1. Three ways to help users understand your informationA usability workshop for World Usability Day Whitney Quesenbery Ginny RedishKate Walser November 10, 2010

2. Topics for this workshop Introduction to usability and usability techniques Three techniques for today Persona / story walk-through Hallway review Informal usability test

3. Introduction to usability and usability techniques Poster from Usability Professionals’ Association showing an overview of a user-centered design approach

4. Plain language and usabilitygo hand in hand Plain language means that people can Find what they need Understand what they find Use the information to meet their goals Usability means that people can meet their goals Effectively (completely, accurately) Efficiently (in an appropriate amount of time) With satisfaction

5. Usability is about people All kinds of people doing all kinds of things online and offline Photo credits iStockphoto, russeljsmith, Trace Center

6. Different types ofpeople…doing differenttasks… have differentusability needsdepending on their goals and tasks For this person efficiency and effectiveness are the most important dimensions. For this person, easy to learn and error tolerant are the most important dimensions.

7. Usability focuses on users’ behavior Understanding users' needs Designing to meet those needs Making sure you have met those needs − in the time and effort that users are willing to spend Attitudes and satisfaction are important. But most important is what people dowith your document or web site.

8. Usability is a toolkit of techniques Do a final usability testto compare to benchmark Analyze and measurefor maintenance Prototype (or write drafts) iteratively Create a style guide and templates Inventory your content Develop your content strategy Do card sorting Do persona / story walk-throughs Set measurableusability goals Do hallway reviews Write relevant stories Do rapid, informal iterative usability testing Create personas Conduct benchmark usability tests Watch, listen to, and talk with users as they work(contextual interviews) Use each technique − when you need it and at the right scale. Analyze search logs and server logs Articulate your business goals

9. Persona / storywalk-through When you have no timeand no access to users Persona of a commuter, created in a workshop at the Society for Technical Communication

10. What is a persona / story walk-through? A usability technique that takes no special equipment or set up gets your whole team involved in the processAnd can even be a bit of fun! You can do this (and any of our techniques) with a document (paper, web-based) an entire web site or a partial web site a specific web topic or even one web page We'll call this your "content.”

11. Step 1: Don’t look at it yet Sounds contradictory?You have only one chance to look at somethingfor the first time and to think about it like a new user.If you look at it before you try to use it, you’ll see it differently.If you are reviewing your own material, set it aside for a fewhours before you do the persona / story walk-through.

12. Step 2. Write down your goals for your content Your site visitors' goals (and their reality) Your organization'sgoals for this specific document or content Success − for youand your users Answer people's questions about your topic Have people complete a transaction correctly without calling Get more people to fill out a form correctly without calling

13. Step 3: Create a mini-persona Who is using your content? Who is a typical person for this content? What adjectives or phrases describe this person?(busy? anxious? curious? nervous? knows relevant technical vocabulary? or not?done this lots of times or never before?) Give that person a name, an age,a few personal characteristics Think about how well you know this person, and how much they are − or are not − like you. Mariella Garcia

14. Step 4: Tell that persona's story related to your content Why has that person come to your content? What is your persona's goal? What is your persona trying to do? looking for? What does your persona expect to find? to happen?

15. Step 5: Walk through your persona's story as the persona "Channel" your persona. Start where your persona would in the story. When / how would your persona get the document?(Open the envelope.) Where would your persona start in the web story?(Know the URL? Go to Google?) Go through the content (document, web site, web topic, web page) as if you were the persona carrying out the persona's story. Take notes of what works well and what does not.

16. Try it! We'll work on this example: Home page of the Tricare web site. Tricare is the medical insurance company for military personnel, retirees, and their families. It offers several plans with health, dental, pharmaceutical coverage. The site must serve current and new customers. That should be enough for you to set up a persona / story walk-through.

17. Try it! Work with a neighbor Don't look at it yet. Write down Tricare's goal(s) for the web site. Create a mini-persona of one typical user of the Tricare web site. Write the start of the persona's story. Why is your persona coming to the Tricare site?What does your persona expect to happen? Now be your persona doing the persona's storyand make notes about how well the Tricare home page works or does not work for your persona and your persona's story.

18. Considering what you learned Positives: Did any part of what you were reviewing work well? Concerns Relationship problems Are the organization's goals and the persona's goals in alignment? How well does the site satisfy either set of goals? Conversation problems Are the headings, text, and images meaningful to your persona? Did your persona understand the words? find where to click? Appearance problems Does it look tidy and attractive? Is space used well?

19. Making use of what you learned Reporting Include at least one positive comment.(You want to keep what is working well.) Have examples of problems from the persona’s perspective. Think about how critical the problems are. Think about what keeps the persona from being successful. Fixing Yes, fix the easy-to-fix problems. But fixing the one or two most critical problems is much more important.

