Usability testing
The Bulgarian software industry associates usability testing in Bulgaria with Lucrat. We introduced it in the country.
Description
We observe people as they use your product or the products of your competitors. Based on the observations, we come up with a list of suggestions for making the product more useful and user-friendly.
What can be tested?
Anything that has interaction with users. To be more specific:
- On the web: websites, web applications, intranets, e-shops, portals;
- On the desktop: any software;
- Devices: consumer electronics, cell phones, computer hardware, printers;
- In the office: forms, customer-servicing processes, internal processes;
- Texts: in printed media, online, or voice.
We can also test products prototypes in the form of paper prototypes, static storyboards, wireframes, interactive mock-ups, or functional simulations.
Price
Prices vary between €1 500 and €10 000. Usability testing two user groups typically costs about €2 500.
Sample prices in other currencies (may vary based on exchange rate):
- USD - $2 000 to $13 000, typically about $3 300.
- GBP - ?1 400 to ?9 000, typically about ?2 300.
- BGN - 3 000 to 20 000, typically about 3 500.
The price depends on the number of user groups and participants, and the duration of the testing sessions. Testing more complex or larger products costs more compared to testing simpler and smaller ones.
Deliverables
Written report including:
- Strength and weaknesses analysis of the product and its homepage, features, content, navigation and structure, and aesthetic attractiveness.
- List of specific problems and recommended changes for improving the user interaction with the product and increasing content scannability, readability, and comprehensiveness.
- Suggestions for future work: additional assessments and approach to design and development.
- Measurements of success rate, coefficient of orientation, satisfaction, and time on task.
- Participant feedback in the form of comments, questions, and suggestions.
- Video highlights and complete video recordings (if recording the sessions).
Presentation of the results and discussion with your team.
Participants
We work with participants representative of your users. In general, we recommend testing with 6 participants from each distinct user group. (When we analyze your project, we will come up with a specific recommendation.)
Depending on the project, we invite participants in our office, visit them at a place convenient to them (home or office), or meet them at an appropriate location. We also test remotely when users are located in different cities or abroad.
If you are not sure who your users are and in what groups they belong, we can help you define the user groups, their needs, and their unique traits.
We recruit participants ourselves. Our clients often point us to potential participants. We take it from there scheduling appropriate time and picking location.
Schedule
Typically, a usability test with 1 or 2 groups of users takes about 2 weeks. The time is longer if the number of user groups is larger. We need approximately one week for each additional user group.
The testing schedule is shorter if we are already familiar with the project (for example from previous usability tests or other work).
We might be able to speed up a study but this depends on the availability of our staff.
Methodology
We start from user goals and needs to identify the basic scenarios and tasks of users with the product. We then define specific tasks for the testing sessions.
We work with every participant in an individual session, which usually takes about 1 hour. One or two usability experts observe users while they interact with the design.
We might record each test session with a dedicated software – Morae by TechSmith.
The typical test session has 6 steps:
- Introduction - we introduce the participant to the study and the session.
- Briefing - we ask any questions we need or give participants a short and easy task.
- Testing - we provide the tasks to the participants, they work on them and comment on everything they encounter.
- Satisfaction - we give participants a questionnaire asking them to evaluate their satisfaction with different features or attributes of the design. We ask them to provide a rationale for their rates.
- Discussion - we discuss with the participants specific points that we noted during the session, asking participants to elaborate on specific decisions, ways of reasoning, particular behavior, or comments.
- Closing - we thank participants and give them a participation award on behalf of the client.
We process results after every participant. We then gather and analyze the results for all participants and prepare the report.
Confidentiality and Publicity
We keep the results confidential. If you project requires it, we may even keep it confidential from participants. We will not announce that we are working on a specific project unless you want us to do it.
We may use some of the findings, with your explicit permission, in our publications or presentations. We may also request your permission to prepare a case study and use it for marketing and PR purposes for the shared benefit of you as a client and Lucrat as a service provider.
How to order?
Contact Lucrat by email at [email protected] or by phone at (359 2) 48 33 957 to ask for more information, to request this service, or to discuss your needs with a consultant.
