Channa Veldhuijsen – Specialist UsabilityTesting, National Library of The NetherlandsEuropeana Newspapers Workshop - September 16, 2013.

Principles of Usability Testing for Historic Newspapers

What is usability?

Usability means…

…making sure something works well, and that a person of average ability or experience can use it for its intended purpose without getting

hopelessly frustrated.

- Steve Krug

Usability lessons to keep in mind

• Don’t Make Me ThinkAs a rule, people don’t like to puzzle over how to do things. Web applications should explain themselves. Don’t make your website unnecessarily complicated; if users have to think too much, you’ll lose them.

• Don’t waste my timeMuch of people’s web use is motivated by the desire to save time. So make important features / content stand out or users will get frustrated.

• No Time for Small TalkMost users don’t have time for small talk; they want to get right to the beef. So get rid of irrelevant information on your website.

• We’re creatures of habitIf people find something that works, they usually stick to it. They’ll use a better way if they stumble across one, but they seldom look for one. So first impression is important!

• Take me back!Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state or they’ll use the back button. The back button is the most-used feature of web browsers (!), so make sure it works on your website.

• Make it easy to go homeHaving a home button in sight at all times offers reassurance to users that no matter how lost they may get, they can always start over.

Usability lessons to keep in mind

• Don’t lose searchSome people (search-dominant users and there are a lot of them among library ), will almost always look for a search box as they enter a site, so make sure they can find it.

• Be consistentUsers should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.

• What’s wrong?!Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicating the problem and constructively suggesting a solution.

• Help me!Even though your website should be easy to use, some people may still get lost. Help them along with a FAQ and/or tutorials.

Usability lessons to keep in mind

What is usability testing?

Watching people try to use what you’re creating/designing/building (or something you’ve already created/designed/built), with the intention of (a) making it easier for people to use or (b) proving that it is easy to use.

- Steve KrugThe aim is to observe people using the product to discover errors and areas of improvement. - Wikipedia

Why should you do it?

• All websites have problems and most problems are easy to find… if you try.

You probably won’t notice (some of the) usability problems on your website, because you know how the site works. Most of your users, on the other hand, don’t know the website and that makes all the difference.

• If you don’t try, your users will tell you about these problems once you have launched the website.

It is much easier to fix problems in the early stages of a project and it’s certainly better for your reputation.

• Watching users makes you a better designer; it makes you smarter about how people use things and how things can be designed for use.

Despite all the talk about “user-centered design” and “user experience”, relatively few designers/developers/stakeholders/etc have actually spent any time watching how people use websites. As a result, people end up designing for their abstract idea of users, based for the most part on themselves.

Why should you do it?

If it’s so valuable, why isn’t it a standard part of every web project?

Lack of time; most web projects

have tight schedules.

Most people don’t have any

experience with usability

testing, so they just don’t know how valuable it

is.

Reluctance to show work before it is finished.

The idea that web analytics give

more than enough insight on what

people are doing on the website.

How does it work? – Different types of testing

• Hallway testing: Bring in a few random people to test the website. The name of the technique refers to the fact that the testers should be random people who pass by in the hallway and not an in-house, trained group of testers.

• Remote Usability Testing: Instead of bringing the users to you, you go to them – electronically, via web tools and by talking on the phone. Easier recruiting (anybody with an internet connection), no travel required, easier scheduling, good results.

So why not do all tests remotely? Good results, but being right next to the participant gives even better results. You do lose something not being in the same room as the participant. Compare it to talking face to face vs. talking on the phone. It works, but you do spend more time clarifying things.

• A/B testing:Two versions of (part of) the website (A and B) are compared. Version A might be the currently used version, while version B is modified in some respect. Which one do users prefer?

• Expert review:This method relies on bringing in experts with experience in the field (possibly from companies that specialize in usability testing) to evaluate the usability of a product.

How does it work? – Different types of testing

How does it work? – Rounding up test participants

Find users via newsletters, social media, feedback

forms, the reading rooms, customer panels, etc.