20. A bit more about being user-centered What we’ve just done is a persona / story walk-through The user's story – the persona and goal – guides the review. Your knowledge of usability and good design helps you understand the problems the persona encounters. Guidelines or a checklist can help you keep important points in mind. Ginny did a large review with this technique for AARP.

21. What are the benefits and risks of this technique? Benefits Easy to do. Doesn't need users, space, equipment. Risks You may know less about these users than you think. Methods that rely only on guidelines are known to be rather poor at predicting actual problems. You (or your colleagues and managers) may resist doing usability testing because the review seems good enough. You become over-confident.

22. Doing a little bit more Get a second opinion. More people means more insights and less chance of getting fixated on a minor issue. Decide whether you want more or less expertisein the persona and the reviewers. Add a wider coverage of people and tasks. Include more personas, especially those that contrast. Include more stories for each persona. Make the report more comprehensive − if that will actually accomplish what you need. More detailed descriptions of problems. Include screenshots to point to specific problems.

23. Hallway reviews Getting input from morepeople in your organization Post-it notes with comments about a home page (portal) for students who are new to the Open University

24. What is a hallway review? A usability and design technique to capture feedback from Target users Team members People in the organization Customers Post screenshots or examples of the information in Meeting rooms Hallways Online (using tools like Notable − screen shot and link on a later slide)

25. Step 1: Decide what to review Which do you want to review? Information – use a printout of the wording Information plus design – use a screenshot or wireframe What do you want hallway reviewers to critique? Clarity – can someone read and understand it easily? Tone – does it set the right tone? Context – is there enough to help with understanding? “Enablers” – do the surrounding elements (design, headings, label, etc.) help reinforce the message?

26. Step 2: Think of questions AND bounds Help frame the feedback Post personas and sample scenarios / tasks with questions to gauge ability to complete scenario (e.g., What’s the penalty for paying late? Where did you find the answer?) Post thought-provoking questions (samples on next slide) What will hallway reviewers know that your personas won’t? Think of the game “Taboo” Background information Internal, insider words, phrases

27. Sample questions Could you answer [question 1]? If so, where did you find the information? How clear is the information? What else would the reader need to know to understand thisinformation? Are there any design elements that promote understanding? What would you suggest rewording? Are there any words your friends, family, or colleagues wouldhave trouble understanding?

28. Step 3: Find the right place High-traffic areas when you need… Volume Diverse population Lower-traffic areas, but with RIGHT people Subject matter experts Help desk Trainers

29. Step 4: Gather materials and post Get approval / clearance if needed Sample materials Large easel sticky notes Print-outs of site pages or pamphlets Post-it notes (arrow post-it notes too!) Tape Pens, markers Answer drop-box (if you want to review answers to questions)

30. Or set up an online area to collect Notable – http://www.notableapp.com flickr – http://www.flickr.com To give people “Add a note” option, go to You > Your Account > Privacy & Permissions

31. Step 5: Check in and observe See reactions as people encounter the review Check response rate Post new copies of screenshots if response rate is good Adjust the “framing” if needed Provide more clarification on task Follow up on questions, results as appropriate

32. Try it! We'll work on this example: Information that the Washington State Department of Revenuewrote for every business owner in the state. Organization's goals: If business owner owes this tax, pay it. If business owner does not owe this tax, go on record to say that. Persona: Owner of a small business with 10 or fewer employees. Is very busy; needs to spend most of time focused on the business. Doesn't want to get in trouble with Revenue, but doesn't know tax law or tax language. Gets a lot of mail from a lot of sources.

33. Considering what you learned Positives: Did your reviewers make any positive comments? Concerns: What did you learn from reviewers' comments about - Relationship problems Are the organization's goals and the persona's goals in alignment? How well does the site satisfy either set of goals? Conversation problems Are the headings, text, and images meaningful to your persona? Did your persona understand the words? find where to click? Appearance problems Does it look tidy and attractive? Is space used well?

34. What are the benefits and risks of this technique? Benefits Quick and easy Cheap Fewer time constraints than scheduled sessions Can reach more reviewers and cover more ground Risks More often, gather feedback from insiders – less often, target users Similar challenges to focus groups – one reviewer’s commentsmay influence another Little chance to learn more about the comments

35. Can we lessen the risks? Separate the markings from the commentsAsk reviewers to Initial / mark the area they want to critique Jot down the comments / ideas and drop in a box andreference the mark (e.g., KW1) Spread out the hallway reviews Requires more effort aggregating feedback Distributes the number of comments that could bias otherreviewers across multiple copies Use copies of the same screenshots and give each its own“focus” (e.g., clarity, tone, etc.)

