Usability Evaluation and Testing in UI UX | Usability Testing Tutorial for Beginners | Simplilearn

Key Takeaways

chaotic mess. You know the kind where ads are popping up everywhere and you can't tell the difference between the news and the commercials and you can't even find the menu button. Frustrating, right? Well, that's exactly what we are here to fix today. Hey everyone, welcome to this video on usability valuation and testing course by simple. In today's market, user experience is everything. If users can't navigate your app easily, they just delete it. That is why this topic is in such high demand. Companies aren't just looking for designers who can make things look pretty. They need experts who can prove that a design actually works. Learning how to evaluate and test usability is the secret source that turns a good idea into a successful product. In this video, we are going to break down exactly how to do that based on real world classroom examples. First, we'll discuss huristic evaluation. We are going to look at the rules of thumb for good design, specifically Neielson's 10 heristics. We will even do a critic of the Yahoo homepage to show you exactly how to spot major usability problems like bad navigation and visual clutter. Second, we will cover user surveys. You will learn how to ask the right questions to get data you can actually use. We'll also look at examples of feedback forms of apps like Instagram and fashion shopping apps covering everything from satisfaction scales to open-ended questions about the features. And finally, we will talk about the tools. We will discuss how to use platforms like maze for unmodderated testing and why we test using Figma prototype to catch issues before the app is even built. So if you're ready to stop guessing and start testing, let's dive in. Now before we move on, here's a quick heads up. If you're looking to level up your design skills, check out advanced certification in UIUX design with generative AI from triple IT Bangalore. This course is perfect for anyone looking to break into industry or advance their career in design. In this AI powered UIUX design course, you will gain hands-on experience with 25 plus design tools, including Figma, ARVR prototypes, and generative AI tools. Plus, you will gain 6 months of Figma premium access to help you dive straight into your projects. What's even better, you'll work on 15 plus portfolio ready projects that include AR, VR, XR prototypes, making you job ready no time. And with live interactive sessions and mentor support, you will get all the guidance you need to know to succeed. And at the end of this course, you will have a certificate from triple IT Bangalore and an impressive portfolio to show off. Plus, you will learn how to use 10 plus geni powered design tools to streamline your workflow. But that's not all. This course also features a bonus AI tool that will help you create stunning designs faster, saving hours of work. So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and enroll now. You can find the course link below. Now, before we get started, here's a quick quiz question to test your understanding. The question is, when we talk about usability, what is our main goal? Your options are to make the app look like a piece of art. To make the app easy and smooth for people to use, to make the app as expensive as possible or to write the longest computer code possible. Let me know your answers in the comment section below. >> So, we have usability evaluation and testing. Understanding the basics of usability evaluation. Today's engage and think focuses on companies like Airbnb and Spotify um credit their rapid growth and usability. These platforms are known for providing seamless user experiences that keep people coming back. Have you ever recommended an app or website to someone because of its excellent usability? What made it stand out? It's like a um I don't know if you guys are familiar with like early or there used to be things that you could like download to your phone and you can have like your social media in one kind of like interface and toggle between your apps in one kind of screen versus like I got to leave I have to leave Twitter or X to go to like completely leave X to go to Instagram. But the the way the phones um that most phones operate now, it's not a a difficult process of doing that versus when you're on your laptop and you have your Slack channel and you have your email and then you have your Spotify because you want to listen to music and then say you want to check your Facebook really quick, but you also what was the last one I used to put in there? You also want to uh check your notion board. Um single box is kind of like you can log in and add your credentials from all of your platforms that you have like accounts with pretty much um that you use primarily and not maybe not every single platform I would put into Single Box, but all of my emails I would put in there. all of my socials. And I know it's like highly confidential, but I had to like purchase this. I had to purchase an access key. So once you purchase an access key essentially that um is giving you like your own version of this product in a way. It's like a it's a it's a um it's not a I don't believe it's considered a web app. I think it's considered like a desktop app. But it basically just allows you to navigate through a lot of say if you have like a if you have a job or you have like a couple of jobs, you can kind of just stay organized a bit more in one centralized place on one kind of screen and toggle between the tabs versus you have a million um tabs open and different windows and you're trying to find it all. And and the reason why I brought that up is because the the prompt was about um keeping people coming back to their platform. And I'm like I know a platform I just I don't really ever want to like I don't ever really It's not that I never interact with like Google Chrome or Safari, but for the most part this is like always in my kind of like sidecar if you will um as single box. So at least on my like personal devices. So for today's learning objectives are that by the end of this lesson you will be able to apply the principles of usability to assess the user experience of a product or service. You'll also be able to conduct a usability evaluation to analyze potential usability issues in a product or ser or website. You also be able to utilize Neielson's 10 usability heristic horistics to evaluate the effectiveness of the products interface design. An overview of usability. Usability refers to how effective, efficiently, and satisfactorially. Satisfactorially, a specific user in a particular context can use a product or design to achieve a defined goal. It focuses on how intuitive and userfriendly a design is. Understanding usability in UX is assessing usability can be challenging, but the Nielson Nielson Norman group identifies five essential components that make it easier to evaluate product usability. starts with learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, and satisfaction. This method is commonly known as the LMER's framework, Lemur's framework. Usability as a subset of UX is understanding the key differences and their impact on design. So, usability is how easy and efficient a product is to use. um how much friction it has. That's something that you may want to um think about more um in depth at this time. If if your um project or your process is um potentially has hurdles for users or maybe um h having some difficulty or ease to like sift through. We call that friction. Um, sometimes you want friction in the flow and then sometimes you don't want too much friction in your flow. For example, when I worked at Wish, uh, we had to amplify the, uh, we had to increase the amount of friction in our sign up process versus just letting people kind of come in and do what they want. Um, and that was for the needs of the business and um, federal regulations as well. So just some food for thought there. Um to continue [clears throat] uh usability is how easy and efficient a product is to use. It focuses on partic on particular elements like task completion, navigation and efficiency. It also the example that we have is in a food delivery app like Uber Eats. Usability refers to how easy it is for users to search for a restaurant, place an order, and check out. And then for uh user experience, UX, it covers um how the product looks and feels and the emotional response it evokes. UX is about UX is about the entire interaction with the product from first impressions to long-term satisfaction. An example there is the overall experience includes ease of use, how good the app looks and then delivering delivery tracking and the enjoyment of ordering food. And then next you have factors of usability. Usability encompasses three core factors. First we have guidance, satisfaction, and then next we last but not least we have efficiency. So to go over guidance, it refers to how well a product helps users navigate and complete a task by providing clear directions or support. For example, Uber provides excellent guidance on its map interface with an automatic location detection enabling users to set up set pickup and drop off points accurately for a seamless booking experience. Efficiency um is the context of usability focuses on how quickly and with minimal efforts and actions a user can accomplish a task within a system or interface. It is about improving the user. It is about improving the user experience. For example, you for example, Uber simplifies ride booking with a few taps using save locations, estimated arrival times and payment options like Uber wallet and Apple Pay. And then satisfaction. Satisfaction measures how enjoyable and fulfilling a user experiences when interacting with a product. Uber enhances user satisfaction by overall by excuse me by offering realtime ride tracking, fair estimates, and a post ride rating system. This creates more enjoyable and trustworthy experience that boosts user retention and loyalty. I didn't create a a quick check window today um a quick check view today, but I'll just read it from the screen. Alex is using a new banking app to transfer funds. He finds the app visually appealing and easy to navigate, but the transaction process is slow, taking multiple steps to complete. Which usability factor needs improvement in this scenario? Introduction to usability evaluation methods. What is usability evaluation? Usability evaluation assesses how easy and enjoyable it is for users to accomplish their goals when interacting with a product. First you have requirements and then you have um surveys and going into your analysis and design and then you have early design testing um which is another point of evaluation and then you have implementation and then usability evaluations um [clears throat] excuse me and then testing followed by analytics and A and B multi- variative testing and and then deployment. It ensures that a product meets user