Usability Sciences Corporation

Usability Sciences is a US based, industry leading company in providing various usability testing services like web usability testing, mobile usability testing and more since 1988.

[usabilityscience]

Guiding Principles for Mobile App Usability

Mobile app usability is an important factor in the success of any mobile app product and design. It affects the product's interactivity and in turn, its overall quality—something that any mobile app designer must pay attention to and strive to achieve to succeed in the mobile app business. Here are some guiding principles for mobile app and general usability for experience designers:

  Have a full understanding of the problem before you try to solve it. Usability testing is largely about determining issues and problems that ought to be fixed before the product goes live. This said, you should be careful in making adjustments before getting to the core of the issue, because you might be spending a great deal of time and effort fixing a problem that goes deeper. Don't waste time fixing the wrong problem, instead get to the bottom of things before you start making adjustments—proper usability testing can help you determine these things.

Simplicity is key- In mobile apps, the simpler and more intuitive the design is, the more usable it will be for more people. Create a design that is easy to learn, use, find, and adapt to.

Not all users are the same. And remember—they are less likely to think like you. What is obvious to some might not be as obvious to others, which is another reason why usability testing is such an important step to take when developing these kinds of products.

Limit distractions -While people are known to be great multi-taskers, avoid complicating the design with too many distractions. Effective app designs allow people to focus on whatever task is at hand. Tasks are better carried out consecutively instead of concurrently so they can keep users in the moment.

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In Need of Usability Testing Tool for Website Design?

Usability testing tools and techniques vary greatly. Choosing the best and the right approach is important to get the best insights from users and use them to formulate strategies that will improve usability and remove hurdles in user experience. Usability experience influences all have their preferred methodologies in testing usability. However, you should always consult with professionals in order to determine the best methods, processes, and tools to use for the kind of results and data that you need to gather. A professional usability research and testing service provider can help you assess your website's needs and recommend the best approach to usability testing. The following are some of the most commonly used user testing methods in the industry:

Focus Groups – Focus group approaches allow researchers to observe and interview real users as they interact with the product, thus focusing the study on the user and their skills and ability to interact with and react to the product. Additionally, focus groups allow users to interact with other users to discuss concepts and ideas, which can in turn spark inspiration for new web design ideas that work.

Tree Testing – Tree testing is an excellent approach for when you need to determine the quality and effectiveness of your site's information architecture structure, allowing you to observe how well users find and interact with items in the website hierarchy.

Remote Testing – Remote user testing is an efficient means to gather data from a larger pool of participants without the need for expensive lab equipment. It allows testing from the comfort of a participant's personal space, which provides great insight when it comes to real-world usability, factoring in real-world distractions as participants interact with the product.

Beta Testing – Beta testing is another valuable approach, allowing quick fixes to usability issues before the product rolls out or before the website is launched.

[usabilityscience]

Pros And Cons Of Site Intercept Surveys

Site intercept is a technique of tracking the website to find who have visited the website and about their purpose of visit. It also gives the information that whether the user has accomplished the task or not.  This site surveying is also concentrated in the navigation of the user. Above all the features the site intercept surveying has, it also has some advantages and disadvantages in it. Advantages of site intercept surveys •    Collects the responses from users only on the places they have visited on the website. •    Easy and effective way of surveying the customers •    Updated information about the survey helps in planning a development of the website •    Avoiding irrelevant questions to the users by questioning them only on their place of interests. •    Gives a superior result than any other surveys to improvise the website. Disadvantages of site intercept surveys •    Since it gets information only on certain parts where user visited, the other parts will become unknown in the results. •    Requires a special team to follow the user behavior on the website. •    Does not concentrate on the traffic management of the website. •    Ask for the user time to be shared for surveying. To seek site intercept survey services at affordable rates, visit the website of online usability testing service providers.

[usabilityscience]

In part 2 of Site Search & Findability series Usability Sciences focuses on site search as it pertains to findability. To learn more visit to Usability Sciences.

[usabilityscience]

What Does Usability Testing Do to Your Website?

The answer is increase traffic, keep users involved, increase sales and brand identity by recommending steps to improvise on your website and assure quality and ease while using the site.

What to include in website usability testing?

