Usability testing refers to evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users. It is normally conducted to see how the users are responding to the software developed. This involves the Usability Testing lab where the usability testing can be done. We, at Umber, have an excellent setup which supports Usability testing. This is a typical setup with one way mirror to leave the test participants perform the tasks without any disturbance.
Typically, during a test, participants will try to complete typical tasks. These are predefined tasks which are well scripted. The observers watch, listen and take notes. Usability problems are identified and insights are gathered. To run an effective usability test, you need to develop a solid test plan, recruit participants, and then analyze and report your findings. We help in recruiting test participants on your behalf. We compensate participants for their time or travel, which is factored in the cost.
The sooner issues are identified and fixed, the less expensive the fixes will be in terms of both staff time and possible impact to the schedule. During a usability test, you can observe whether participants are able to complete specified tasks successfully and identify how long it takes to complete them. Video recording of participants, their on-screen interactions and simultaneous observation helps identify the critical gaps. It helps in finding out how satisfied participants are with your product. Testing identifies changes required to improve the user performance and to generate user satisfaction. Experts analyse the product performance to see if it meets your usability objectives.
It needs some preparation time to plan the usability test. It will take the usability specialist and the team some time to become familiar with the product and pilot test the test scenarios. Based on the budget, number of tests to be conducted are decided. Finally, behavior data is analysed and report containing findings are presented.
We are Situated in Pune at a strategic location and accessible to Pune and Mumbai corporates and start-ups. Our facility has:
- State-of-the-art cameras to video record the participants and capture device interaction
- Mobile device Gesture recording software and sharing the proceedings of test online if required
- Digital Camera (SLR) to shoot detailed and unique expression from the users
- Laptops with IVMS software for recording and storing the camera activity
- Large size TV to view the act remotely by observers or product development team members
- One way viewing screen to observe live test proceeding
- Facility to live stream proceedings for Remote team viewing
Our panel of participants is rich and wide and we cater to your specific User Profile.
- Children of 2 to 6 years – Typical engagement areas could be for e-story app, learning and playful app, games etc.
- Children of 6 to 12 years suitable for mobile games, tablet interaction, LMS applications
- College students with various personas suitable for e-commerce, gaming, music and entertainment apps
- Panel of Mothers, homemakers and working mothers
- Panel of different socio economic profile men
- Panel of senior citizen and study of their online, e-commerce, social sites awareness and consumption
We schedule appointments, receive users consent on form, always have standby participants, compensate participants and under conduct tests under capable moderator for Open Ended Task or Directed Tasks.
- Pilot study is conducted by Umber testing team to study the application and its constrains
- Task are designed and approved in tandem with the client
- Prepare participant when they arrive
- Techniques for getting participants to think aloud and provide valuable feedback
- Practice staying neutral and giving subtle acknowledgments
- Reading non-verbal cues and Managing challenging situations
All the proceedings of video recordings viewed by experts to gather finer nuances of problem and their patterns. Mapping of such reoccurring issues is documented. Severity of each problem type is judged by experts.
The report has usability issues, ergonomic considerations, and graphical representation of emotional journey of the application. Report has various consideration and is an unbiased summery of user testing.
Detailed recording of Usability Tests, video edited recordings of the key findings, detailed document of problems and issues faced by users, heuristic analysis from experts of the domain and finally a recommendation and design direction possibilities, is part of the written document.
We prefer to present our findings in person to all the team members of the said design project. Deliberations and further line of action dawn with our suggestions.