needs and delivers a smooth, frustrationfree experience. An example um of usability evaluation is a good example is Venmo. Um how many people use Venmo? Every once in a while. Oh, I have to send my friend something for some pizza. Cool. A couple people use it. So VMO which tests how users send money, split bills and view payment history. Um this helps make it easy to use and secure and secure and ensure smooth transactions. Why is usability evaluation important? Usability evaluation improves UX design by making product product intuitive and user centric. It starts with user centered design followed by problem identification and iterative improvement followed by cost reduction and last but not least competitive advantage. Some types of usability evaluation uh methods are classified as qualitative offering insights into user behavior and quantitative measuring usability with metrics like success rate and time on task. The three main types of usability evaluation are usability inspection, usability testing, and usability inquiry. Here are some common techniques used in different usability evaluation types. Uh first we have heruristic evaluation. Uh I thought I was going to go through each one separately. Sorry. First we have heristic evaluation, cognitive walkthrough. Um expert and expert reviews. And then for usability testing, uh we actually went through a lot of this. Uh we went over user testing uh A and B testing remote usability testing eyetracking studies and then think out loud think aloud protocol and then for usability inquiry uh we have surveys interviews and then focus groups which we also went over. So, usability inspection types. Here are the different usability, excuse me, the differences between key usability inspection types. Starting with heristic evaluation um and then followed by um cognitive walkthrough and expert reviews. Uh heristic evaluation is described as experts review a product against predefined usability principles to find usability issues. And it's best to use this um early in the in your design process before um before user testing. The benefits are quick, cost effective, no real users required, and it highlights major issues early. The limitations um are that it lacks direct user feedback and it may miss real real world um issues. Then you have cognitive walkthrough. Um the description there is evaluators simulate user tasks to identify issues in task flow and ease of learning. It's best to use this during the design phase particularly for learnability. And then last um excuse me and the next benefits include identifies task flow and sequence issues. And then last but not least, the limitations include time consuming and requires skilled endeavors, excuse me, skilled evaluations. Um, expert reviews. Um, the description explains it as usability experts provide quick insights based on industry standards and guidelines. It's best to use this early in design or when rapid evaluation is needed. And then the benefits include quick inexpensive valuable insights based on standards and then limitations are that it lacks real user feedback may reflect expert biases. So heruristic evaluation heristic evaluation is a process in which experts apply usability guidelines or heristics to independently review user interfaces and identify issues. It is essential because it quickly identifies usability issues early in the design process allowing for cost effective improvements without needing real users. Some of the phases of huristic evaluation. These phases uh provide a clear structured approach to identifying identifying prioritizing and resolving usability issues effectively. And here's a breakdown of those key phases. At first, you have pre-evaluation training. Next, you have evaluation, followed by severity rating in addition to exposure assessment. And last but not least, debriefing. Next, we're going to learn I'm going to we're going to go over what are Nielson's 10 usability heristics. These are a set of general principles for user interface design formatted by Jacob Nielson that are widely used for heristic evaluations and they are visibility of system status, match between system and the real world, user control and freedom, consistency and standards and then of error prevention. Next you have recognition rather than recall, flexibility and efficiency of use, aesthetic and minimalist design help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors and then help um help and documentation. [snorts] Next we'll go over the visibility of system status. The system should always keep users informed about what is happening through timely and clear feedback. Good example of this is when uploading a or syncing files to Google Drive. Um it displays processing indicators and notifications keeping users informed about the status of their uploads and a match between system and the real world. The system should The system should use familiar language and concepts that offer, excuse me, concepts that users understand following real world conventions to make interactions intuitive. For example, Airbnb uses familiar terms like check-in and checkout when describing dates for booking, which match real world experiences of saying of staying in accommodations. User control and freedom. Users often make mistakes. So there so there should be easy ways to undo and redo actions like back and cancel buttons. An example there is Microsoft Word allows users to undo and redo their actions through clear buttons in the toolbar helping users easily correct mistakes. We have consistency and standards. The system should follow platforms conventions and maintain consistency in design and terminology across the interface. Facebook maintains a consistent interface design across its app and website making it easy for users to transition between devices without relearning interactions. Next, you have error management. The design should manage errors by offering users confirmation options or highlighting potential mistakes before they occur. An example there is when creating an account, if the chosen username is unavailable, the system suggests alternative options to simplify the process. Next, you have recognition rather than recall. The design should reduce the need for users to remember information by keeping visible options. Visible options, instructions, and actions readily accessible. For example, Amazon keeps past orders easily accessible, allowing users to reorder items without needing to re remember exact product names or search for them again. And I even noticed now um and this has been for some time now the subscription portion of things like you don't if you really take your vitamins or use something within maybe like 30 60 or like 90 days um span and it's a frequent product that you use you just subscribe and save even more money um just subscribing to continuously order that product. So and then flexibility and efficiency of use is described as the system should cater to both novice and expert users by providing shortcuts and accelerators that increase efficiency for frequent users. And feel free to like remember some of these like hotkeys if you will um on certain platforms. like I pretty much use them all the time just to make sure that I'm being a little bit quicker. But for example, uh Photoshop offers power user shortcuts such as the following um and there there's more um hotkeys as well. Aesthetics and minimalist design interfaces should avoid unnecessary information and focus on what is essential for the user to complete task minimizing clutter. An example is Gmail's app interface examples exemplifies minimalist design with a clean layout featuring a search bar, sender info, subject line, content preview, and timestamp for quick access. Um next you have help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors. Error messages should be clear, indicate the problem and suggest solutions in simple understand solutions in simple understandable language. For example, when users are offline, Spotify shows a clear message prompting them to check their connection and try again. help and documentation. When the best designs are intuitive, sometimes users need help. Uh we want to provide easily accessible, concise documentation or support that explains how to complete tasks. An example here is GitHub offers a comprehensive help center with clear documentation and guides on using features like using repositories pull requests and workflows ensuring users can easily find the assistance they need. So I'm in the file the heristic evaluation file. Um, basically we want to prioritize and evaluate the severity of usability issues and enabling teams to focus on their efforts more efficiently. Um, so basically we're going to rate things from zero to four. Zero meaning um you don't agree that this is a usability problem at all. one meaning it's a cosmetic problem only not um it may not need to be fixed unless it's extra there's extra time or availability on the project and then two is minor usability uh problems fixing um this should be given low priority and then three major usability problem important to fix so um this should be given a high priority And then four is um use is a cat catastrophe. Um it's imperative to fix this before product can be released. So you want to make sure you're filling out the additional information of your evaluator, uh your date, your product, and your task. And then some of the things that we went over today like visibility of system status. um you observe those issues and rank the severity of that and your recommendations as as to potentially improve it. So can you keep going through that? Let's also open up the Airbnb um platform. So, in another screen or another window. Um, and I can just open it here so we can like toggle back and forth for the recording. So, first we're going to um open the Oh, I didn't switch. Hold up. So I'm sharing the Airbnb tab and we're basically going to evaluate the visibility of system status um using horistic principle and add our observations and severity in the template. So um let's take for example, let me refresh the screen. the website's loading indicator um provides like clear visual feedback. Um yeah, the example that I'm I'm looking at um is basically suggesting that um the first one is observation. Um the website's loading indicator provides a clear visual feedback reassuring users that the system is actively processing the request. Um and I think that is somewhat true. Um, when you go back at least, you can like see at the bottom when you scroll to the bottom is showing that there's still more there. Um, I think that's what they mean by the loading indicator. So, you would place that in you place that in your first section here. Um, let me just copy that. [snorts] All right, let me actually I didn't realize I didn't make a copy of this. Um, yeah, it's probably going to take a while for us to get access to that. So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to duplicate it to my drafts and see if it'll