36. Usability testing Informal testing with people who use your information Informal usability testing of voting materials at the Farmer's Market in Olympia, Washington

37. What is a usability test? Observe real people using something in a realisticor semi-realistic environment Not just asking them about it See how easily real people find what they need to accomplish a task Confirm or challenge assumptions Improve materials Don’t argue about design or language. Test with real users. Learn where and how to prevent mistakes or help peoplerecover from mistakes. Find where the information is not "plain" enough for peopleto revise it.

38. How easily can we learn from users? Gathering feedback from people can be as simple aswatching someone use something to find information. Let them explore the material as they would really do. Don’t explain or demo. Watch what they do. Note where they do and do not read. Listen to their comments. Take their problems seriously.

39. How easily can we learn from users? Usability testingdoes not have to be formallengthy, or expensive. You don’t need a formal laboratory 100s of participants special equipment special recording systems Poster from Washington State

40. Why not do this in a group? In focus groups, you get preferences opinions group consensus In a usability test, you get individual behavior and performance what happened, as well as why

41. What do you need for a usability test? What The material you want to test Where A quiet room (Maybe. We know of very successful usability testing in an open marketplace, a hangar at an air show, the chemotherapy center at the NIHClinical Center.) Who Moderator Observer/note-taker Users: 3 − 6 people, one at a time

42. The moderator runs the session Impartial, unbiased, observing No teaching! Listen and watch Open-ended questions: Why?How? What were you doing? Moderator roles: Flight attendant: Ensuring safety and comfort Scientist: Planning, maintaining objectivity, managing data

43. Briefing the user Thanks for trying out this […]. Your doing this will help improve this material. Note: If you never use the words "test" or "evaluate" with the user,you will not have to say "We are not testing you." You can stop anytime. Your involvement will be confidential. If you get stuck or confused, say so. Please let me know what you are thinking as you use this …

44. Techniques to maximize information If the user says, “hmmm” or “oops” or “I wonder…” Say, “What questions do you have right now?” If you are doing "think aloud" and the user is silent for 10 or 20 seconds (count!) Say, “What are you thinking?” If users stop because they think they're done or they are stuck (and you think there’s a problem) Summarize what you saw the user do. Ask "What would you do now?"

45. Think aloud during − or after the task Consider asking people to “think aloud” as they work What they’re doing Why they’re doing it If it's a usability test that you can't do with think aloud,go back over the material Ask the participant to walk you through what they did and why. Use the material as a guide for the discussion. Ask if anything was confusing or frustrating.

46. Different ways of having people try outdifferent materials Web site where you are observing people both find andunderstand information Ask participants for their own scenarios. (Have you used this site? What for? Please show me how you did that with this site. or Would you be likely to use this site? What for? Please show me how you would do that with this site.) Give participants scenarios you have written. (Write scenarios that will have people use parts of the site you are worried about.) Use both of these with their own scenario first.

47. Different ways of having people try outdifferent materials Single document (letter, notice, one web page) Paraphrase: Have participants read a section themselves (depending on the document that could be a sentence, a paragraph, a heading and the text under the heading) tell you in their own words what it means (note what they get right, what they get wrong, and what they leave out) Read, comment, and answer questions: Have participants go through the document as they would if you were not there, while commenting to you with their reactions as they go through the document. Then ask them questions about facts from the document. (You can write the questions like scenarios.)

48. Observers and note-takers Watch quietly. Do not distract the person participating in the usability test. Do not react to anything that happens during the test. No laughing, gasps, shaking your head, whispering. Do not ask questions or try to discuss the test with the participant.

49. Observers and note-takers Take good notes. Write down what you see and hear. Be specific. Not "he's confused." But "he said he doesn't know what APR means." Don't translate. Put down the user's words. Don't infer the user's reasons for doing something. (The moderator may ask as it is happening. If not, at the end, you may be able to ask the moderator to take the user back to the event and ask what was happening then.) Don't solve problems while taking notes. That's for later. It will take all your concentration to note what is happening.

50. Observers and note-takers Watch (and listen) for whether the user has any trouble understanding or following instructions? asks questions or appears confused? has to correct mistakes or re-read information? has any comments?

51. Watch and listen to a demostration We'll demonstrate a short usability test. You are all observers / note-takers.

52. Try it Break into small groups (3-4 people) Choose 1 person to be the participant Choose 1 person to be the moderator Others observe and take notes Participants all come up to the front to get a briefing while the moderators and observers become familiar with the document we are going to have you try out.

53. Considering what you learned Positives: Did any part of what you were testing work well? Concerns Relationship problems Are the organization's goals and the persona's goals in alignment? How well does the site satisfy either set of goals? Conversation problems Are the headings, text, and images meaningful to your persona? Did your persona understand the words? find where to click? Appearance problems Does it look tidy and attractive? Is space used well?

