by Eli Malone
This aphorism is frequently heard in the software development community. It’s an admonishment to developers to remember who will use the software they’re building. The way an average person thinks about and interacts with a piece of software is very different than the way a developer thinks about and interacts with the same software. It’s also true for project sponsors and stakeholders.
Let’s take an online Adbuilder as an example. The way a marketing director thinks about and interacts with the Adbuilder is different than the way a dealer or store manager thinks about and interacts with the same Adbuilder. So how does a marketing director find out how dealers really use the Adbuilder? One good way is through observational usability testing. At its most basic, observational usability testing is simply watching real users (in our example, the dealers) interact with the system.
Observational usability testing is relatively inexpensive. It doesn’t require any special equipment or a lot of time. It can be as simple as going to a few local dealer stores and spending 30-90 minutes with each dealer watching them use your Adbuilder and taking notes. And because observational usability testing gives qualitative, not quantitative, data, as few as four to six users can give significant input. A few days’ work can give you valuable first-hand user data and insights that will improve your site’s usability.