just pull up a editable version and then maybe I could share that with you guys. Yep, I can edit that. Cool. Here you go, guys. Probably a [snorts] better uh version of that. Yeah, I agree, Alexandra. That's why I'm like even the um reference guide that I'm I'm using now. Um it's a bit outdated from the current Airbnb interface. So, just kind of like I understand what they mean in a way. Um but yeah, good point. Excuse me. And then next you want to evaluate the match between system and real world real world heristic principles on the Airbnb website and add your observations and severity in the template. So when we toggle back over to the when we talk about going over to Airbnb, I'm trying to I just want to make sure my screen is still visible. So, just to recap, cuz I I didn't realize my screen stopped sharing. Um, we just filled in that first bucket, visibility of system status with the website loading indicator language. And then next we're discussing the uh match between system and real world. So that looks more like um using familiar logos and icons such as payment gateways like AMX, Visa and social media pages like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram creates a sense of familiarity famili familiarity and trust. And just to go back into that at the bottom you can see the social media icons being linked there. Um when you go to actually pay um you're able to see me just get there. um you're able to see some sort of brand recognition even once you provide your your actual information and then um choosing your payment method. I vaguely remember that they still have some I don't know if they indicate which card type anymore, but um I think if you have other payment methods, they'll indicate what they are and that also provides a layer of trust as well. And then next uh we have the way that they evaluate the user control and freedom heristic principle on the Airbnb website and um add observations and severity in the template. So, for example, if I were selecting my specific checkout dates or check-in dates, say, oh, I'm on check out. Say my check-in date is the 12 and my checkout date is the 22nd, and I'm searching for places to look. I can also get to this screen and engage with like my price estimate. Users have controls over their actions such as refining search filters. um exploring listings and managing bookings. This interface allows them to navigate between different sections easily. So, if um these are all things that are primary for you, like you need a washer, you need um somewhere to park and you need to be able to bring your pet, you want to make sure that you're actually including that in your potential stay. And I I think what be would be cool is because a lot of this is outdated um from the notes that I have to include here. I think it would be cool to like use the evaluation to show the severity of how how much this needs to be improved as to what the priority of improvement should be. [clears throat] Next we have um consistency and standards. So when it comes to consistency and standards in relation to how things um appear on Airbnb, how things appear on Airbnb's website. Um we want to be u make sure that like the fonts are consistent um shapes colors um to create a cohesive and visually appearing appealing interface. So I think that is essentially accurate u regarding Airbnb like their fonts are the same. Everything looks pretty clean and clear. even their corners rad like roundedness is around the same. And then next we have error prevention. Error prevention um is a heristic principle on the Airbnb website um that it proactively prompts users to check their card details and notifies them when they are required that any required details are missing and are properly updated preventing potential errors and I couldn't um agree to that like if there's any information or if you if you're um there's issues with your booking. Airbnb does a pretty decent job of letting you know like, hey, this is um this is um like you may want to may want to be aware of this or bring things to your attention. Next, you have the recognition rather than recall. uh for recognition and um rather than recall. Um we want to make sure that they well Airbnb does use a lot of like clear labels. Um going back to this check in checkout screen again. Um that serve as visual cues um basically helping users understand and navigate the interface without relying genuinely on their memory. So, I don't know how many I don't know exactly how I know it needs to be somewhere from the 12th to the 22nd and I don't know exactly how many days that is, but or how many nights I would need, but it's 10 nights apparently when I see the indicator here. Um, I I know that I'm looking for homes in a certain price range. I want to make sure that I'm getting things in a certain um price range and budget and definitely on the certain day. So, making sure that your labels are clear is really important to making sure that you're booking. Yes. Has anyone ever booked the wrong like travel arrangements or staying accommodations? I have it. It's terrible. Booking the wrong flight is or it wasn't a flight. I was actually catching a bus um to from one area that I was in and it basically I had to like I mean someone was nice to me and they just let me on cuz they saw the way I booked it. It was like flipped but it happens. Yeah. Just clicking that link. Thanks Alexandra for sharing that. And then next we have the flexibility and efficiency of use and that looks more like um Airbnb offering various filters and search options allowing users to find suitable accommodations based on their preferences and efficiency. So that's like all the way over here. Um indicating what you need, you need a type of place, number of rooms, etc. Um aesthetic and minimalist design is um categorized as the platform's clean and uncluttered uh design experience. Um enhances visual appeal and reduces cognitive load. And then next we have um helping users recognize and recover errors. Um Airbnb's error messages are clear and provide guidance on how to correct mistakes during a booking process or account management. Um, for example, if you had if you needed to um include your profile photo or um update your card information. I've even had issues where um I mean, while they didn't help me recover from it, they made me aware of the issue. Um, and I had an issue with uh my actual stay and for some reason my reservation kept getting cancelled through the system and saying that I did it. It's totally weird, but I continuously got those notifications. um they didn't necessarily provide clear guidance on that issue but um the the messages the error messages were clear and then help and documentation. So to evaluate the help and documentation uh for heristic principles on Airbnb's website, uh we first want to like just look at everything that they have um to offer essentially at a high level. And I can honestly say Airbnb does have a a decent I mean even though it didn't work out in that particular case I have utilized Airbnb's support team and they have been helpful in other at other times for me um the they offer tips FAQs um the support feature to assist users um they have a hell help center um that allows you more insight. I'm just they're constantly sharing knowledge and insight as to how to best use their platform. Um so yeah just by following these steps you have successfully conducted a heroistic evaluation of the Airbnb interface uh using established usability principles and then this process has helped to identify key usability issues and provided insights into improving the user experience and feel free to um expand on this if you would like. Um indicating the severity of the issue and then potential recommendations or solutions rather for how to um solve for the issue. So just continuing on making sure that screen is shared. All right. And then how to conduct a heristic evaluation. Steps for conducting a heristic evaluation include defining the scope and setting objectives, selecting the heristics, recruit and prepare the evaluators and then conduct independent evaluations. Um you also want to consolidize consolidate and analyze the findings and then report the findings. um and make recommendations. Last but not least, um implement design improvements. Heristic evaluation of Amazon's usability. Imagine you're a UX designer for Amazon's imagine you're a UX designer for Amazon's mobile app. You notice users rarely use the voice search and scan features due to difficulty locating or ex or difficulty locating or activating them. To address this, you conduct a heristic evaluation to improve their vis their visibility and usability. Next, we want to define which parts of the product will be evaluated and defined define the usability goals. Uh the first action is to identify key user tasks and scenarios. Specify rather the entire product or specific features will be evaluated. Uh followed up by clarifying objectives such as addressing navigation or form usability. And then scope. Um the scope for that is uh focusing your evaluation specifically on the voice search and scan features. And then your objective would be um identify and resolve usability issues related to feature discovery feature discoverability and user accessibility and then selecting the heristics. Choose a set of usabil usability principles to guide the evaluation. Uh you have Neielson's 10 usability heristics are commonly used. Um the action would be select the select or customize a heristic framework based on the product. An example there would be um visibility of system status, consistency, error prevention and flexibility. And then the potential uh solution uh would be to improve visibility and ease of use for the voice search and scan features. Uh choose visibility of system status and recognition rather than recall as your guiding heristic. And then your approach would be to align heristics with user issues that uh focus on key design aspects and provide targeted feedback. Next, you want to recruit and prepare the evaluator evaluators. I select three to five usability experts to perform the evaluation. A diverse group ensures broader issue identification. And next you have action which allows you to choose evaluators with relevant experience, excuse me, relevant expertise or experience. Um, brief them on the product users, the product users and evaluation context and then [snorts] provide access to necessary materials like prototypes or wireframes. In this real world real world scenario, you'd recruit usability experts for the evaluation. And then for now, imagine your team has experienced evaluators with mobile app and e-commerce design expertise. Your approach there would be to provide background on Amazon's target users and feature goals to guide evaluators focus during the evaluation. Um evaluators independently review the product focusing on task and applying heristics to find usability issues. Your action here would be to walk through the interface noting issues