54. Base your findings on what the users did and said Did they read or use the information accurately? Were there any signs of hesitation or confusion? misreadings or misunderstandings? requests for assistance? adaptive behavior?(taking out reading glasses, moving closer to the document, holding the paper up to the light − could all be signs of problems with the information design) surprises? other expressions of emotion (anger, disgust, delight, satisfaction)− what specific aspects of the materials were those about?

55. Report on what you observed in the test How you report depends very much on your situationand the usability maturity of the organization. Reports can range from a brief memo of what was agreed on in a debriefing meeting (Everyone involved observed sessions, attended the meeting, and will fix the problems.) a short report with very brief identifying information, and then bulleted lists or tables of findings and recommendations(Usability testing is well understood and people just need the results to act on.) a detailed report with an explanation of usability testing, details of what you did, quantitative and qualitative results, video clips and screen shots, recommendations

56. Can we really find problems runningusability tests with so few people? Yes! This is not “science” but a way to find problems…and fix them before the material is released. Experience tells us that usability testing uncovers problems more clearly than any other method. Seeing the problem is the first step to solving it.

57. Rocket Surgery technique Steve Krug's "do it yourself" method test on a regular schedule, a morning a month test to get answers to a limited number of issues 3 participants (one hour each) observers note 3 insights from each of the 3 sessions debrief and decide immediately after the sessions to participate in decisions based on the test,you must observe at least on session no report! just a brief memo of what the team will change inthe next month tweak to fix; just do what is needed to eliminate the problems

58. Usability is a toolkit of techniques Do a final usability testto compare to benchmark Analyze and measurefor maintenance Prototype (or write drafts) iteratively Create a style guide and templates Inventory your content Develop your content strategy Do card sorting Do persona / story walk-throughs Set measurableusability goals Do hallway reviews Write relevant stories Do rapid, informal iterative usability testing Create personas Conduct benchmark usability tests Watch, listen to, and talk with users as they work(contextual interviews) Use each technique − when you need it and at the right scale. Analyze search logs and server logs Articulate your business goals

59. Usability andplain languagemust be designed in They can’t be piled on top after the rest of the design is done!

60. Plain language matters. The Center advocates for clear communication and plain language everywhere − in government, business, non-profits, and universities. www.centerforplainlanguage.org Twitter @plain_language

61. We support those who use plain language, train those who should use plain language, and urge people to demand plain language in all the documents they receive, read, and use.

63. WonderMark awards, telling the world what’s not plain.

64. Demand to Understand, encouraging everyone to demand clear communications before they sign an agreement.

66. Books on usability and plain language Handbook of Usability Testing (2nd Edition) by Jeffrey Rubin and Dana Chisnell Letting Go of the Words by Ginny Redish Rocket Surgery Made Easy (The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems)by Steve Krug Storytelling for User Experience by Whitney Quesenbery and Kevin Brooks

67. Janice (Ginny) RedishRedish & Associateswww.redish.net Whitney QuesenberyWQusabilitywww.wqusability.com Kate WalserCX Insightswww.cxinsights.com

70. Clarity? – Can someone read and understand it easily?

71. Tone? – Does it set the right tone?

72. Enablers? – Do the design, headings, and labels help people "get" the m essage?Reviewer comments Capture your reviewers' comments. Mark each as positive / negative,

74. Style and tone – Is the tone of the writing and design style appropriate? Does the design and structure of the information help them find specific information quickly?

75. Actions? – What actions might they take after reading this brochure?Do you have any specific questions you want the usability test to answer?

76. Introduction Hi, my name is _____________, and I’m going to be working with you today. A few of my colleagues are here as well to help out. [Introduce them]. This session will take about 15 minutes. I’ll ask you to read a short brochure, and then talk to me about it. Our goal is to see how well the brochure works for different people, so we can improve it. Please don’t worry that you are going to hurt our feelings. We’re doing this to learn, so your honest reactions will help us the most. Before we get started, I have a few quick questions for you. First, what branch of the service were you in? When were you discharged? Have you received any insurance or disability payments related to your service? Going through the brochure The first thing I’d like you do to is take this brochure. Please do whatever you would you do if someone gave you this brochure or you picked it up, As you go through it, if there is anything you don’t understand or want to talk about when you are done, use this pen to make a mark near it. Let them go all the way through the brochure. Observe their progress, but don’t interrupt. When they are done (they say they are or their body language tells you they are)… Great. Could you tell me, in your own words, what this brochure is about? Thanks. Now, let’s look at the things you marked. Go over each mark, asking them about why they marked it. Now, I have a few questions for you: • Is this a service you would use? Why or why not? • Are there any requirements to be eligible to use it? • Who provides this service? • What do you get from this service? • If you wanted to use the service, how would you contact them? That’s all of my questions. Do you have any comments? Watap up Thank you… Give them their incentive (or remind them that it will be sent to them). Thank them and show them out. Session outline (from the practice test)