DIY Usability Testing
December 30th, 2008
Even if you’re operating on a shoestring, it pays to do some usability testing to gauge the performance of your Web site. Here are some simple things you can do without hiring a pricey consultant:
- Get some greenhorns. Recruit people who have never seen your site before. These people haven’t “learned” your site.
- Give ‘em a mission. Sit ‘em down at a computer and give them a specific set of tasks to perform (buy a widget, find the map, browse the gallery…)
- Talk it out. Have them talk out loud while navigating the site so you can hear what they are thinking.
- Must. Not. Lead. It’ll be hard, but resist the urge to assist or offer clues (now that you’ve got them talking out loud, they’ll ask questions).
- Fine tune. Make adjustments to your site based on the feedback.
- Lather, rinse, repeat.
You may also want to video tape the sessions to easily record commentary and movement through your site.
I’ve found one of the easiest ways to get people for usability testing is to use craigslist.