The document describes a workshop on agile usability testing through user checks. User checks involve testing a design with real users within their context and retesting after improvements within one week. This allows testing early and often to improve the design iteratively based on user feedback. The workshop covers how to structure user check sessions, including introducing tasks, observing users and evaluating findings after each session to prioritize improvements for retesting. Volunteers then do a practice user check session with observers collecting feedback on sticky notes to discuss findings and potential design updates.

1. userneeds! @anous
user checks!
Workshop by Userneeds - Anouschka Scholten
Assisted by ArjanneAnouk Interact – Arjanne de Wolf
AmsterdamUX Meet up - June 3, 2015
improve your design significantly"

2. userneeds! @anous
Make people’s lives better.

3. userneeds! @anous
Quantitative methods?

4. userneeds! @anous
empat!
a key function of usability testing
usability testing enables you to really see, hear
and find out what moves your users
the ability to see an experience through another person’s eyes
w
Getting to
hy!

5. userneeds! @anous
Usability Test traditional
1 round of testing"
In a lab environment, eye tracking
Moderator is a UX’er, designer indirectly involved"
"
Process based

6. userneeds! @anous
Usablity test drawbacks
• An extensive report, little or no redesign
• No retest
• Not in user context
• High costs: lab, eye tracking, special UX
researcher
• Schedule well in advance (at least 1 month)

7. userneeds! @anous
Test and retest within 1 week
In the users context, quick and easy set up
Designer conducts the test
Value based
User Checks Agile Usability Test

8. userneeds! @anous
Design new site ggdhaaglanden.nl
User check with a doctor in his office
GGD Haaglanden project Angi Studio:"
http://angistudio.com/cases/ggd-haaglanden.html

9. userneeds! @anous
Ik weet niet wat OGGZ betekent, Milieu en Gezondheid…
is dit voor mij?
I don’t know what OGGZ means, Environment and
Health… is this for me?
From
GGD Haaglanden project Angi Studio: http://angistudio.com/cases/ggd-haaglanden.html
Menu indeling: geen overzicht, inzicht, herkenning, focus… voldoet niet aan verwachting, weg wordt niet gevonden
Menu: no overview,- insight, -regognition, -focus… doesn’t match expectations, user can’t find what they need

10. userneeds! @anous
Natuurlijk, ook SOA en bezorgd over kinder-
mishandeling… ja, belangrijk!
Off course, also SOA and worried about child
abuse… yes, important!
To
GGD Haaglanden project Angi Studio: http://angistudio.com/cases/ggd-haaglanden.html
Wijzigingen op verschillende niveaus: wat waar onder valt, naamgeving, hiërarchie, toevoeging visuele cues (affordance), less
is more…
Changes on various levels: IA, labeling, hierarchy, visual cues (affordance), focus, less is more…

11. userneeds! @anous
“ Bij Meiden verwacht ik 14
tot 21...oh, ik denk dat ik
toch wel in die doelgroep val
als ik het zo lees ? “
“LINDA.Girls.. I expect this is
for 14 till 21 year old… oh,
reading this subscription I
think it actually does fit me?”
Pop-up information about LINDA.meiden
Project Angi Studio: http://angistudio.com
Redesign
LINDA subscription

12. userneeds! @anous
“Zo onder elkaar is duidelijk, je kunt er zo
doorheen”
“Very clear and easy to walk through this way,
underneath each other”
Sub home Subscription with
incentive - mobile
Lange lijst om te scrollen
vormde geen enkel probleem
Scrolling was no problem at all
on mobile
2e round: de footer met menu, werd wel
gebruikt
Footer with next step was used
Navigeren met hoofdmenu gebeurde eerst
ronde niet. Sticky menu bood ook geen
oplossing
Navigating via main menu on top wasn’t
used, it was ignored, even with a sticky
menu… dead end alert!
Project van Angi Studio: http://angistudio.com/

13. userneeds! @anous
User checks drawbacks
• Too unexperienced biased designer
• Heavy pressure on improving the design within
agile process (keeping in pace with development)
• With ‘high fidelity’ testing it demands velocity for
retest with high multidisciplinary efforts: product
owners, IxD, visual design and content

14. userneeds! @anous
powerful!
agile usability testing
with user checks

15. userneeds! @anous
Test and retest within 1 week
In the users context, quick and easy set up
Designer conducts the test
Value based
User Checks Agile Usability Testing

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2nd round
1st round
1"
Test
Objectives
2 "
User
goals
3 "
Tasks
4"
User
checks
5 "
Evaluate
findings
6"
Redesign
7 "
User
checks
8 "
Evaluate
findings
Again
or
To final
design
User checks - Agile usability test cycle
in 1 week

17. userneeds! @anous
get down to it!

18. userneeds! @anous
Usability testing
is about
observing behaviour
Watch the user do what comes naturally,
while performing a task.
Don't help.
Not asking about opinion.

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What to test ?

