Conducting usability tests not only clarified many uncertainties but also brought to light aspects we hadn't previously considered
We conducted usability tests with 5 participants whose first language is French. As a result, some sessions ran longer, and the project lead occasionally had to step in to translate English words into French. Additionally, a few sessions had to be rescheduled due to poor network connections.
Session planning
1. Test setup
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Thoroughly prepare the script in advance.
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Conduct a pilot study before the session.
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Utilize Zoom and Google Form for tasks, including the distribution of the SUS survey.
2. Team
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A team consisting of 3 UX Designers.
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1 Project Lead.
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Each session includes 1 moderator, 1 note taker, and 1 observer.
4. Participants
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User demographic: Scientific Researchers
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Communication approach: Direct outreach by the project lead
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Participant count: 6
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Participant locations: Cameroon, UAE.
5. Methodology
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One-hour session divided into 8 sections, with approximately 7.5 minutes allocated for each section.
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Tracking and recording error rates, focusing on tasks with the highest error counts.
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Exploratory tasks: Assessing participants' capability to locate various sections within the platform.
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Impression tasks: Gathering participants' opinions on different platform sections.
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Employing the "think aloud" protocol and maintaining minimal interaction with participants.
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Following the session, distribute the SUS survey for feedback.
Following the interviews, we...
1. Transcribed the recordings
After the sessions, we transcribed all the recordings to create a reference for our next steps. This was also helpful because some sentences were in French, and we needed to translate them into English.
2. Calculated the SUS score (86)
After sending the survey to all the participants, we collected and calculated all the scores, placing them in a table. While not immediately revealing, these scores will prove useful when the platform undergoes further testing to determine if usability has improved.
3. Created an affinity map, refined, and refined again...
We categorised the sticky notes by section and documented each participant's experiences.
Next, we rearranged the sticky notes, attempting to create different groups that were not section-specific.
Beside each newly formed section, we included the problem statement in black, along with potential solutions.
With all the problem statements prepared, each of us received three stars to allocate to what we considered the most significant issues.
We then collected all the problem statements and added them to a Notion table
...which aided us in visualising the issues more effectively
Documenting our findings
Documenting our findings provided us with the opportunity to gain perspective and thoroughly assess what worked and what didn't. It also served as a means to emphasise the significance of user testing to the development team and other team members. This documentation will also prove valuable when onboarding new team members in the future.