Usability testing

To reliably identify usability problems in your interface, you need to observe it being used. As an example of stating the blindingly obvious, it’s right up there with “don’t annoy bees”. But that doesn’t make it any less relevant.

How The Usability Lab can help

We provide tried and tested techniques for moderating, observing and analysing usability tests under lab conditions.

The truth is that tests are most valuable at the early stages in your project - many usability problems can be caught well before screen design starts. However, testing can also refine 'live' interfaces.

Interface audit

If your budget won’t stretch to user testing, we can also carry out a full audit on your interface. The audit – or “heuristic evaluation” – will use widely accepted usability principles as the basis for a professional evaluation. Because no users are involved, this approach costs less and can be delivered quickly.

Usability test process

Ever wondered what happens during a usability test? Here’s the answer:

• Recruitment – we find a sample of people who are representative of your users
• Tasks – the users carry out tasks which allow like-for-like comparisons across tests, and an element of quantitative analysis.
• Observance – the users are observed using your interface. We record user behaviour with usability testing software which captures the screen and mouse movements, plus video and audio.
• Interview – we talk to users to understand any difficulties they experience.
• Reporting – we tell you want happened, why and what you need to do – identifying a prioritised list of usability problems.