Summary

<aside> 💡 Usability testing is a powerful tool for improving websites.

• It involves watching people interact with what you're creating or have created, with the goal of making it easier to use.
• Testing should be done as early as possible in the design process, even from sketches.
• Recruit participants who reflect your user base but don't get hung up on it; people from diverse backgrounds can offer valuable insights.
• Conducting tests with just three users can identify most usability issues.
• During tests, give participants tasks to complete and encourage them to think aloud.
• After the test, ask probing questions to gain more insights.
• Regular, routine testing, such as once a month, helps identify and fix issues consistently. </aside>

Notes

Usability testing is one of the best things people can do to improve Web sites (Page 8)

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If you can afford to hire a usability professional to do your testing for you, 4 do it. (Page 11)

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Personally, if I had some money to spend on usability, I’d hire a professional to do an expert review and then do the testing myself. (Page 13)

what is “usability testing” (Page 18)

Watching people try to use what you’re creating/designing/building (or something you’ve already created/designed/built), with the intention of (a) making it easier for people to use or (b) proving that it is easy to use. (Page 18)

watching people actually use the thing (Page 18)

In a quantitative test, you’re interested in proving something (“Is this latest version better than the previous one?” “Is our site as easy to use as our competitors’ sites?”) and you do this by measuring things like success rate (how many people finish the tasks you give them to do) and time-on-task (how long it takes them). (Page 18)