tied to specific heristics. document those issues um based on severity and location and then rate the severity of each issue. For example, minor, moderate or major. And the way this looks in real real life uh is provide evaluators with at least with the latest Amazon app version and set up realistic tasks like finding a product via voice search or viewing similar items with the scan feature. Your approach is use real world tasks to allow evaluators to experience the app from a user's perspective, making usability issues easier to identify. Um, you want to also gather and analyze all findings to identify patterns and prioritize issues. As far as consolidating and analyzing the findings, your actions include combining all EVA, excuse me, combining all evaluators findings into a master list, group similar issues, and remove duplicates, and then prioritize issues based on consensus and severity. The way this looks lived out is that each evaluator independently reviews the voice and scan features, noting issues like icon visibility, activation feedback, and clarity on feature status. Your approach is to document each issue with the violated heristic and severity rating to aid in prioritizing fixes during analysis. And then you want to report the findings and make recommendations. Prepare a detailed report that includes the issues, their severity, and suggested solutions. Your initial action there would be to organize the report um with an executive summary u methodology and findings. Use screenshots or annotations to illustrate usability problems. Prioritize solutions based on impact on user experience. And then in the more context on that is after evaluations compile a master list of issues grouping similar problems like visibility and feedback and prioritize critical usability issues affecting user experience. Your approach there would be to organize findings by severity. Um to highlight patterns and focus on high impact areas needing immediate attention. So similar to that ranking of like one through four um four being like this is a this needs to be changed like immediately. Um and of course one being we can change it if we have time. It's not that big of a deal. It's more subjective. and then implement design improvements um implement the design changes and re-evaluate the product to conform usability improvements. Uh the actions there are to share the report with design and development teams while addressing uh critical issues first. We also want to consider a follow-up evaluation or user testing to validate these improvements. Make sure they're worth the actual overall budget of time and cost. And then based on your findings, create a report that's a report with, excuse me, based on your on your findings, create a report with specific recommendations for the design team, such as making voice and scan options more prominent. Adding visual feedback, for example, glowing borders to show active status, um that hover state to show like something's changed. Cross do that. and then including a tool tip for firsttime users explaining these features. And then um just to recap, a tool tip is just a quick little information um tab or hover over that just reveals um additional uh content information to help the guide the user through the experience. Uh the approach is that they offer clear structured um recommendations to guide the design team in enhancing user experience making voice search and scan features more intuitive and accessible. um to implement design improvements. After conducting the heristic evaluation and implementing the design improvements, the scan and voice search option icons are placed in the search bar. Some benefits versus drawbacks. Uh let's take a closer look at the key benefits and drawbacks to understand when and how it should be used effectively. Some benefits include cost effective, it's time efficient, it's flexible, it's early identification of usability issues, it provides expert insights, it's minimal resource requirement, it's exhaustive and compatible and can be repeated regularly. Uh some drawbacks are that it lacks real user feedback. uh subjective jud subjective judgments uh limited scope, scarcity of usability experts, potential false narratives, and then overlooking contextual factors. And then we have another quick check. Uh this quick check, uh Jordan is designing a navigation system for a mobile banking app. He wants to ensure that users can easily see the current status of their transactions as they navigate through the app. Uh is it a flexibility and efficiency of use, b uh visibility of system status, c aesthetic and minimalist design, or d consistency and standards. All right, I see most of you answered and I I feel like you guys have been spot on today. Good job. Um, yes, the answer is B. Um, just some context behind that is visibility of system status is one of Nielson's 10 usability heristics. It means that the system should always keep users informed about what's going on through appropriate feedback within a reasonable time. [snorts] In this case, Jordan wants users to easily see the current status of their transactions which directly relates to ensuring visibility of system status. All right. So we have usability evaluation types usability testing. What is usability testing? It is a method used to evaluate how easy and userfriendly a product, service or system is by testing it with real users. It focuses on observing users as they interact with the product, identifying usability problems, gathering both quant qualitative and quantitative data, and understanding user behavior and preferences. Why do we need usability testing? It is essential for creating user userfriendly products. Um, and here are some key benefits that it offers. It enhance enhances user experience and increases user satisfaction and reduces development costs and then supports business goals. So, just to go over the usability testing types, um, user testing, AMB testing, remote usability testing, eye tracking studies, um, basically seeing where your eyes are scanning, and then think aloud protocol or your eyes or your mouse. And then usability uh testing user testing a method where rail users perform predefined task while being observed either in person or remotely um to identify usability issues and user preferences based on their behavior. When to use a various at various stages of development from wireframes to final products. Uh benefits it provides direct feedback from users and helps uncover usability issues and user preferences. Limitations include it can be time consuming and costly especially when when conducted a person in person or a large scale or on a large scale. Some examples there include Shopify's conducted usability testing to refine the information architecture of expert profiles, ensuring that merchants could easily find relevant information and feel confident in hiring decisions. A comparison method that tests two or more value versions of a product or feature to determine which one performs better based on predefined metrics like conversions rates conversion rates and click-through rates. And when to use this is during the development phase or after launch to optimize specific design elements. Benefits include it provides objectives uh driven a datadriven insights into user preferences and design performance. Limitations include it requires a large sample size for strategic excuse me for statistically val statistical validity and is only suitable for testing specific elements. An example there is Ben a budget telecom provider based in the Netherlands conducted A&B testing on its product page by changing the placement or of the phone color palette making the color options more visible to users related in a 17.63% 63% increases [clears throat] in the conversation. And then remote usability testing um similar to traditional user testing but condi conducted remotely allows users to complete task in their own environments while researchers observe and gather unmodderated data. When to use this is best um when testing a with a geographical diverse audience and when in-person testing is not feasible. Some benefits include that it is cost-effective, scalable, and allow for a larger more diverse participate participant to participant pool. Limitations include it lacks control over participants environments um and may encounter potential technical issues. For example, Slack conducted remote usability testing to gather feedback from international users, helping them understand how the app performed across different devices and network network conditions. Usability testing eyetracking studies. Uh a method using eyetracking technology to analyze where users focus their attention on a screen. Identifying what captures users attention and areas that may be overlooked. Hi. Um that may be overlooked. When to use this is best applied when evaluating visual design, content hierarchy, and identifying areas of confusion. Some benefits here include some benefits here include um it provides rich qualitative data on user interactions and thought patterns. It also it also includes limitations um that allow partic that restrict participants um from finding it may find it unnatural or distracting to speak while performing tasks which could affect their their task performance. And I've done that too before where I'm doing a test and I have to like essentially say my thoughts, speak my thoughts out loud or speak my actions out loud and it can be a little distracting to they say say you forget to say a step or you're trying to speak through each and every point. Um could be a little bit uh distracting from your overall experience. And an example of that is LinkedIn conducted LinkedIn conducted a think aloud protocol study to observe users navigating their platform and identify areas of confusion particularly with with features like restriction, excuse me, reaction icons and feed sorting options. some types of usability testing. Um, and while there are several other types of usability testing, each suited to different stages of the product development cycle, each are suited to different stages of the product development cycle and specific research goals. And here are some. You have task based or scenario-based testing. Then you have concept testing, accessibility testing and then survivability testing. Uh these are and then usability testing formats. These are common formats of usability testing each suited to different stages of the product development cycle and specific research goals. So, first we have moderated testing, which is someone hosting it. Um, unmodderated testing, which is probably just more self-paced. No one's hosting it or at least guiding you through in-person testing. And then you have um which self-explanatory. And then you have remote testing. The usability testing process is efficient preparation for efficient preparation for usability testing is essential to ensure the process runs smoothly and provides valuable insights. Here are some key steps to