As part of the development process I wanted to do a usability test. This was important as I needed to see if my product would actually work, and if there are any issues that users come across that need to be fixed. In a real project doing usability tests are important to do before the developers start building features.
For my usability test with James, I sat him down and gave him the prototype to use and text on. The scenario was “Show me how you would add a sticky note saying ‘university work’, that repeats everyday.” The reason I chose this was because that is the main function of the app, and the feature that users will be using the most.
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Notes
First initial reaction is to click on the plus to add a sticky note
Typed what he needed
Clicked on wrong icon for repeats, got mixed up with the time icon
Was able to close overlay after realising he’s at the wrong place
He clicked tick to confirm that its done but was confused as there was a button at the bottom with a plus on it
Completed scenario task ✅
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The usability was extremely helpful as it allowed me to see the app in use for someone who has just seen it with fresh eyes. The first step of moving from the sticky note page to adding a sticky note was fine, and he said that he knew straight away that the plus is where he should press to add a note.
After he typed in what he needed he got mixed up with what icon done what. He thought the time button would lead him to where he can add repeats everyday. Once looking for a few seconds he was able to get off the overlay and try the other button. This was really helpful and shows that I probably need to re-think how I display the icons and buttons to make it clearer as to what each button does. I could possibly only have one button that takes the user to just one pop-up for both time and repeats.
He was also a little bit confused when he was ready to add the sticky note to the notice board. This was because there was a tick button beside the other buttons, but also another larger button with text. What confused him was the plus icon beside one button, and a tick for the other. This made him think that these buttons done different things and left him unsure what to press. Eventually he pressed the tick but it didn’t need to cause as much confusion as it did.
Doing the usability test was great for experience and seeing what it’s like to actually conduct a proper one, and it was really helpful for spotting errors that users can run into with my design. The data and information that I gained will be really helpful more making improvements. I now understand the importance of conducting usability tests, as they can reveal whether your product actually works or not, and can point out what seem like obvious mistakes that you don’t spot. I have really understood the importance of designing iteratively, making changes the whole way through the development stage, incrementally making small or big changes based on user feedback and usability testing.