Usability Studies - The Why's and How's

"Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.

Usability is defined by five quality components:

• Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
• Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
• Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
• Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
• Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?" (Jakob Nielson - Usability 101)

Usability isn't just something web designers "do"... or talk about... its the life-blood of your site. Study after study has shown that you have very little time to capture a user's attention. If you do manage to do that... you must provide them with an experience that makes them want to stay... and come back. THAT'S USABILITY.

Rod Martin (2nd from left) receives the award for Answers in Genesis at the 2006 NRB Convention in Dallas, Tx.

In the past, usability studies have been daunting affairs. In 2005, Answers in Genesis did a major overhaul of their website. Towards the end of phase 1, we brought in ten people for a usability study. We used a conference room at a local hotel where we could set up multiple cameras to capture the user and the computer screen. Wires ran around the corner of the room to a viewing area where we had monitors set up to watch the test subject and take notes. Even though we tried to make it "comfortable", it clearly was not. Users walked by the equipment, and more than one of them grimmaced.

That said, the tests were hugely successful and we made some fairly important changes based on their input. In 2006, the site won the NRB Website of the Year for design and usability!

We've come a long way in 4 years! Today, we do usability studies with just a computer - its all built in! The user sits down with one person who leads them through a series of pre-determined tasks set by the client and everything is captured in real-time.

• Hardware: MacBook Pro with iSight camera built in.
• Software: Screenflow by Telestream (fantastic software...)

Take a look at the clip below.

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If your site isn't doing everything you had hoped... perhaps it needs a tune-up! Do you know how your users find things on your site? Can you tell what's successful and what isn't? We can perform a usabilty study anywhere! Let us know how we can help you. Contact us for a free consult and discussion on usability!