Site Usability Testing
Website usability testing is a recommended procedure in order to ascertain the quality, structural and functional design of the website.
It is considered as an essential aspect of quality assurance and to learn how exactly the users would use the website. A set of individuals use the website under the guidance of a facilitator. This is not essentially a meeting or a focus group. The role of the facilitator is to guide the users throughout the testing procedure while he/she keeps taking notes.
When and what to Test during the Site Usability Testing
It is important to keep in mind that the subjects (people) that are chosen to take the test are not members of the family or company. The participant should not have any history of involvement with the website and the brand or company should be kept a secret when taking the test in order to get proper judgment. Ensure that the participants have a clear profile and each of the participants must be put at ease. The best time to take the usability test of the website is at the time of its conception or perhaps prior to planning a predevelopment. In the event of an unusual traffic analysis or when the web owner requires useful information about a specific page or site; site usability testing is highly recommended.
The very idea behind taking the site usability test is to find out whether the user understands the navigation system of the web page, finds it easy to locate certain features or links and get a drift about their basic interaction with the web page. The web page should be easy to navigate and interact with. While most WebPages could be extensive and comprehensive, they should not confuse the user and should make complete sense. Everything should be in an orderly and arranged and make user feel secure. Most importantly, the user should be able to accomplish a key task and find exactly what they are looking for.
For a single page, the site usability test lasts up to 5 minutes to maybe an hour for a complete website. Ideally, the subject or user who undertakes the test should be selected as a website’s targeted audience. This however, requires huge amount of effort and time.
An ideal place to take the test would be the subject’s home or workplace. This obviates the need for the user to learn new systems and is therefore more at ease. Moreover, the facilitator also gets an idea of how the website functions on different browsers, systems and modems. Preparing a script is another essential step. This also ensures that the facilitator is asking the same question and making the users perform the same task. The facilitator needs to state tasks in a clear voice and clarify any confidentiality issues. He/she should make them perform tasks that they think are the most challenging areas of the website.
Site Usability Test Report
Finally, the test report should be written while still fresh in the mind. Preferably, the problem areas should be marked as serious or less serious for later rectifications. Also, the facilitator should note down his/her recommendations.
