Usability Testing Services and Solutions

Usability Testing

Usability testing is a form of testing done from an end-user’s perspective to determine if the system is user friendly. It basically evaluates the ease with which the user interfaces can be used. It is a process used in user centred interaction design to evaluate a product or service by testing it on users. Products which are generally benefited from user testing are web sites or applications, consumer products, food, computer interfaces, documents and devices. The goal of such testing is to identify any usability problems, collect quantitative and qualitative data and establish user’s fulfilment with the product or service.Usability testing has different techniques and strategies for executing the tests. There are five major components of usability testing on which it resides and they are

LEARNABILITY

It determines how long it takes to user to understand the basic tasks of the software.

EFFICIENCY

It checks the how fast can users perform on the specific software.

ERRORS

It checks the number of times error have occurred and potential of those errors.

SATISFACTION

It finds the convenience and satisfaction of the user while working with the software.

Benefits of Usability Testing

Here is the list of various benefits and advantages that can be attained with the help of usability testing

It increases the user’s satisfaction and trust.
It decreases the development and redesign costs.
It is highly economical and provides better quality software.
It helps in better understanding of user’s requirements.
It helps in acquiring truthful and fruitful feedback of the system.
It detects important errors and loopholes of the application which will not be identified by the developer.
It identifies the issue and problem before the product is launched, thus helps in strengthening company’s reputation.
It can be easily modified to cover other type of testing like functional testing, unit testing, system integration testing etc.
It identifies the issue and problem before the product is launched, thus helps in strengthening company’s reputation.

Process of
Usability Testing

PLANNING

This is the first phase of usability testing in which the goals and objective of tests has to be identified. Critical functionalities and objectives of the software should be determined and report format has to be decided.

RECRUITING

As the name shows in this phase the usability testers are to be recruited on the basis of usability test plan. Testers are selected on various demographic and professional grounds according to the set requirement of the test design.

EXECUTE THE TEST

After the above steps are done usability test team starts the test to gather the required output and information. Usability team is at times assisted by test design team to provide them a better picture of what is required.

DATA ANALYSIS

It is done by performing on users to evaluate the compatibility of product with users.

PREPARE THE REPORT

The final step of testing is to prepare a report of the whole process of testing from test cases to output. The report s to be presented to all the stakeholders.

Essential Practices of
Usability Testing

While planning and executing the usability testing some of the practices should definitely get followed.It is advisable to execute the usability testing throughout the whole designing process to validate that all the usability requirements have been met in the final product or service. Some of the essential practices to make the testing more effective and productive are

Testers should focus on critical and frequently used functionalities.
Usability testers should be tested carefully to meet the requirements of real time users.
Do not panic if the testing result shows error and failure because testing is an opportunity to improve.
For more accurate and detailed analysis of output, a single observer should be assigned to each tester.
Testing should be started at the early stage of design and development. Testing should not be done at eleventh hour.

Usability Testing Tools

Usability testing gets so much easy and productive with the help of various usability testing tool available in the market. Some of the best usability testing tools to make the product more efficient are

SILVERBACK

MORAE

USERZOOM

CAMTASIA

CRAZY EGG

CLICKTALE

USABILIA

GHOSTREC

OPTIMIZELY

FIVE SECOND TEST

QUALAROO

FEEDBACK ARMY

MECHANICAL TURK

LOPP11

OPEN HALLWAY

USERTESTING.COM

WHY ISTUDIO

Usability testing is the best method to ensure that your product achieves its goal quickly and efficiently. It enhances the productivity of the software to meet the demands of consumers and builds consumer’s loyalty for the product. Executing the usability test is a sure shot way of improving the sales and growth chart of any company. With its various benefits and significance in determining product life cycle and enhancing its resourcefulness there cannot be any alternative to usability testing.