User test: a quick guide

User-test-Thumbnail-3

At Rogervoice, we allow deaf people to make phone calls (thanks to captions generated by Artificial Intelligence or by visio-interpretation in French Sign Language).

Following our continuous improvement philosophy, we are looking for ways to better understand how our users are handling our application. To do so, we have to meet them. This is where the User Test comes in. I will show you how we did a simple one.

Step 1 : Define the test

  • 5 to 6 people, with different profiles, all potential users of our app.

  • A dedicated day of testing inside our office.

  • A pre-established scenario with 3 tasks to complete.

  • Dedicated software and hardware to record the users (with their approval).

▶️This is the best way to understand how is used the app and identify blocking points.

Step 2 : D-Day

Users are welcomed at our office (spread during the day). We meet and have a chat so that the user feels at ease. We make sure the user understands he is not being “tested”, only the app is.

The tasks are explained in a written document, we also explain orally and then we leave the room👋. This is important. It brings the user closer to normal conditions and makes him forget that we are recording. With this technique, we are sure to get the most normal behaviour possible.

In addition to recording, we watch the test in another room (through a simple Chrome Cast). We stream 3 videos: the user himself, the smartphone interface and of a top view of the phone (so that we can grasp the hand hesitations). About the software and hardware, you can check this great article out, it was very helpful for us.

 

User-test-setup
User-test-watch

Our User Test setup

Once all the tasks are done, we take a time with the user to debrief the session. His feedback is very important, both to improve the app itself and to improve the next User Test sessions. The user often talks about different problems than those we noticed during the test.

Step 3 : Team debrief

We gather the recorded User Tests, select the most interesting parts and organise an open movie session with every coworker who wants to participate. It’s important to have this meeting with different kinds of profiles because everyone will deduce different things from the same video.

Everybody is asked to write corrective actions on sticky notes (actions only) to bear with the problems seen on the video.

User-test-Thumbnail-3

The Rogervoice team brainstorming about the User Test

Once we read all the notes, everyone can vote for his two favorite actions. With those votes we can create a ranking that will be used by the Product team for future prioritizations that will be decided with the Tech team and our CEO.

This is how we gather great users feedbacks and work with the whole team to create an always better phone accessibility experience through an interface always easier to use.

Résumé

Send me an email

hi [at] alexandremallegol [dot] com

Find me online

Contact me for opportunities or just to say hello 👋

Alexandre Mallégol © 2020