Usability

• I hate those annoying mall survey people...
  • Usability doesn't care if they like or dislike it, rather how they use it
  • Usability testing is learning why people do something specifically related to your service or product
  • Usability testing is not a focus group
    You know those annoying mall vultures who try to get you to answer questions about the type of vacuum cleaner bags you prefer, or about what shape of ice cream container you normally buy? They stand next to the shoe store and jump on you faster than the perfume spray lady at Macys. That is not usability testing. That is just annoying. 
    
    Usability testing is not asking people about what they like and dislike, it's learning why people do something specifically related to your service or product. It's proactively going out and putting your hard work to the test, for results that determine the future of your project.
    
    Be wary of people who try to call a usability study a focus group. Focus groups are when you have a bunch of people sitting in a room talking about a similar topic. Usability testing is usually conducted one person at a time, and revolves around the tester performing a specific series of tasks.
    
    
    
    
    
• Do you like to watch?...
  • The Hawthorne Effect
  • Use a video camera
    Perhaps you've heard of the Hawthorne effect. Basically, the Hawthorne Effect states that people act differently when they know they are being watched.
    
    When you go to conduct your test, you may want to consider not being in the room with the person. If you do, you may find that they are not functioning the way they would normally if you weren't there. Instead, bring a video camera and place it in a place where the tester cannot see it readily. Study the actions of the tester from another room.
    
    
    
    
    
• You cannot read minds...
  • To learn, we must ask the right questions
  • We don't like to be criticized, don't take it personally
  • No website is immune to a need for usability
  • If you don't do it eventually, how are you going to know what problems to fix?
    Despite what my wife may believe, it is impossible to read a person's mind. The ONLY way to find out a person's opinion is to ask them. That's usability. So why isn't usability practiced as often as it should be? One reason may be that nobody likes to be criticized. It hurts our egos less to believe we've done our job perfectly. 
    
    The problem is that that kind of thinking can create big trouble for your program. Nobody is immune to the need of usability. I can tell you right now, without one unequivocal doubt, that each of you have some type of usability issue on your website, someplace, somehow. The question is... how are you going to find out about it so you can fix it?
    
    
    
    
• Usability testing costs too much...
  • No budget, no problem
  • We're all busy, but find time for important things
  • Call your best affiliates/customers and test them over the phone or online or in person, whatever
  • Offer small incentives for their valuable time if need be
    No budget? No problem. You have time right? Well, maybe not. I know how busy we all get being the end-all, be-all of the (IN quotes) "affiliate marketing team". However, you may want to clear out one afternoon a week to start interacting with your affiliates and/or customers. Here's the deal...Schedule a time with your best affiliate(s). Create a series of questions or tasks for them to answer or do regarding your program, or your catalog, and listen to them as they describe the method in which they go about it. Do this with anyone you can get your hands on. If they won't do it for free, offer whatever you can give. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to give you their opinions.
    
    
    
    
• Go home and try this...
  • Buy Steve Krug's book - 'Don't Make Me Think!'
  • Order a pizza and get a six pack of your favorite beverage
  • Test your neighbors, your family, the pizza guy! everyone!
  • Here are some quick ways to get started as soon as you get back to work.
  • The first thing you need to do is buy a copy of the best book ever written on usability. Steve Krug's 'Don't Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Usability". Steve's book is, in my opinion, the most comprehensive, easiest to read book on usability...period. After you read it, you should read it again. As a designer who has built websites for companies like Ernst & Young, Progressive Insurance and Sherwin Williams, I can tell you that the ideas and suggestions in this book made me feel like an absolute rookie.
    Order a pizza and buy some beer. Then invite you neighbor over. Ask you neighbor if they would try to do something on your website. Set them up and watch them go. Listen to their comments and watch their interaction with what you've created. Take mental notes, ask questions, but always listen!