Usability testing

Usability testing, or user experience (UX) testing, is the process of testing a product, feature or prototype with real users. Most commonly, it is the process of testing different aspects of a website to ensure that users can find and understand content. 

For usability testing to be most effective, the users should be members of the target audiences, and testing should be repeated as the content evolves. Usability testing can be done at every stage of content development.

You can conduct your own usability testing just by interviewing users individually, or you can hire commercial user-testing groups to conduct testing with your audiences. 

Usability testing does not need to be an involved or large process. Indeed, getting input from small groups of users several times as you develop the content is probably more valuable than completing a single large experiment.

This section covers:

Preliminary content testing

At the beginning of the project, users can complete ‘card sorting’ exercises to inform the development of the structure of the publication or website. Card sorting can be open or closed:

  • With open card sorting, you put example content on a set of cards and ask users to sort the cards into groups of similar content. You then develop labels for the groups.

  • With closed card sorting, you develop a set of categories and put example content on a set of cards. You ask users to sort the cards into the predetermined categories.

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Testing with drafts and prototypes

When you have a preliminary draft or prototype, you can test it directly with users. The testing can involve the following:

  • Scenarios. For a website at wireframe or design stage, users can be given scenarios to test the information architecture (IA) of the site. You give the user a scenario (eg ‘You need to find out how to sell your house. Where would you go?’, ‘You are worried about a rash on your child. What do you select?’) and watch to see what the user does. If users have difficulty completing the task, this tells you that your IA may not work as well as expected.
  • Content evaluation. It is a good idea to include draft content in user testing, so that you can gain feedback on how clear and useful the content is. Ask questions to get feedback on all content features, including text, calls to action and visuals.
  • Functionality evaluation. Users can be helpful in checking the quality of a website’s functionalities. Users can comment on
    • search terms and search engine optimisation (SEO) – do users find your content through search engines using the keywords you would expect?
    • links – do links go to useful destinations?
    • searching – do keyword searches work properly and find the correct content?
    • printing – do sections print appropriately?
  • Eye-tracking studies. These can provide objective information on user behaviour with a publication or website. In eye-tracking experiments, the user’s eye movements and their navigation pathways are digitally recorded while they search for specific information. This shows exactly how users navigate and scan content.
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