

About your trainer

This seminar is led by Dr. David Travis who has over 20 years experience in the field of user centred design.

Free refresher training

Our usability training continues after you leave the seminar. People that attend this seminar are eligible for free refresher training. After the seminar, we'll send you a series of follow up articles highlighting different aspects of the training, specifically written to help you apply what you learnt.

Course Schedule for "Practical usability testing"

There are no scheduled dates for this course. If you want us to run this seminar as a public course, click on the button below. Once we get 8 like-minded individuals we'll organise a public course and let you know.

In-house training

We can bring this course to you and run it for a fixed fee no matter where you are. Prices from £150/delegate + VAT (assuming 12 delegates).