Try to find users who reflect your

target audience, but don’t get hung up

about it.

The more users you watch, the fewer

new problems you’ll see. Three to eight

users per test is enough (depending on the scale of the

test).

Ask people who are not (yet)

familiar with the project/website.

How does it work? – What you should test

Decide what to test, based on:

•The things that people must be able to do in order to make your website a success.

(for instance; being able to open digital image of historic newspaper)

•The things that you suspect people are going to have trouble with; that may confuse people.

(features that have caused debate within the design team)

•The things that your other research suggest may not be easy to use.(based on the questions costumer support gets, web analytics, etc)

How does it work? – Attitude

• Stay neutralHide your personal agenda. You don’t want to influence the participants or your testing will lose its credibility. And never criticise the participant. Keep in mind that whatever problems the participant encounters, it is your website that is causing these problems, not the participant.

• Keep your promisesDon’t ask people to test your website if you are not going to be using their feedback. Make sure thetest results are integratedinto future developments of the website.

How does it work? – Roles

Moderator:

Right next to the participant.

Tells participants what to do, makes them feel comfortable, gets them to verbalize their thoughts, keeps them talking.

Does not give his/her own opnion about the website and does not answer questions; the participants have to figure it out on their own.

Observer:

In another room, but able to follow everything the participant does.

Takes notes. Particulary interested in moments when the participant gets confused or frustrated.

Conclusions and debriefing

Make a list of the most serious usability problems that the participants encountered.

To determine to most important problems, ask yourself:

•Will a lot of people experience this problem?•Will it cause a serious problem or just an inconvenience? Discuss the list with (your fellow) developers and

decide which problems you are going to fix first.

Keep the before mentioned usability lessons in mind! And…

•Balance is everything Make sure the interface keeps a good balance between text, image and empty space:

Try to avoid long texts; most people do not take the time to read properly and a lot of text will scare them away. If you have to use a lot of text: please use alinea’s, and subheadings.

Images and icons make your website visually attractive. Please don’t forget to use alt texts for images and icons.

Empty space creates overview; most people don’t have the patience to scan the whole website to find what they are looking for.

•Follow web standards; they exist for a reason. For instance; people expect to go to the top right corner to log out. Don’t confuse or frustrate users by putting the log out button somewhere else.

Usability: historic newspapers

• Don’t hide itIf the historic newspaper site is part of another website, make sure users immediately know where to look for the newspaper section.

• Let them browse!Users want to know what kind of content they can expect on your website (titles, years, more information about each title, etc) and they want to be able to browse through it.

• First things firstAsk yourself; what is the main feature on this page? Make sure the user’s attention is immediately drawn to it (in this case; search engine, digital image of newspaper).

• Open access is preferredIf you do ask users to pay, I am sure you’ll have your reasons for it. So please explain them to your users.

• Always enable users to give feedback on the website.It satisfies users to be able to ask questions or leave suggestions/complaints and it will give you a lot of useful information about the usability issues on your website.

Usability: historic newspapers

Recommendations

Books

•“Don’t Make Me Think” - Steve Krug

•“Rocket Surgery Made Easy” - Steve Krug

•“Handbook of Usability Testing” - Jeffrey Rubin & Dana Chisnell

•“A Practical Guide to Usability Testing”- Joseph Dumas & Janice Redish

•“Usability Testing Essentials: Ready, Set...Test!” - Carol Barnum

Recommendations

Websites

•http://www.sensible.com/ Steve Krug’s website; full of useful information on usabilty testing, including chapters from his books, video’s, etc

•http://www.nngroup.com/people/jakob-nielsen/Jakob Nielsen’s website; lots of useful articles on web usability, user testing, writing for the web, etc.

•http://www.usefulusability.com/24-usability-testing-tools/List of 24 usability testing tools

Questions?

Contact: channa.veldhuijsen@kb.nl