provide excuse me to prepare effectively. You want to first define objectives followed by developing a test plan. Preparing testing materials. Uh recruiting participants and then setting up test setting up the testing environment, creating a moderator's guide and then conducting a pilot test and then ensuring ethical considerations. And just to elaborate a bit more on a few things like defining your objectives. Um yes, you want to seek feedback but what are your actual objectives um from that to do with that feedback? Um what are you hoping that the um your objective for the user even completing this task? Um what do you hope that they will accomplish? um we're defining that during the objectives segment. And then I just wanted to further um reiterate during the preparing test materials um that isn't always just showing your prototype. Sometimes it's a walkthrough, an introduction, um a a survey afterwards. Um so prepare all your testing materials and then um just as well as you want to develop a test plan. um and your test materials. You also want to create a moderator guide so that the moderator isn't um being suggestive in what they're communicating and they're making sure that they are um leading the conversation um clearly and effectively as well. So to continue usability evaluation and testing, we're going to focus on exploring usability testing tools today. So quick recap of yesterday. Uh we went over usability in we went over and learned that usability ensures that a product is easy to use, helping users complete tasks quickly and without frustration. Usability evaluation methods such as heruristic evaluation, cognitive walkthroughs, and user testing help assess a [snorts] product's effectiveness and user friendliness. Usability tests involves real users performing tasks to find any issues in the product's performance. In today's engage and think, we'll use Google Maps to find a new restaurant. Uh you use Google Maps to find a new restaurant. You follow the directions, but you miss a turn because the instructions are not that clear. It's frustrating, right? What went wrong here in the user experience? Is there any way Google Maps could have checked this issue? Especially um I find it happens more so when locations may be new um or certain addresses. um when I say locations meaning um they're like they're newly developed in terms of like having um not a pre-existing business or not a preex existing um establishment. So, I find like when things are like new developments, like new buildings or um they it's a little bit harder to find sometimes or at least at first on um Google Maps where things may be or how to access things. All right, so today's learning objectives are that by the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify popular usability testing tools to understand their features and applications. We'll also demonstrate usability testing in maze to gather actionable insights on user interactions. We'll apply data analysis techniques to interpret test results and improve user experience as well as analyze key usability metrics to assess product effectiveness and identity improvement areas. Last but not least, we'll construct usability reports to communicate findings and recommendations. So, conducting usability testing and we've seen a similar diagram before, right? So, um efficient preparation for usability testing ensures the process runs smoothly and provides valuable insights. Here are key steps to conduct usability, excuse me, to conduct the test effectively. Um objective define objectives. Develop a test plan. Prepare testing materials. Recruit participants. Set up the test the testing environment. Create a modular guide. Conduct a pilot and then ensure ethical considerations. This lesson builds on the usability testing process and focuses on leveraging various tools to conduct usability test effectively. So conducting testing conducting usability testing essential tools. Usability testing tools are specialized software or platforms that help designers observe user behavior. These tools allow you to track how users interact with your interface. Um, collecting feedback is where we gather verbal and written feedback from users. Then followed up by analyzing performance metrics where they can measure task completion rates, time spent on task and click paths. Then next will um be able next the next tool is to generate reports. Um they summarize findings to help communicate issues and suggest improvements. So um popular usability testing tools. Usability testing tools help us understand how users interact with products, identify usability challenges, and enhance the overall user experience. Here's a quick look at some of the most popular usability testing tools. First we have maze, um, hot jar, user testing, and look back. Has anyone used any of these tools before? No, sorry. You were saying that you use um maze or was it I think it was called Maze or similar to that. Uh, that's similar to uh Google Maps. >> Oh, ways. >> Oh, ways. Sorry, not Maze. It was I thought it was another one called Maze. Sorry, Ways. Sorry, I meant I have to try ways. >> Yeah, ways. Um W A W A Z E is a um it's a basically a navigation app. >> Okay. Yeah, I have to try that one to see how it compares. >> Yeah, they have cool voices sometimes to like help you help guide you. Um at one point I had Cookie Monster. Another point I think I had um I think they had Keani and Christine Aguilera. It's pretty cool sometimes. Um but Maze is like a is a usability testing tool that's a little bit different. >> Okay. ways is uh so gamification. You could say uh like you know you see the little cars, you could tell them that if there's an obstruction on the road, if there's a police nearby, you know, you could like notify other drivers when you're on it. Yeah, it gives you like I don't know what the points go towards, but you essentially like you can report things. Um they'll ask you it's they'll ask you if um you see something if to confirm if something is on the road. They'll ask you if you see it still. Um I guess to make sure it's moved or check and see if it's moved. Um, if there's a car inside a road that lets you know that. >> Yeah. If there's a pothole, which is really, you know, that's that's really, you know, good. >> Yeah. What >> what I've learned is it it's more so about like it truly is um users aiding to their own experience because if you don't report something or if someone else doesn't report it, you won't know. So, um, like if there, for example, if there's a cop on the road and you're like speeding and someone reports it, you can see it on your map that there's a like there's a there may be a cop coming up. Um, and if someone doesn't report it, then you won't see it. I have to say that uh because I used to use ways a lot and Google maps they're really like they're they're basically after ways to make it so they're comparable with with ways uh Google maps like you can like report in like there's a cop on the road there's an accident on the road that's they're they're like they're they're gunning for them. [laughter] >> Oh they did they get to that point yet where they you can see the >> they absolutely have. Yeah. >> Yeah. Finally. Finally. Now, we need Apple Maps to get there, too. I know we're definitely using Maze for sure today. Um, we've talked a lot about user testing um in the past as well. So, some of these you guys are familiar with. Um, a few you have to like well, you know, of course, dive into a little bit more today, but some of them you've used. So regarding Maze, Maze is a rapid testing platform for validating prototypes and concepts through taskbased testing and in-depth reporting. Some of the pros about Maze [clears throat] is that it's a seamless integration with design tools like Figma, enabling quick feedback loops. Uh cons are that it's restricted functionality for conducting complex usability studies and recruiting participants. Maze offers both free and paid plans with the free version having limited features compared to premium options. [clears throat] And then Hot Jar is a behavior analytics tool that provides heat maps, session recordings, and user feedback to help understand user behavior and user behavior on websites. Some pros here are its easy setup, its visual insights through heat maps, um, and effective user behavior tracking. The cons here are its limited interaction insights compared to more in-depth usability testing tools. A quick note is that Hot Jar offers both free and paid plans with advanced features available in the premium version. And then we have user testing which is a platform that facilitates remote usability test test by offering access to a vast pool of participants and capturing video recordings of user sessions. A pro there is that it's easy setup uh detailed user feedback and a diverse participant pool. Some cons are it's not uh it's not cost effective for frequent use and limited control over participant se selection. A quick note there is that user testing is a paid tool with various pricing plans designed for organizations that need comprehensive usability testing features. And then last but not least, we have Look, which is a remote research platform that supports live and recorded usability test with real time interaction between researchers and participants. Some of their pros are real-time interaction and easy to use interface for moderated sessions. The cons are it's stable and strong internet connection required for smooth real-time sessions. And then a quick note is that lookback is a paid tool offering different pricing tiers based on the features and number of sessions needed. So tools some tools for moderated or unmodderated test. Our moderated test invol testing involves real time interaction while unmodderated testing lets participants work independently which is ideal for larger user studies. Unmodderated testing tools include um user testing and look back. Excuse me. Moderated testing tools include user testing and look back whereas unmodderated testing tools include user test also include user testing and maze. Um user testing has the ability to do both um u moderated and and unmodderated testing and offers flexibility based on your research needs. Screen recording and feedback analysis tools. Uh screen recording captures user actions on screen while feedback analysis collects and examines user comments to gain insights. These are a few tools that enable researchers and designers to capture user interactions and analyze feedback effectively. Uh user testing again um look back crazy egg and full story the screen recording and feedback analysis tools. Um here are a few popular tools in this category. First we have uh user testing. Uh the key features there are video recordings of user sessions, automatic transcription of user feedback and then participants demographics and insights. Last but not least, taskbased testing with user prompts and then look back. Their key features are live screen sharing and