Skip to main content

UX Study Note 5: Usability Evaluation Techniques

What is the purpose of usability evaluation? When would you like to consider using usability? What are the key techniques to conduct usability evaluation?

Key Study Notes for the Course:
What is the purpose of usability evaluation?
The purpose behinds usability evaluation is to ensure the design is fit for purpose. You might want to use usability when you were accessing the usability of an existing website, refining the design or embarking a new design.
Key Techniques of Usability Evaluation:
  • Usability walkthrough
It is an informal way to doing usability evaluation. It often involves a rough mock up.
  • Usability testing
Usability testing is often done in a controlled environment and  using real users of the website. It is one on one session. The idea is to reveal usability issues early and help recommend fixes to the design.
Five phases of a usability testing:
  • Introduction and formalities
  • Pre-test session: give some questionnaires to fill out
  • Crux of the testing: give users some scenarios
  • Post-test: find what they did
  • Debrief: what happen after the test
  • Expert Review
It is also called heuristic evaluation which involves best practice guidelines for website
The goal is to be thinking about your user goals and business goals.
  • Competitor analysis
The whole idea is to pick the best from each website to help build a strategy to improve your website.

Learning Insight:
When you plan to conduct usability evaluation, you need to be clear about the purpose (address the issue, refine the design, or create a new design), think about the scope,  users’ needs, context, and budget.
After you complete the usability evaluation, you need to analyze the cause of the problem, the patterns of user behaviors, and then speak with your clients about the key findings.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Starbucks: Three Main Benefits For Writing Customer Name On The Cup

Whenever I order a small Starbucks coffee, I am always asked "What's your first name?" by a cashier. Even I was the only person to order, they still asked my name. Not only Starbucks, now many other bubble tea brands such as Vivi, Coco, Gong Tea also start calling customer's names. Why does Starbucks write customer name on the cup? What're the benefits to do that? Image from writingelves.com Self-Promotion In the beginning, Starbucks wrote customer names because they received too many orders. Marking down names would prevent mistakes. Later on, Starbucks found that writing names do not only improve work efficiency but also increase brand awareness.   Sometimes (most times) Starbucks spell the wrong name. You think customers will get angry? Actually no. In contrast, people feel Starbucks is not only a coffee shop but also a coffee shop with its own personality.  Image From Memeguy Some customers also make fun with Starbucks. They come up with...

Five Useful Tips for Creating Effective Google Adwords Campaign

Google Ads is one of the most effective ways to deliver quick and desirable business results. In order to get a better performance than competitors', it is very important for marketers to make the most relevant ads to meet customers' needs and help them to select the best search choice(s).  Tip One: Decide your campaign goals Depends on your business type and grow stage, you need to have a clear goal before launching any campaign. Having a clear goal will help you select the most relevant ad format(s) and Google Network(s) to show your ads and also reach potential target customers effectively. There are three common goals for advertisers: Driving website traffic Increasing brand awareness Boosting sales (driving leads) Different goals will require creating relevant ad formats in different networks. Google Adwords has two main networks to show your ads: Search Network Your ads can appear throughout sites on the Google Search Network. If you want to re...

Digital Campaign Case Study: How Does Coca-Cola “Taste the Feeling”Make Every Moment Special?

Coca-Cola is one of the highest recognition brands globally. Almost everyone in the world knows Coca-Cola and has drunk it. The unique taste of Coke is unforgettable, and that’s why so many people love it. Why does Coke so unforgettable? The taste and refreshment of Coke? Of course, it is one of the key reason.  The other reason is its brand creative marketing message.  Coca-Cola company have been creating different marketing campaign across the world every year to reinforce the brand culture. Coke is not a simple product anymore.  It is our lifestyle! In the January of 2016,  Coca-Cola launched new marketing campaign called “Taste The Feeling”. According to  Coca-Cola Stories , the central message of “Taste The Feeling” is to “bring the idea that drinking a Coca-Cola is a simple pleasure that makes everyday moments more special.” (Jay Moye) This campaign message was distributed through different channels such as TV commercials, print, outdoor, in-store, ...