•    A group of individuals using the website under slight guidance of the facilitator •    The test of whether visitors can easily use the website •    There  are no focus groups and no meetings.

When should you test?

•    At the website’s conception i.e. when it is first introduced to the users. •    Before planning a redevelopment •    During the process of redevelopment •    When there is a change in the number of users •    When business requires some hard information about the website

What is the outcome?

•    How easily visitors use the website •    Where and when they find a difficulty navigating through the pages •    What makes sense to the users •    What is that they don’t like

When you run a business it is important you have the answer to all the above questions, by doing a simple usability test to improve the user experience, you can get answers to almost all your questions and this definitely puts you in a better position.

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How Important Are Intercept Surveys?

Intercept interviewing is certainly a forgotten data collection strategy in today's high-tech environment. However, this lost market research technique provides two very vital and unique advantages. Firstly, this methodology can reach a highly targeted sample and is incredibly random. Secondly, intercept surveys provide an unending supply of sample.

Importance of Intercept Survey -

1. It is easy to make initial contact, but difficult to ask for participation. Many of us are good at saying hello to strangers; however, it is difficult to ask someone to give their 10 minutes to you.

2. It is easy to get willing participants when your booth is full of respondents. Participants can be persuaded to get actively involved in a survey when they see others participating in the same. 

3. It is difficult to maintain respondents' attention while verbally conducting the survey. Hence, it is important to design the most engaging interview scripts and keep participants' free from distractions.

4. It is difficult to turn away unqualified participants. There is nothing more frustrating for an interviewer than engaging a willing participant, only to understand they are not qualified to participate. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind their ultimate goal, quality data, and let the willing, but unqualified participant goes.

On-site, face-to-face intercept interviewing, is a wonderful experience and can certainly prove to be a powerful data collection tool.

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Goals Of Usability Testing

The study of user behavior on the web proves that users do not like slow sites and also sites consisting of complex designs. Any website’s first goal is to make the user stay on the website, this is because what a web page has to convey should be understood in less than 5 seconds. Usability testing improves the profitability of the products, as the user is treated like a king; everything is designed keeping them in mind.

Goals of usability testing:

The first important goal of usability testing is to inform design by gathering data and then work on deficiencies in existing products. The intention is to ensure a product that is useful for the target audience and is also satisfying.

One important factor is the ease with which customers can use the products, the flaws are worked upon before the product release and thus accomplish the following goals:

•   Start a positive relationship between the organization and customers

•   The relief that the product is of a top quality and is easy to use. Then release a product that customers find useful and effective.

Improved profitability: By keeping track of the test results, businesses can ensure that future products improve or at least maintain the present standard. It also minimizes the cost of service and support calls. Happy customers tend to keep track of the future releases of the products and thus do not end up purchasing a competitor’s product.

[usabilityscience]

5 Reasons to Hire a Usability Analyst

If you own a website, then you should get it tested for the user experience that it proffers, so as to make it more effective especially in terms of actual conversions. Although your web developer will offer to undertake this job, it is in your interest to get it done by a professional usability analyst. Here are a few reasons of why it will work in your favor to do so: 1.    He is educationally qualified to test the website in the best possible manner including extensive knowledge of fields like graphic design, product design etc. 2.    The analyst has a deep understanding of human factors, as well as cognitive psychology. 3.    The analyst will generally hold a considerable amount of experience in the field of designing, testing procedures, and the use of graphic user interface. Make sure he is the best suited for this job. 4.    User profiling is one aspect that the analyst will be thorough at, only proving to be beneficial for your website. 5.    Only a trained professional will have the knack of designing user interviews as well as field testing strategies and implementing these on actual or representative users, to analyze their behavior and experience during the usage of the website.

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Mobile Usability Testing - A Luxury or A Necessity?

Five years ago, it was only large multinational companies that invested in the usability testing procedures for mobile websites and applications. For smaller businesses, it was just something that was out of reach and was more of a thrift spending than anything else. However, the scenario has changed a lot. As of today, smart phones have not only taken over the telecommunication sector, but have also become dominant in the online arena of the internet. The percentage of people browsing the internet through smart phones is growing exponentially by the day.   Owing to this fact it has become highly imperative for any business, big or small, to get its mobile site as well as applications tested for usability by an experienced company in the field. This is one activity that can considerably increase the conversion rate of customers for the company, thus bringing in a higher amount of profits. Moreover, a website that is efficient enough to proffer a substantially good user experience, ensure that the customer visits the site time and again, is a vital aspect for e-commerce or retailing websites. So what are you waiting for? Avail the services for mobile usability testing today, and enjoy the benefit of increased return on investments.