recording, insession notes and tagging, participant interaction analysis, and then real time collabor collaboration tools for team discussions. And then next we have crazy egg. Their key features are heat maps, scroll maps, and user session recordings. uh they include it includes A and B testing tools to compare different versions of a page and then insights into user engagement and and conversion rates and then followed by full story. Uh the their key features are session replays to watch user interactions in real time, advanced search filters for specific user journeys, convert conversion funnel analysis and then followed by feedback tool feedback tools integrated into the platform. So choosing the right tool for your needs. First, we'll be able to define your testing objectives, followed by uh determining the type of usability testing, considering your budget, evaluate key features, assess usability and integrations, research tool, research tool reputation and support, and then try and experiment with the tools functionalities. So briefly we're going to do a quick uh demo where we are uh setting up basically our like profile account in Maze and then um doing some setting up how to demonstrate how to set up a and conduct usability testing basically. So, without further ado, I'm going to grab the link and share it with you guys in the chat. Um, or you can just go to the website, but give me one second. Should be off.maze.co. If you type in So, I'm going to just log in with Google. I'll just say just browsing for now, but um I just put in my credentials. Um and I'll pause there while everyone pulls it up and um hops in. So, [snorts] um next to access what would we like to use Maze for? Today I'm just going to say just browsing. Um, but feel free to choose what you may want to choose. Um, but I'm just going to say just browsing for now. And then next we're going to continue. And then we should see a screen like this. Um, when everyone gets to this screen, can you guys raise your hand? Just so I can know like a lot or at least a good amount of you are getting to this point. All right, give some folks a few more seconds. So, first we're going to start with um creating a study and we have um unmodderated AI moderated and then moderated interviews. We're just going to click on unmodderated for now on not we're just going to click unmodderated maze because there's an add-on for sorry let me go back there's an add-on for the AI one and then moderated interviews um is a part of the premium feature. So just to stick with our free version we're going to click unmodderated and then we're going to select start from scratch. So, we're going to rename our project and we're going to rename it to be the food delivery app. >> How did you get that screen? Sorry. >> Oh, I clicked on the I hovered over the um area where the name >> Okay. >> the name of it. Okay. It's clicked to. Okay. Thank you. No worries. Okay. And then when you guys get there, um, we're going to click add block and then we're going to select prototype test. Um, first we're going to add a task. Um, that can look something like determine the user experience of the food delivery app. And so you guys have it. Um something like determine the user experience of the food delivery app. And then the description could be something like order a cheeseburger using the app. I know you guys um had different food types. So feel free to best base it off of your food type that you had. And then we're going to And then we're going to add the prototype. You'll see a screen that pops up that says allow maze to access Figma. Um, I'm going to select continue and then it should sync up to your Figma account. Granted, you're using the same browser or same laptop or device. Um, is every everyone when everyone gets to this step, um, can you just raise your hand just a few of you just so I can know it may be safe to move on. So, we're going to allow it's maze to access the um Figma, our Figma file. Uh importing Figma prototypes in maze. Um we can create a dedicated work file or we can make where it's to reduce the loading time for testers. We recommend copying only the necessary frames to a dedicated file. Or you can get your link and make sure your prototype permissions are set to anyone can view. And then you can just import it into Maze allowing people to navigate through your files they want. Anyone well at least view your file. Um, just for the sake of time, I'm going to give it a link. So, let me go to my Figma. In order for this to work that the pages in that Figma file need to be like linked, you know, the flows, right? >> Yeah. You need >> side question. >> Yeah, you would need to basically have your like prototype. >> Got it. Okay. >> Yeah. Um >> I'm like I know mine won't work cuz they're not linked yet. Oh, I didn't know whose project this was. I was just like, let me see what this >> No, that's that one's not mine. >> Let's try it out. >> Let's try it out. Are you okay with that, VJ? >> Yeah, I'm all good with that. That's fine. >> Cool. >> Looks gorgeous. >> Cover did not look like this is what I clicked, though. I don't know what it look like. Yeah, I've been doing some work on my free time. Whenever I get bored, just add something. >> All right, we're gonna ignore that message for today, but I think it it's pretty clear as to what it's talking about. Um, it did import the >> Oh, sorry. >> Sorry. >> All right. So, I'll just refresh that. Um when I uploaded the prototype basically it said it was heavy and it can cost cause tester drop off um to improve the experience and reduce loading time uh to copy all the necessary frames to a dedicated file. So I'm going to ignore that particular message for right now just just to like continue like setting it up. So we're going to import that anyway. Um, with that being said, and then once we import, we're going to select goal based. And then the goal could be >> the next thing I was going to do is make a like a dedicated cart like a uh what do you call it? Recent orders or like a cart list. So, I guess that could be my next path. >> Okay. Um Okay. So, I'm going to select the goal really quick. So, the start of the flows here. So, I'll just say the goal is to is here or basically the the goal well the um idea behind selecting a goal is that you're telling um the system what your um what are successful actions that you want the user to take. essentially what do you what screens do you hope they um navigate to or interact with or um things that you want them to complete? For example, if like this was if this were like an onboarding screen um or at least like the portion of the sign up um and you had on screen like this the screen was your start, you're welcome. Um the screen was like I guess sign in um or sign up and then you have your like onboarding screen. Um it's like third that could be an example. So it's pretty much um determining the success criteria that you want to follow. So after that, >> do you think it's acting weird because there's not many screens? Cuz I can give you my uh fashion app link that has more screens and it has a better flow. Might be able to have a better example. >> Um >> or is it just is there something else that I'm not understanding? No, I'm Well, yes, I I'll take your fashion app if that's cool, but I um I'm not sure why it's not letting me. >> Yeah, I gave it to you in the uh direct message chat. >> Oh, okay. Great. Thanks. >> Yeah, this thing I don't know. I only I've really worked on one screen. If I think it'd be the flow would work. I mean, this example would work better if I had a couple more screens attached to it. >> Oh, good. Um, we we really only worked on it in various ways, but it it wasn't it was more so like the in-class assignment, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. I'm getting a lot of like Jira vibes from this app and like Atlassian stuff from here. I don't know. [snorts] >> In ways I can see why you say that. >> I don't know. Maybe it's just the design, the color, the blue. Maybe. >> Yeah, the way they structure their environment in these like kind of three buckets too. Could be a factor. So, let's select a goal. Um, our goal is to, let's see, our goal is to view our profile, right? Um after we basically create that um that goal, we're able to I'm just trying to make sure I'm Yeah. Okay. So, we added the go screen. We can add multiple goals like going to your profile or checking a wish list. Um I've set the overall objective to like buy a shirt. So, I'm just going to select this um number one screen since I see shirts there. Um, and then choose the um I'll leave the interactive components off for now. Um, you can add also add open-ended questions. So, if you scroll down here, you'll see open-ended questions as your block title. Um, and then for example, you can ask things like, "How was the user experience while ordering a shirt?" Or if you still have your food delivery app up, um, a cheeseburger or pizza, you can say, um, but try and keep it simple just for class. And then after that, um, they can add their notes. You can add an image to this to support your, um, what you're asking them to do, but nothing distracting, of course. Um, and then next, you are also able to add an opinion scale. So, show you what that looks like briefly. Um, it's this green star over here. Um, you can ask a question here like, "How did you like this app?" Um, and we've seen that at the end of using certain platforms or certain apps, right? How did you rate your experience? How did you enjoy this? Um, that's pretty much the first thing they want to know. And then next you can um you can select the number of stars to preview um what you receive and also like just test out how it would look for users. um walk through each task ensuring the instructions are clear and check all prototype interactions as they are needed. Um so you can say um from here we can go to the uh share option and then we'll we should be ready to um navigate after that. So, let's click live and see what happens there. It doesn't say um okay first and then you can um when you get to the screen you'll be able to copy your link so that way you can share it with potential testers. Um, and basically it looks like this. So, I copied my main screen over to another tab and opened it. So this is um basically walking your user through your your app um alongside with them interacting it with it. Um you're asking them to determine their user experience of the of the app um and what task to complete. um simulating that they log in, they want to shop, they want to see something else. Um, after you've completed interacting with whatever app or platform you either are interacting with or designing the app, it prompts you to to say how was the user experience and then >> bad. [laughter] No, it's good. And then how would you rate this app? So just doing like some quick research. Um Maze is an AI powered product research. Enhances your product research with the suite of AI powered tools that reduce bias, uncover