Overview

In this phase, you will be testing the site design with "real" users - people who haven't been part of the design team and who are as close as possible to the audience profile.

You will need to have completed a Usability Test Plan and Site Mockup before this phase.

These are the steps in this phase:

1. Recruiting testers
2. Assigning test-teams and roles
3. Practicing and preparing for test administration
4. Administering the test

By testers we mean people who will represent the users and test the site under the supervision and with the guidance of design-team members who are administring the test.

Qualifications of Testers

• Not familiar with the design (so not members of the design team)
• As close as possible to the target audience profiles or "personae"
• If it isn't possible to get someone close to a particular audience profile, someone with imagination and the ability to "act the part"
• Able to come during a time when the test administrators can give the test
• Willing to do it on a volunteer basis (for free - of course, in professional Web design there is a budget for paying testers, but this is a class...remember? ;-)

How many are Needed?

The ideal number of testers is ten for each target audience type, though two is the minimum. Larger numbers of testers are good not only for statistical reasons, but also to give everybody in the class a chance to take more than one test-administration role and get some practice with each. (This builds confidence, which is priceless during job interviews!)

Recruiting Suggestions

Recruiting is primarily the responsibility of students in the class, though the instructor may be able to help. Here are some possible sources of willing volunteers:

• Your classmates in other classes
• Your family members (siblings, older or younger; even parents and grandparents when these are available)
• Organizations that represent specific parts of the target audience.
• Former teachers or instructors

How Many Teams?

The class will be divided into testing teams; the number of teams will depend on the number of students in the class, the number of target audience types, and the number of volunteer testers you can recruit.

Test Administrator Roles

As discussed in the Usability Test Plan phase (W78L), two or three staff testers are needed, depending on which kind of prototype is to be used. Students should take a turn in each role in order to gain experience and confidence, unless there are too few tester-volunteers to make that possible. The roles are:

• Presenter: the person who instructs the user in how to go about the test, and reads the scenarios to them. The presenter is the only member of the testing team who should talk to the user during the test; otherwise, the user can easily get distracted or confused. The presenter should encourage the user to "think aloud" so the Observer can make note of their impressions and ideas.
• Observer: this person makes detailed notes on the user's actions during the test. Often, the observer records the number of seconds it takes for the user to complete a goal. Observerswill need to take notes quickly and legibly.
• Computer: if paper prototypes are used, there has to be someone to simulate the action of the computer by changing pages and presenting pop-ups and dialog boxes. This person should know the screens well, and organize them for quick retrieval during the test.

Preparation Checklist

• Equipment
  • A computer with appropriate connection is available at the scheduled time
  • It is possible to simulate the test scenario on the available equipment
• Test materials
  • Copies of the test scenario are available to everyone on the test-administration team
  • Site mockups (either on paper or on computer) are available
  • There are note pages prepared with scenario and site information so the Observer can make observations quickly and effectively
• Volunteer Testers
  • Enough testers have been recruited (10 ideally; 2 minimum)
  • Testers have agreed to be present at the appropriate time
  • Testers have been briefed about the testing procedure and what is expected of them (but not about the specific scenarios they will test)
  • Testers have been reminded by a phone call or email the day before testing

Practice

Practicing is important, because lack of practice can lead to mistakes, and mistakes can lead to ruined test sessions. One of the main goals of user testing is to capture what a use experiences the first time they see the Web site. So if the first session with a user is spoiled, it may be necessary to recruit another volunteer who has never seen the site.

Review the section of W80c that discusses what you need to know and what your attitude should be. Keep this in mind as you practice with fellow members of the development team. You may want to go through each scenario two or three times, or until you feel quite familiar with the routine. Use the information linked in the following section to guide you through both the practice sessions as well as the real test sessions.

There are four parts to administering a user test session. Review the information from module W80c linked here, and use them to guide you through the testing:

1. Welcoming
2. Presenting
3. Making notes
4. Getting user reactions

1. Individual team members get their part of this assignment to the Team Leader by email attachment, or some other method mutually agreed upon in discussion.
2. Team Leader makes sure all documents in the milestone of which this is a part are gathered together in a compatible form.
3. Team Leader and/or content specialist check for correct spelling and English usage.
4. Team leader verifies that material submitted meets the requirements.
5. Team leader or content specialist FTP the material to the team's Web site, informing the instructor and other team members by emailing to them the URI.