Usability Primer - for Alberta Municipal Webmasters Working Group

You will learn about . . . Conceptual framework for Usability and . . . An inventory of methods and . . . Intro to user testing Usability – Everyone wants it, everyone claims to have it, but just what is it?

Redengine Who Are We? Edmonton based company Operating since 1997 12 employees What We Like to Do. Web Design User Research and Testing Content Management Designing Web Based Applications

What is Usability? The technical definition: The ISO defines usability as: “…the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use.”

Defining the Problem specified users: Who will use the system? specified goals: What tasks do they need to complete? specified context: Where will they use the system?

The Elements of User Experience What is the purpose of this site / application? What functions will achieve these purposes? How will people move through these functions? How should these functions be presented? What visual style would best represent our brand? Diagram: Jesse James Garrett, Adaptive Path

Filling the Gap Website development needs to balance: business priorities functional requirements technical implementation Adapting a strong user-centered approach can achieve the balance.

Task Analysis Taskflows: Show users’ decision points Show when users will have to perform actions Suggest page order Show where menus, information and controls need to be included

Wire-frames Wire-frames are: A detailed view of the product, representing basic screen real estate Benefits: Fast and cheap A common language Easy to iterate Easy to test Retire risk at an earlier stage

User Testing User testing is: Task-based Observational One-on-one Designed to measure performance Benefits: Reveals how people actually use your system Helps to uncover usage patterns and break points

User Testing - Scope You can conduct informative user tests on: Existing site and applications HTML prototypes Redeveloped sites Wireframes and mockups Keep in mind: Restricted task movement when you have limited functioning paths

User Testing Preparation – 8 Steps Define the goals/concerns that are driving the test Determine the profile for the participants Recruit participants Select and organize tasks to test Create task scenarios Decide measures Prepare other materials Conduct a pilot and revise

1. Define the goals/concerns that are driving the test You can’t test everything Priority should be on Mission critical Common tasks Representative tasks Specific areas of concern Specific audiences

2. Determine Participant Profile You should already have audiences defined Use general research as input Segment Don’t fall into the “everybody” trap Intermediate University 26-40 Male P8 Intermediate Some college 55+ Male P7 Expert College 18-24 Female P6 Intermediate University 55+ Female P5 Intermediate University 26-40 Female P4 Intermediate University 18-24 Male P3 Intermediate University 41-55 Male P2 Intermediate University 25-40 Male P1 Site Experience Education Age Gender

3. Recruit Participants Use research companies to recruit Invite through contests or surveys Community boards Try to schedule all participants within a narrow window of time

4. Select and Organize Tasks Usability test tasks should be derived from: Tasks that probe potential usability problems Tasks suggested by the concerns and experience of the design team Tasks that users will do with the end product Tasks should flow in the natural order in which users will do them. Tasks that are important to the evaluation should come early, as some participants may not finish all tasks.

5. Create Task Scenarios Should describe tasks in a way that takes some of the artificiality out of the test. A good scenario: Is short Is in the user’s words, not the product’s Is unambiguous – so all participants will understand it Gives participants enough information to do the task Is directly linked to your tasks and concerns

5. Create Task Scenarios (example) You’re planning to build a new garage in the spring and you want to find out if you’ll need a permit and, if you do, how much the permit will cost. From the City home page find the information you need. Do you need a permit to build a garage? Yes | No | Don’t know If yes, how much will it cost? _______________

6. Decide Measures Quantitative: Time to finish a task Time spent recovering from errors Number of wrong menu choices Number of errors Observations of frustration, confusion, or satisfaction Subjective: Measures may be either quantitative or qualitative

6. Measures (example) 3.5 0 50% 50% Rate Fail Part Pass Youth (18 - 25) 4.0 0 100% 0 Rate Fail Part Pass Seniors (55+) 2.5 0 50% 50% Rate Fail Part Pass Target Audience (26 – 54) 3.1 Average Task Rating 1 Average Errors 4.9 Average Clicks 2:46 Average Time 0 Fail 63% Partial 38% Pass

7. Prepare Other Materials Legal form – informed consent for the test / nondisclosure agreement / waivers for the use questionnaires Questionnaires – pretest / post-task / post-test Training scripts – to ensure that all participants have the same level of knowledge before they begin the tasks

8. Pilot and Revise Will help you: Revise test materials and procedure Flush out “functions” that need to be enabled on prototypes Confirm length of test

User Testing - Conducting Environment should be representative Ideally use the same tester for every participant Observation, not guidance Record notes quickly after test Stopwatch, video camera, click tracker are all considerations

Can be informal or formal Should include recommendations/solutions User Testing - Reporting While none of the test participants completely failed in this task, only three of eight were able to find both the permit application form and the fee information. Five of the 8 either failed to find any fee information, or found incorrect information. This task reveals an instance of poor content grouping. If a person is planning to build a garage they should be able to get all permit-related information in one location. Illustration 13 demonstrates a possible approach to content grouping.

Value – Mitigate Risks 50–70% of IT projects fail to deliver expected results. According to a Standish Group study 4 of the top 10 reasons IT projects fail are directly related to poor user design. #1. Incomplete Requirements – 13.1% #2. Lack of user involvement – 12.4% #4. Unrealistic expectations – 9.9% #6. Changing requirements – 8.7% TOTAL = 44.1%

Value – The Benefits Reduced development time Iteration on simple mockups More complete picture before development begin Usage savings Fewer user errors Less training, support and documentation is required Higher adoption Improve the quality of life Users are more satisfied

Answers and Qustions Norman Mendoza, President Redengine Inc. [email_address] Skype or Messenger Toll Free 1.877.837.5087

Usability Primer - for Alberta Municipal Webmasters Working Group

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