User Testing
User testing is easy. You don't need to call NASA and it needn't cost the earth. We've carried out user testing for customers in our own offices, at the offices of our customers and in locations all over Ireland.
The set up for user testing is simple enough. We provide all you need:
- A powerful laptop or desktop PC running Windows XP or 2000
- Video and audio capture equipment (a digital video camera with an integrated microphone)
- Sophisticated tracking software called Morae (but more on this later).
The final components are our expert observers, who are responsible for administering the test and observing the test subjects. In the past we’ve incorporated a range of assistive technologies, both hardware (e.g. Track balls and Joysticks) and software e.g. screen readers such as JAWS.
How does it work?
Morae ties the hardware together, creating the ideal analytical environment for observing people.
- Audio and Video: What the user says, where they click on the screen, comments and feedback
- Data Input: Clicking, typing, pushing buttons, pulling menus.
- Observational Data: Via both remote network connection and in person
The participant is set up in front of a computer with a video camera and a microphone. Users are recorded on camera and audio performing tasks from a pre-determined test script. What’s going on “on the screen” is also captured – every click, every mouse movement, every page and pop-up viewed. All this data is gathered and recorded.
The test is observed and administered by Open Interface specialists. However, any number of people can watch the subject from their own computers, so developers can see for themselves.
Both the user and the screen are recorded and watched together, with picture-in-picture. It is vital to record the users face; any facial expressions may indicate mood, attitudes and issues.
Open Interface Observers
Observers are always present during a test. The observers role may vary between administering a test, supervising, recording additional test information or answering questions a test subject may have.
Benefits
The mobile user test lab is invaluable in that it tests users in their natural work environment (therefore test subjects behave naturally). By testing on real users performing real tasks you get otherwise unobtainable feedback. Test findings provide an insight that expert evaluation simply cannot imitate. The outputs of the user test are converted into valuable, actionable recommendations by the Open Interface team.
Want to find out about Morae?
Morae is a nifty piece of usability testing software that's doing away with the type of big-budget user testing labs that put most organisations off user testing. Learn more about Morae and its features on the Techsmith Website