[Brew City UX] Lean Usability Testing for Teams

Usability testing is a critical step in creating a successful product. However, we may find ourselves hitting roadblocks when trying to do it. “UX doesn’t have enough time to create the design AND test the product,” and “we don’t want to test too early in the process,” are both excuses we’ve used or heard for not doing usability testing. One solution? Lean usability testing.

Lean usability testing introduces lean UX principles — testing early and often, reducing waste and collaboration, to name a few — to the traditional usability testing process. We’ll explore the value behind going lean and explain what a sample lean usability test looks like. We'll lay out a plan for how to facilitate your own usability tests and discover why it’s important to include your team and stakeholders in the process. If you're not doing usability testing now, this talk will help get you started without the need for a big budget or fancy usability lab.

Transcript

1. LEAN USABILITY TESTING
   FOR TEAMS
   

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2. WHY DOESN’T
   IT HAPPEN?
   

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3. TESTING IS HARD
   We don’t have the time.
   We don’t have the resources.
   We can’t afford to change what’s done.
   We’re scared of what users will say.
   

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4. UX RESPONSIBILITIES
   User Research
   Information Architecture
   Content Strategy
   Interaction Design
   Visual Design
   Prototyping
   Front-End Development
   Usability Testing
   

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5. IN A PERFECT WORLD…
   You get to use a badass testing facility.
   

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6. IN REALITY…
   

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7. IN A PERFECT WORLD…
   Users are plentiful and easy to find.
   

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8. IN REALITY…
   

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9. IN A PERFECT WORLD…
   Everything goes smoothly and your participants know
   exactly what to expect.
   

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10. IN REALITY…
    

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11. THIS IS HARD
    

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12. LEAN USABILITY
    TESTING
    

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14. KEY BENEFITS
    Easy prep work
    Small sample size
    Entire team involved
    User’s current environment
    

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15. DIY guide to
    finding and
    fixing usability
    problems
    

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16. BREAKING
    IT DOWN
    

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17. PICK A FEATURE
    

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18. PICK A FEATURE
    Choose a feature that needs validation.
    Doesn’t have to be complete to be tested.
    Focus on a specific workflow.
    

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19. FIND USERS
    

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20. FIND USERS
    Match your personas as closely as possible.
    No matches? Others can be used for baseline usability.
    Sweet spot is 3-5 users.
    

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21. Elaborate usability tests are a
    waste of resources.
    The best results come from testing
    no more than 5 users and running as
    many small tests as you can afford.
    Jakob Nielsen
    

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22. ORGANIZE TEAM &
    STAKEHOLDERS
    

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23. ORGANIZE TEAM &
    STAKEHOLDERS
    Clearly define each person’s role.
    Remind team why they should care.
    Set expectations of the day ahead of time.
    

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24. CHOOSE DATE
    & LOCATION
    

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25. CHOOSE DATE
    & LOCATION
    Try to replicate conditions that user is familiar with.
    Provide an incentive for team and/or users.
    Plan for breaks in the process.
    

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26. USABILITY TEST
    

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27. USABILITY TEST
    Brief participants before each session.
    Don’t ask for design opinions.
    Don’t ask leading questions.
    Know when to move on.
    

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28. DEBRIEF
    

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29. DEBRIEF
    Each observer should debrief individually.
    Make note of any observed confusion or issues.
    Narrow down to top 3 usability issues per user.
    

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30. REPEAT
    

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31. TEAM DEBRIEF
    

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32. TEAM DEBRIEF
    Compare notes as a team.
    Be open to the team’s observations.
    Issues are the fault of the design, not the user.
    

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33. PRIORITIZE
    FEEDBACK
    

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34. PRIORITIZE FEEDBACK
    Identify quick wins.
    Weigh the needs of the user vs. the business.
    You don’t have to solution during this meeting.
    

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35. GAME PLAN
    

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36. GAME PLAN
    Wrap up the session.
    Facilitate a retrospective.
    Plan the next usability test.
    

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38. LET’S REVIEW
    

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39. SPRINT 4 BACKLOG
    Hook up login API
    Create login screen
    Data migration
    Support for import
    Create export API
    

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40. USER 1
    USER 2
    USER 3
    

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41. HALL
    MONITOR
    NOTE TAKER FACILITATOR
    OBSERVERS
    USER 1
    USER 2
    USER 3
    

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43. Show me how you
    would log in to an
    administrator
    account. Think aloud.
    
    
    

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44. USER 1 OBSERVATIONS
    Tried to log in as regular user
    Wasn’t sure if he should log in with
    username or email address
    Was confused by the error message
    when login information was incorrect
    Made a comment about using active
    directory as universal login
    

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45. OVERALL USER OBSERVATIONS
    Tried to log in as regular user
    Wasn’t sure if he should log in with
    username or email address
    Was confused by the error message
    when login information was incorrect
    Made a comment about using active
    directory as universal login
    

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46. OVERALL USER OBSERVATIONS
    Tried to log in as regular user
    Wasn’t sure if he should log in with
    username or email address
    Was confused by the error message
    when login information was incorrect
    Didn’t check the ‘Remember Me’ box
    

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47. This went really well…
    We should try this
    next time…
    

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48. WE DID IT!
    

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49. CONVINCE YOUR
    TEAM (& BOSS)
    

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50. THE ART OF
    PERSUASION
    Start small.
    Facilitate frequent retrospectives.
    Keep focus on the team value.
    

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51. ROCKET SURGERY
    MADE EASY
    www.sensible.com > Downloads
    Usability Test Script
    Checklists
    Instructions for Observers
    Demo Test Videos
    

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52. SUMMING IT UP
    Start small.
    Iterate on the process.
    Advocate for your users.
    

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53. DISCUSSION
    

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54. WHAT DO YOU DO?
    What does your usability testing look like?
    What issues have you run into?
    Why don’t you do usability testing?
    

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