Usability testing workshop

Usability tests are an excellent way of discovering problems with a product or service. Commissioning a dedicated usability lab will provide a high degree of scientific rigour but obviously comes at significant cost. Instead of a single academic evaluation, why not bring your testing in-house and run it alongside your design and development process?

Two or three quick-and-dirty usability tests will not only provide better results but will also allow you to iterate your product between tests, ultimately leading to a more refined product.

Usability testing needn’t cost the Earth. In fact, there’s no need for all that expensive equipment, a dedicated lab and or even expert evaluators. It’s entirely possible to run a test at your own office, a cafe or even your test participant’s home. In this workshop you’ll learn everything you need to know about planning, organising and moderating your own guerrilla usability tests.

This training course is taught by Clearleft’s Creative Director, Andy Budd. Andy is the creator of Silverback, the popular usability testing software for designers and developers.

What will I learn?

• An introduction to web usability
• The benefits of usability testing for designers and site owners
• What to test on
• The different types of usability test and which one is right for you
• Getting stakeholder buy-in
• Selecting and writing tasks
• Writing a test plan
• Recruiting and screening test subjects
• Setting up and running your test
• Moderation techniques
• Reviewing the results and making them actionable
• Guerrilla usability testing exercise