deeper insights and accelerate analysis. Um it helps you craft the perfect question. Um dynamic flows, dynamic followup that uh digs for more insights. And then it shows some of the higher level trends that that are easier like for example if it's if it's easy to [clears throat] use if it's product performance customer service and do you have you ever had from what it seems like even this particular feature AI moderated interviews um could be similar to having like where user testing um I I don't know if they have an I don't think they have an AI component yet. At least not in this way. But similar to the way you talk to chat GBT and you're like and they have the voice um aspect of it now. Um it seems like Maze has their own voice um AI where they can essentially speed up or amp up rev up the hiring process. um sorry um where certain platforms you can essentially I've used certain AI tools where you can um fasttrack the hiring process and you're talking to like AI um but it seems like for these for this you can essentially prompt your questions and the AI is interacting with your potential user in a similar way that I've like spoken to certain jobs and instead Instead of speaking to a recruiter or AI representative, I start speaking with um AI first and there there's an AI bot essentially asking me questions and capturing my native language and asking me follow-up questions based off of what I said. Has anyone ever interacted with something like that before? I hope everyone was able to stretch their limbs and get some water, get some coffee or some tea or something. Um, so picking back up on today's lesson on key with key key usability metrics tracked by tools. Uh, usability key usability metrics tracked by tools. Uh, in usability testing, certain metrics are essential for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of a product's design. Here's a quick overview of the key usability metrics. First, we have success rate um followed by error rate. Uh sorry. First we have success rate followed by error message and followed by um sub subjective feedback and last but not least time on task. Uh with success rate it is the percentage of tasks that users complete successfully. The purpose there is to measure how well users can accomplish intended goals. An example is Amazon optimizing its one-click purchase feature. Um, if 90 out of 100 users complete their transactions without any hassle, the success rate stands at 90. This metric helps this metric helps Amazon perfect its seamless buying experience, ensuring millions of shoppers enjoy a frictionless checkout. Then next you have error rate which is the number of errors made by users while attempting to complete a task. The purpose here is to ind it indicates areas of confusion or poor design. An example is on popular accommodations um booking platforms like Airbnb. The error message, the error rate measures mistakes users make, such as selecting the wrong check-in date or entering an incorrect address for a reservation. If 20 out of a 100 users make these errors, the error rate stands at 20%. Signaling a need for design changes to make the booking process clearer and more intuitive. average time users make, excuse me, average time users take to complete a task. Um, excuse me. Time on task is the average time users take to complete a task. The purpose here is to assess task efficiency and end user proficiency. An example is on a banking app like PayPal. Uh, time on task measures how long it takes users to spend money. um to send money. If most transfers are completed within one minute, but some users take four minutes due to unclear steps, it signals potential areas for streamlining the process to enhance efficiency and user satisfaction. Um next we have subjective feedback. It's user opinions. It subjective feedback is where user opinions and satisfaction levels gather um gathered through surveys or interviews. The purpose here is to provide qualitative insights into user experiences and emotional responses. An example is that on a popular streaming app like Netflix, subjective feedback includes user comments such as the content recommendations uh fail spoton. Uh the autoplay feature is frustrating or the insights help um Netflix refine and refine the user experience and improve overall satisfaction. >> [clears throat] >> Some techniques to interpret usability data effectively are uh data analysis techniques. Uh these are methods for processing and interpreting data to extract insights and guide decision making. Usability testing provides valuable qualitative and quantitative data that helps improve user experience. Knowing the right technique for analyzing the data helps us derive meaningful insights. Qualitative data analysis techniques are thematic analysis. It involves identifying patterns in qualitative data through familiarization, coding, theme development and re refinement. Next we have affinity diagramming. It groups similar insights to organize qualitative data by collecting feedback, recording insights and clustering related related notes to find patterns. Uh the content analysis involves coding and categorizing qualitative data to identify trends, define categories and analyzing and analyze patterns for insights. qualitative data analysis techniques. Um, an example there is that during the usability testing of an app or on recipes, users highlighted issues like difficulty finding recipes and confusing stepby-step instructions. To address these concerns effectively, three analysis techniques were applied. First, we have thematic analysis, which identified themes like limited search filters and unclear instructions with users saying, "I couldn't filter recipes by cooking time and the instructions were too vague for beginners." And then we had affinity diagramming um grouped related feedback into clusters like search issues and instruction clarity making platforms clearer for prioritization. And third we have content analysis which is categorized in quantified data now revealing that 40% struggled with search filters and 35% had trouble with instructions guiding improvement efforts. Some data analysis techniques um quant quantitative data analysis techniques are descriptive statistics uh [snorts] where it uses uses statistics to summarize usability data and assess user performance. It involves comparing us usability metrics across user groups by collecting data and using statistical tests to identify significant differences. Heat maps and clickstream analysis uh visualizes user behavior through heat maps and clickstream data by tracking clicks and scrolls to highlight engagement areas and analyze navigation paths. Uh a quick example here are quantitative analysis of an e-learning platform focused on metrics like course time, quiz completion, and click behavior using three key techniques. Uh the descriptive statistics revealed that students spent 20 minutes on less lessons but only 5 minutes on quizzes indicating low engagement. Uh comparative analysis showed that users who retook the courses completed them 40% faster highlighting improved performance with famili familiarity familiarity. And then third we have heat maps and clickstream analysis which identified frequent clicks of navigation on navigation but minimal scrolling suggesting the a need to reorganize content. And then we have a mix of methods um when it comes down to analysis techniques. uh triangulation which integrates qualitative and quantitative data for comprehensive usability insights, excuse me, comprehensive usability insights comparing both to validate findings and understand user behavior. And then next we have user journey mapping which creates a visual map of the user journey combining feedback and metrics to highlight touch points and pain points aiding design improvements. And an example of the mix method is an analysis um with mixed methods on travel booking platform combined qualitative and quantitative data to understand user behavior. This was achieved using the following techniques. Triangulation which combined user feedback and an analytics to reveal the most reveal that most users got frustrated while searching for options that led to a 30% drop off rate on the search page. Followed by user journey mapping which visualize the booking process combining feedback and metrics to identify pain points like search difficulties and payment confusion. And then we have another quick check. This time we are going to imagine we are a UX designer analyzing. We are UX designers, right? So, we are UX designers. Uh, we're going to imagine that we are analyzing data from a usability test for a e-learning for an e-learning app. Users often pause during the quiz feature and heat map data shows most engagement on the lower half of the quiz screen. Which technique would best help you understand these issues? Is it a thematic analysis, b affinity affinity diagramming, c descriptive statistics or d heat map and clickstream analysis. All right, let's uncover that. So the reason why the answer is a thematic analysis is that theatic analysis is the best technique here because it helps you interpret qualitative insights from the usability test. Uh specifically understanding why users are pausing or interacting more with the lower half of the screen. While heat maps and click streams uh heat maps and click streams uh data shows that shows what users are doing. Thematic analysis helps uncover patterns and reasons behind their behavior by analyzing user comments, thinking think aloud feedback and user and excuse me and interview data. Are there any questions about that? All right, picking things back up. I know. Um, that one's a little tricky, especially because they [clears throat] essentially It's not that he didn't work. It just was the elaborative the elaboration as to why um the medic analysis was correct. And then we're going to get into generating usability reports with tools. Usability reports share key findings from testing with stakeholders offering insights and actionable recommendations to improve user experience. Here is a guide to structuring it. Uh first we want to provide excuse me first we want to list usability issues recommend and recommend solutions followed by followed by um highlighting positive observations and summarizing a conclusion. And next we have include appendencies. Uh present key findings, describe methods used for data collection, define objectives and scope of of the usability study. And then last but not least, we have to provide an executive summary. Uh visualizing data for clear reporting. The methods mentioned help illustrate user behaviors and issues making data easier for stakeholders and to understand and act on. First we have heat map. Uh next we have graphs and charts. And then last but not least we have session replays. Clear visual representations are essential for effectively presenting usability findings, helping stakeholders easily understand and engage with insights. How many people have ever seen like a heat map