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.