[usabilityscience]

6 Successful Guidelines for Increasing Website Usability

Given below are a few details that you must consider in order to improve your site’s usability

  1.    Crisp Content:

Concise content is the key to retain viewer’s attention to a site and hence, only the details, which are imperative for the reader, should be provided.

  2.    Educate Visitors about the Website:

The web page should be self explanatory and give details about its offering. Hyperlinks such as “about us” or “about this website” also come handy to users who are interested in specific content.

  3.    Give Site Wide Links:

Website hyperlinks on the sidebar prove to be very helpful. They assist in easy directions to various areas of the site while allowing Google optimization programs to cache the website professionally.

  4.    Provide a Sitemap:

Sitemaps are very convenient, especially in case of extensive websites. These make the navigation for the user very easy.

  5.    Ensure Speedy Loading:

Remote usability testing has indicated that the sites which take too much time to load are generally abandoned by the user, especially when mobile devices are used for browsing. Apt hosting services that provide fast data transfer should be preferred.

  6.    Check Hosting Server Log:

The server log can provide imperative details such as key search terms used, recently visited pages etc, which are helpful in analysing the site by the usability professionals.

  So, what are you waiting for? Just go online, and hire the services of a proficient company who deals in usability testing and analysis, and make your website stand out.

[usabilityscience]

Sometimes, a well designed and graphically appealing website may not be yielding the best of results. Well, if that’s the case, all you need is to get some usability testing run on it.

[usabilityscience]

User experience surveys are a fine way of getting to know your user’s overall opinion of the site. Generally conducted online, these surveys are very economical when compared to other methods of user experience research such as one-on-one interviews.

[usabilityscience]

Owning a hip business, having a nicely done office, being technologically advanced – Is that all that your prospective client wants? Probably not! A well-designed website is sure to attract many people to your business, but have you ever thought of the fact that few of them might actually become clients.

[usabilityscience]

Mobile web browsing has achieved new heights since the advent of smart phones in the world of technology. More than the entertaining and informative apps it’s the mobile websites which have become handy to consumers on the go.

[usabilityscience]

Mobile app usability testing has gained momentum in recent times, this owing to the increasing use of smart phones. Testing is a vital aspect of any mobile application before it is launched to the general public for viewing and usage.

[usabilityscience]

Usability testing for websites is an important component of any given project, especially when it comes to web designing on a professional level. It is not only imperative but almost mandatory to get quality assurance for a website before its launch.

[usabilityscience]

Mobile Websites…The In Thing!!

Mobile web browsing has achieved new heights since the advent of smart phones in the world of technology. More than the entertaining and informative apps it’s the mobile websites which have become handy to consumers on the go. Gone are the days, when someone would take the pains to turn on the PCs and connect it to the net to find a piece of information. More and more people today rely on the use of smart phones to access the internet. Giving due importance to an efficient and functionally up-to-date mobile website has become vital for any modern day business.

This has led to the need for testing the usability of mobile websites. Though a mobile website is generally simpler than a full website, it is much more tedious to make a mobile website usable and practically functional. Factors like optimum screen resolution, web pages with smaller sections, simple designs, navigation placement, depth of the site, time required for loading of the site etc are a few factors that should be paid additional attention by a good usability testing service provider.

Usability of mobile sites can be efficiently tested by recording the user screen, sharing the screen, displaying task scenarios, use of webcams, audio and video recording of the testing sessions and other such measures. It generally involves a focus group and one or two facilitators and/or technical observers. Based on the experiences of the individuals of the focus group, inferences pertaining to the flaws of the website are drawn. These shortcomings are then rectified by the site development team.

So if, you are one of those, who want to be on the forefront of technology when it comes to your business, then seriously consider obtaining a mobile website. Make sure it has been tested for usability. Simply go online and choose from a myriad of service providers who offer assistance for usability testing.