IXD301 Week 9: Recap

Week 9: Usability Testing

In this weeks class, we covered Usability testing and what it’s about.
‘In a usability test, one user at a time is shown something (whether it’s a Web site, a prototype of a site, or some sketches of individual pages) and asked to either (a) figure out what it is, or (b) try to use it to do a typical task.’
Usability testing is about watching how people use your product or service and make it better.
The methods we will be covering you can use right here, right now on your projects – whether that is portfolio, elements or micropublications.  It is important to test early and often.
kyle showed us some example testing documentation and walked us through these pages.
Kyle then gave us a set of documentation that we could use and adapt when creating our own Usability testing.

Usability Testing Resources

Some resources from our workshop today:

1. Test Script – Use this when you are doing a test adapt it as you need. Helps you not to forget things.
2. Think Aloud Protocol record form – Use this for doing Think Aloud Test
3. Usability Test record from – use this for standard usability tests
4. SUS Record from
5. SUS Analysis Spreadsheet

What I Learnt:

This week we covered a lot of interesting new things. User testing is something that I had done back when I did back end coding. However, when done in UX you look at the results completely differently and apply it differently however the testing itself is very similar.

 

Random Website I Found:

http://opencollectives.mit.edu/

This is the website of an architecture collective based mainly in Germany but spread across Europe to help create alternative better living spaces for everyone. I love this website and the animations are simple but captivating. As an organisation, They aim to help developing countries create and design better housing and this is something you can see throughout. The architectural shapes naturally fall down the page as you scroll and slot them into place as logos for each of their programmes.

At the bottom they have a constantly scrolling carosell that is just captivating. The colours work well together and are maintained throughout the page. The simple shapes and amazing but messy typographic layout keep you looking everywhere. The lack of distinct organisation can be a bit of a distraction but there is a simplistic division between each section that helps create a flow down the page. Small things such as the dots bottom right to show the place on the page and the menu bar following you down really help to finish the page.

And a very subtle suggestion to view more of their work through their archives at the very bottom makes this website great.

In general, the colours of the shapes and the great typography make this page stand out. Definitely, something I would steal.

 

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