THE CRITICAL NEED FOR USABILITY TESTING IN UX DESIGN
I have a running joke with my engineering husband that everything in the world is simply over-engineered. As humans, we take information, process it, and then try to find ways to make things easier and more efficient. The only problem is, we also tend to overthink and as a result we create more problems we need to solve. I see this a lot with websites.
Sometimes certain sites I visit have too much information, menus are convoluted or redundant, and when I want to do something simple, I have to navigate a complex web of problems that I know came from someone ironically attempting to make it easier for users like me. The best websites are the ones I can visit and find exactly what I need quickly. They aren’t overwhelming, spark an interest, and don’t get in the way of my experience as a user. To create a website that works this well, it’s important for designers to connect with their users and learn about their mental models. One of the best and most crucial ways to do this is through usability testing. This past week, I conducted my own user test on the Forest Society’s website. And the results proved how important usability testing is.
WHAT IS USABILITY TESTING IN UX DESIGN?
Usability testing is a research method where participants, one at a time, are shown a website and asked to share their honest feedback. They are given tasks to see how the user responds and performs said task. These tests can be done in person or remotely. Remember what I said about over-engineering earlier? Well, when designers can’t see their site with fresh eyes anymore, they tend to over-engineer their website. They over complicate, overthink, and confuse users. Usability testing allows designers to see their site through a fresh pair of unbiased eyes and make critical changes based on the results.
THE FOREST SOCIETY
This past week I conducted a usability test on the Forest Society website. The Forest Society is an organization in New Hampshire that protects the forests and land in NH. Their website serves as a one-stop shop for information surrounding their organization as well as place to learn about conservation efforts, attend events, volunteer, and become a member to help support outdoor initiatives. As someone who loves the outdoors and lived in New Hampshire, this is a site that means a lot to me. So, I was excited to learn more about how users who have never been to the site interact with it.
THE PARTICIPANTS
For this usability test I recruited three participants who are close friends and met with them over Zoom to record each session.
Participant 1: Erica
- Female
- Client Success Manager
- 34
- College graduate
- Favorite sites: Amazon, Instagram
- Spends at least 10 hours a day online between work and personal use
Participant 2: Maggie
- Female
- Content Operations Manager
- 28
- College graduate
- Favorite sites: Instagram, Twitter
- Spends at least 12 hours a day online between work and personal use
Participant 3: Michael
- Male
- R&D Manager
- 34
- College graduate
- Favorite sites: Instagram
- Spends at least 8-10 hours a day online between work and personal use
TASK-BASED USABILTY TESTS
Task-based usability tests focus on how users interact with the website when completing specific tasks. For the usability test I was conducting, I came up with five important tasks:
- Pretend you are a conservationist who recently moved to New Hampshire. You know you want to support conservation efforts every month, and you happened to find the Forest Society website. Your task is to find and sign up for monthly contributions to the Forest Society.
- Now, pretend you are a student at the University of New Hampshire, and you want to volunteer more because it looks great on your resume. How would you find and sign up for a volunteer opportunity?
- Pretend you traveled across country to NH because you heard the forests and mountains are beautiful. You decide to do a camping and hiking trip, but you’re not sure what the rules for camping are. Your task is to find what the rules are for camping.
- Let’s say you just moved to NH and you’re looking to connect with other outdoor enthusiasts. Find an event you can attend to meet locals.
- Lastly, pretend you are a professional photographer looking to photograph the beautiful birds in NH. You know there will be rules and regulations around this activity. Find information regarding commercial photography in NH forests.
WHAT I LEARNED
This usability test taught me a lot about UX design in general. For starters, humans are very complex and navigate problems differently from others. It was hard to not intervene when a button or solution was right in front of the participant and they were missing it. It was eye-opening to see how they would navigate menus, interpret information, and sometimes even get lost in the sites design structure. Each participant offered feedback that resulted in important recommendations for a proposed restructuring of the website. There were some critical errors spotted, and some suggestions that could be taken at face value. Each task presented its own set of design suggestions (see below).
TASK RESULTS
FULL RECORDED SESSIONS
https://youtu.be/ys3oOKCqn8chttps://youtu.be/Dbi2v4eP6Qghttps://youtu.be/ZUte1jqKrQE
CONCLUSION
If I ever find myself in the design chair creating a website that will serve users information, I know that I will turn to usability testing to make sure it’s functioning and serving the users properly. It’s easy to overcomplicate, or over-engineer, and lose ourselves in things we’re familiar with. The best way to avoid that is to bring in a fresh set of eyes and listen to your users.