DIY Usability Testing
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008Even 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.