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When to test
• Early as possible
• Often as possible
ROI
• Save on development time
• Less support calls/e-mails
• More conversion

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Procedure usability test
1. Let your user experience the prototype/MVP/site
Show don’t tell. Put your prototype in the user’s hands (or your user in the
prototype) and give just the minimum context so they understand what to
do. Don’t explain your thinking or reasoning for your prototype.
2. Have them talk through their experience (talk aloud)
For example, when appropriate, as the host, ask “Tell me what you are
thinking as you are doing this.”
3. Actively observe
Watch how they use (and misuse!) what you have given them. Don’t
immediately “correct” what your user tester is doing.
4. Follow up with questions
This is important; often this is the most valuable part of testing. “Show
me why this would [not] work for you.” “Can you tell me more about
how this made you feel?” “Why?”"
Answer questions with questions (i.e “well, what do you think that
button does”)

22. userneeds! @anous
Key: moderating the test
If they…
Say…
Are not talking
“What are you thinking?”
Ask you a question (e.g. “Is that
what I should do here?”)
Rephrase the question (e.g “ What
do you think you should do?”)
Get a task right or wrong
“Thank you , that is very helpful”"
“Thanks for the feedback”
Mess up
“Remember, you can’t make any
mistakes. You’re doing a great job.”
Are unsure if they have completed a
task and ask you
“Is this what you would do if you
were doing X at home?”
Criticize the design
“Thanks for the feedback”

23. userneeds! @anous
User Checks set up
• Test script with real tasks
• Real target users as participants
• Ideally conducted in context user on their own
device
• Record audio and screen capture
• 1 test moderator, 1 observer
(more observers are possible, but not too much
and really on the background)

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Test script-agenda
1. Introduction and questions up front
2. Situation sketch + think aloud instruction
3. Think aloud session
4. Evaluate session, open questions
5. End session - thank participant

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Example Introduction
Thank you for participating, we really appreciate it!
I’m <name> and there is one person besides me <name> is also here.
We’re helping a company to develop a new service / to optimize a website
This company cares about their customers and thinks it’s very important
to involve potential customers when developing new services. They want
the new service to be valuable for you.
That’s why we want to ask you some questions and along the way we’d
like show you the service/site. You can walk through it.
The interview takes about a 20 minutes. If you do not understand
something, or you want to add something, do not hesitate to interrupt me!
Do you mind if we record the session for future reference within our
organisation? Everything we discuss and record is confidential; we will not
share things without your permission!
Any questions?

26. userneeds! @anous
Task-think aloud instruction
You are going to see: a draft proposal of the service, which has
not yet been developed/ the site now.
<if a proptotype> The proposal is only images. It looks finished
and you can click through it, but most of it is not working yet.
It’s also not as fast as a normal app and you can’t do anything
wrong.
<Situation sketch and task>
Please open the link on your mobile phone and walk through
the app.
Can you please say things aloud? Not to me, but for
yourself? Everything you do or say is fine, eg. Also "what the
hell is this ?! ’.
You can start now by clicking the link

27. userneeds! @anous
Evaluation questions
Evaluation questions after the think aloud task, zoom in to what you
observed, like:
• You mentioned… what did you mean with that?
• I saw you doing… why? What did you expect? How would you call it?
• You didn’t go to … why not? What do you expect to find?
Also ask service, product or content specific questions, e.g.:
• You read this advice/text thoroughly, why?
• You were going back and fourth between product X and Y, why?
• You chose X and said something about the participants, what did you
mean with that ?

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a case!

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Tell us
• The main goal(s) of the site/application
• Target users
• Main tasks, main questions of the users
• Context of use
Do not tell us how you think the site works now!!!

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Volunteers
• 2 moderators
• 2 users

31. userneeds! @anous
Observers
• Yellow sticky notes for findings
• Objective, record behaviour!
• ONLY write down what you observe, like: “ mentions
X and doesn’t seem to not know what X is”; sighs
heavily on returning to; is confused about; does not
know where to go next, seems frustrated;….
• Other coloured sticky notes for possible
improvements that pop up in your mind, like:
feedback is missing; label is not understood; no
focus; X doesn’t meet expectation;…

32. userneeds! @anous
1st user check session!
20 min
!
2nd user check session!
20 min
!
Findings & improvements!
20 min
!

33. userneeds! @anous
The findings, issues
5 Evaluate
Findings
• Collect Findings
• Prioritize issues to be
solved: prioritize from the
business/user goals
perspective, rate them
Do this with thewhole team

34. userneeds! @anous
Design
improvements
5 Evaluate
Findings
• Improvements on every level, note down
(labeling, content, categorization, visual assets, interaction,
concept, flow, persuasion) > but keep the business/user goals
perspective in mind (focus)!
• Prioritize by Impact & Effort (matrix) or dot-vote
Choose improvement(s) to be re-tested
Do this with thewhole team

35. userneeds! @anous
Impact & Effort matrix
Impact: creates high/low value for users
effort: high/low effort in terms of time, knowledge, tools, people…
Source: http://www.innovationgames.com/impact-effort-matrix/
Do this with the
whole team
incl. decision
makers!

36. userneeds! @anous
Prepare to retest
6"
Hypothesis
and
improve
Improve the design
Set up the hypothesis (or more than one)
We believe that
[this statement is true (e.g adding social proof, better
labeling, visual cues… will…)]
We will know we are right/wrong when we have the
following result
[quantitative feedback; qualitative feedback; KPI;…}

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What do you take along?!
!

38. userneeds! @anous
Questions?!

39. userneeds! @anous
thank you!