Earlier we wrote about the difference between quantitative usability measurements, which answer the question: What are users doing? and qualitative measurements (for example, as provided by TryMyUi), which answer Why are they doing what they are doing? In this article Jeff Sauro provides a good example.
Providing a free test and asking for a credit card…
We provide a free test for new users. However, we do ask that the user have a valid credit card. Although we don’t charge the credit card (we simply make sure it’s valid), a couple of our prospective customers have been upset that we ask for a credit card at all. We agree that in the world of free, or even freemium services, it’s unusual to ask for a credit.. Read More
3 facets defining the user experience
At TryMyUI we review a lot of user testing videos. In these narrated videos the tester verbalizes her thoughts as she performs the tasks in the usability test. In this free-form mode, we are actually getting information that points to 3 characteristics that affect the user experience.
The One Minute Usability Guide
Those of us old enough to remember the One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson will appreciate the echoes in this effort – The Fable of the User-Centred Designer, from David Travis of UserFocus.
More on the ideal user
When most people think of performing usability testing, they think of using novices to see if the website is apparent to someone with very little experience. However, having now reviewed several hundred user tests done by both novice and experienced internet users, we’ve realized that both yield interesting information. The novice user is interesting because they don’t have a predictable model in their minds, so it’s illuminating to see how.. Read More
Gratuitously different…
I wonder if the programmer did this just for the thrill of the double-take or if he/she was more comfortable with languages like Arabic that read right to left.
Looking for the ideal usability tester…
Let’s assume we’re about to embark on a user experience study and want to solicit the opinions of a handful of users, be it for a moderated or unmoderated study. How should we decide what users to pick and listen to? Would any person off the street work, or are there key criteria we should pay attention to?
Umm, did I unsubscribe?
I know you don’t want me to unsubscribe, but please make it a bit more compelling…
How many users is enough?
Can you really learn much from viewing videos of a handful of users?
What about the user?
What do we need to know about our users, and how can we get some of this information?
