I find it amazing how often very
similar problems require notably different approaches in order to be solved
successfully. So far I’ve found this holds true for just about anything in life
and, by extension, usability research as well.
Usability research is all about observing and understanding
user behaviors, needs and methodologies. Mike Kuniaysky says that it is “the
process of understanding the impact of design on an audience.”
It follows that Usability specialists
are problem solvers with many tools (research techniques) at their disposal. I
bring you a breakdown of some of the most commonly used user research
approaches;
Usability Testing
Usability Testing is a research
technique which helps us evaluate a product or service by testing it on its
representative users. In order to eliminate outside disturbances and allow the
researcher to better take notes of the entire process, it is preferably done in
a controlled environment such as a lab, but can also be done remotely or in a
room where we can ensure no disturbances or distractions. Often it is filmed or
videotaped, but doing so is not a requirement as long as someone is closely
observing the user and taking notes.
The goal of Usability Testing is to
identify any usability problems, collect qualitative and quantitative data and
to determine the participants’ satisfaction level with the product or service
we are testing.
In order to achieve that, we measure
various factors such as time needed to perform tasks, error and success rates,
preference for alternative solutions and, of course, users’ subjective level of
satisfaction.
A/B Testing
Sometimes also called “multivariate
testing,” “live testing,” or “bucket testing”, it is perhaps the most
straightforward form of testing.
A/B Testing is merely comparing effectiveness of two different versions of the same design or product by launching them both under similar circumstances.
A/B Testing is merely comparing effectiveness of two different versions of the same design or product by launching them both under similar circumstances.
In context of web pages, A/B Testing
would mean launching two different versions of the same web site at the same
time. The goal here is to see which version of the web page (A or B, with A
being the control version and B being the variation) ends up giving us a higher
conversion rate.
Quantitative Survey
A Quantitative Survey is a survey or
a questionnaire distributed to a large number of participants; usually a
representative sample of our target market, in order to hear their opinions
strictly on a subject we are testing and need input on.
It is important that the questions in
this type of a survey are closed, meaning that the respondents are choosing
from specific selection of answers and are not given an opportunity to expand
or elaborate on their responses.
Web Analytics
Used as tools for business and market
research, Web Analytics help us assess and improve the effectiveness of a
website. Web Analytics are done by collecting,
measuring, analyzing and reporting on various web data obtained by web servers,
tracking cookies and so on.
By obtaining data from a large number
of users we can highlight patterns in navigation and user types as well as
focus on answering specific questions such as “How many people visited the
site?”, “How many of these visits were unique visitors?”, “How did they come to
the site?”, “How long did they stay and how much time did they spend on each
particular part of our site?”, “Which keywords did they use in their search
which brought them to the site?”, “What keywords did they search with on the
sites’ search engine?”, “How does the day of the week or a time of a day affect
user habits?” and many, many more.
When performing web analytics we use
various software to collect a large amount of data, but it is up to a Usability
Specialist to interpret the data and come to concrete conclusions and ideas on
how to utilize the data we’ve collected in order to improve the UX.
Focus Groups
Using a Focus Group, a Usability
Specialist will lead a moderated discussion with 4 to 12 participants. This
discussion will be lead in a controlled environment- just like a Usability
Testing session.
The goal of a Focus Group is to gain
verbal and written feedback through discussion and exercises and to explore
preferences (and reasons for those preferences) among different solutions.
Although Focus Groups are definitely
a powerful tool when it comes to system development they are never used as an
only source of usability data.
This is because the feedback we
receive from Focus Groups is subjective, and therefore should be taken with a
grain of salt- especially in cases where the users are asked to describe how
they perform activities which span many days or weeks.
Hence, we do not use Focus Groups to
assess interaction styles or design usability, but to discover what the users
want from the system they are using.
Sometimes what we, the developers,
want to give the users isn’t what the users actually need from our websites and
apps and this is why Focus Groups are a valuable source of information; they
help us align our views with the views and needs of our average user.
Central Location Test
A Central Location Test (or
interview) employs both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, as
well as visual techniques such as monitoring the respondents’ eye movements and
testing for degree of recall of particular elements of a website, app or a
product.
In a controlled environment, groups
of 15 to 50 people are shown demos or allowed to use products before being
interviewed or taking a survey to measure their grasp of the concept, the
appeal of various features and the desirability of the product.
CLT is the most
suitable method for testing concepts, new or modified products or packaging,
advertising effectiveness and sensory research.
References : View Original link to article
About Author:
Ines Anić (@i_anic) is a Content and Administrative Associate
at UX Passion, where she writes about UX, UI, design and social media
management. She is passionate about UX, Usability, design and video games; and
curious about technology, gadgets, IT and the world of startups. Ines is looking
forward to connecting with you on LinkedIn and Twitter!
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