before on a website or interacted with one themselves? No one. They're kind of like a weather map. If you um ever like watch the news and see the weather forecast, it's kind of like a weather heat map in a way, but this is just tracking um movements and interactions on a certain site or platform. Uh the purpose is to show where users click, scroll, sorry, show where users click, scroll or hover most frequently. The types are click heat map, scroll heat maps, and hover maps. Their best used um best use is to identify navigational issues, analyzing content visibility, and understanding interaction patterns. Then next we have graphs and filters. Uh they're present they present quantitative data such as success rates, error rates and task completion times in a digestible format. In a [clears throat and snorts] digestible format. Uh these types are include bar and line charts, pie charts and histograms. Uh best uses are summarizing complex data for easy comparison and highlighting trends or patterns. Some session replays are uh that the purpose is to provide real-time recordings for user interactions to visualize how they navigate through your product. A best use here is to understand is understanding user pain points and frustration. For example, repeated clicks and drop off rates. >> [snorts] >> Some usability reports for stakeholders um in the presentation are it is crucial for gaining buy in and driving actionable changes. To communicate findings in a comp compelling and strategic way, consider the following approaches. One, tailor your presentation. Structure your presentation. Uh use visuals. uh highlight business impact. It's very important. And then keep it keep it concise. Um especially on your screen, people want things that they can easily digest and grab um versus having to read long paragraphs and long presentations. Um and then facilitate discussion. Uh provide a full excuse me, provide a summary report. And then next we're going to hop back into Maze. And then this time we're going to be following the exact path to conduct usability testing. So just pulling us back up. All right. So I'm going to start a new study. And this time and feel free to open up your um pull up your apps. Um, and I feel like this time maybe I can switch it. I'll pick someone's food delivery app. Actually, um I believe Cat had a pretty um expanded one. >> I've already tested mine. It didn't test out very well [laughter] to be honest. >> Sorry. >> No worries. No worries. Um, I was wondering if we could use it for the exact path one because we're not trying to get to a specific screen, but let me see who else. I'm trying to remember who else did that. Well, um, whose is Swift Eats? Can we use this one? Um, I think this is living. >> Yeah, that's mine. It's not the cleanest, but we can use it. >> Okay, cool. So, let me grab a link and then I'm gonna hop back. >> I already >> Huh? >> I was going to say I have a link for mine if you want to use that one. >> Like I mean like I have like a link from Maze. I mean, but let's But for this I assume you want to create a new one. Yeah, I just wanted to create a new one because um because it's a different pathways. All right. Um this time instead of doing so I go back to lesson instead of doing the direct screen or like the screen that we intended the user to land on this time we're doing the exact path um which is a different option in the platform. So if we select start from scratch, we can just press create and then we're going to add a block prototype test. Paste your link in there. All right. And then >> Do you need the link? Do you have it? All right. >> Yeah, I have it. I just I accidentally copied it in the wrong spot. So, I was [snorts] looking for um my like prompt instructions. All right. I mean, we got this error before, but it's all right for now. going to import that. Anyway, I'm just changing the task. Um, determine the user experience on the app. Um, and then we could say uh check out. So, this is um Okay. So, this is where we select to either last time we did our success criteria based off of a goal, which is landing on a specific screen or interacting with a specific screen. But now we're going to follow an exact path. So, our first screen is our home page right here. And then we can click through the prototype to determine what we want our like how we want the sequence sequence to be yeah go through the that and just click keep clicking the bottom buttons is basically what it kind of goes through. >> Nice. >> I guess I shouldn't tell you that that's you're supposed to figure out the user experience, but this is just for creating it. >> No, I understood. I understand. Um, so after we develop the success criteria and click through the prototype to like sync it up. Um so clicking through the prototype in the in the preview tab to define the path. Um so now we're going to start testing or preview it. And I'll just drop my link here after it finishes loading up. [snorts] Oh, it gave me an error. All right, we're going to go live really quick and I'm just going to paste this into the Hold on one second. Trying to Okay, here's the link. Got that. There you guys go. and then hopping back through the demo. Um, >> oh, this is fun. We'll get some fun feedback. >> Yeah. So, determine uh your the user experience of the food delivery app. Um, just going to click through again. Sorry about that, Livia. Uh, so I don't know why I just switching between these two screens, but H That one was just kind of making me toggle between those two screens. I'm not sure why. Um So, it's a drop off, right? Um I'm not sure what I did wrong here. Um, sorry. Give me two seconds. I'm just trying to find where uh I'm trying to find where I open this up again at. Um share. So looking back at the link. I think it's because I submitted already in this browser. I'm not sure, but there are analytics coming through on the app. I know it's probably a lot of wonkiness just because of the way um I know like well correct me if I'm wrong Olivia you prototyped yours right >> I did prototype it just for like just this the simple stuff like clicking through it and and the one sidebar that comes out. But there isn't like a ton in there, but it's mostly just clickth through prototyping. >> I got it. No worries. I just wanted to know. All right. So getting back into things. All right. Oh, so um we got another quick check. I didn't put this one in my Figma. I forgot. Um so a UX researcher needs to present usability findings to stakeholders to gain support and design changes for design changes. Uh what approach should the researcher take? Should is it a present all techniques excuse me all technical details without linking to business impact. Uh use visuals to highlight key insights and business relevance. Uh deliver findings casually without a structured approach or list issues without providing actionable recommendations. All right, I feel like you guys are doing well with this one. Um, the answer is B. Uh we use visuals to highlight key insights and business relevance. An explanation for that is presenting usability findings to stakeholders. The goal is to communicate insights clearly and persuasively, not overwhelm the tech with technical details like visuals or using visuals, excuse me. using visuals, charts, uh screenshots, user user quotes, journey and journey maps and conducting findings to business goals or impact is more helpful for stakeholders to quickly grasp why design changes matter and encourages buy in for improvements. Any [snorts] questions there? No questions, guys. All right. Um, iterative usability testing. Iterative use iterative usability testing is a crucial process for enhancing user experience through continuous feedback and refinement. Uh the roles of UX designers in play um UX designers play a crucial role in usability testing and encourages accurate participant selection and actionable insights to improve design outcomes. UX designers are excuse me UX designers contribute to this process by one defining the audience um identifying key users using demographic age location and behavioral criteria like habits and performance excuse me excuse habits and preferences. Uh creating screen creating screening questions um to develop excuse me creating screening create develop screening questions to ensure participants match the target user profile. Uh collaborating with marketing teams work with marketing teams to leverage audience data and refine testing segments. First, the approach. Uh, here's a step-by-step approach to running iterative usability tests efficiently. At first, we have define clear objectives like set goals like validating design concepts or improving navigation and choosing metrics like success rate or error rate to measure to measure usability. um plan and prepare for testing. Next, we want to develop prototypes and recruit diverse participants. Uh design realistic test scenarios that align with your objectives. And then [clears throat] third, we have conduct usability tests. uh which involves using moderated tests for directed for direct observation or unmodderated tools for independent insights. Both methods provide vis excuse me both methods provide valuable data for enhancing design. And then last but not least, we have analyzing findings, which is the process of reviewing the data to identify common challenges and organ or organize feedback. Um, organizing feedback into themes like navigation or labeling issues. Uh some benefits of iterative usability testing are user centric design. It ensures design decisions are based on real user experiences. It also includes reduced risk of all right we have one more uh quick check. Um, this quick check goes over um where a UX researcher working on a new fitness app. After testing, uh, users mention difficulties with navigation and unclear labels. What's the best next step? Um, is it A, make all changes immediately? Uh, B, use an impact versus effort matrix to prioritize issues. Or is it C? Skip analysis and test again. Um or D uh log findings without changes. Yeah, guys. All right. So the answer is B as well. Uh using impact versus effort matrix to prioritize issues. Uh the explanation behind that is that after identifying usability problems like navigation difficulties and unclear labels, the next step is to analyze and prioritize them before making changes. Um, an impact versus effort matrix helps you determine which issues will have the greatest effect on user experience and um will be um will be the least amount of development effort. Um this ensures design resources are used effectively and improvements are strategically implemented. Um inclusive design for advanced application. So inclusive design for advanced applications. Uh design ensures that digital products are usable by the widest range of people regardless of ability or background. Key principles include consider diverse needs. Uh design with a focus on accommodating various physical, cognitive and sensory abilities. Um other flex offer flexibility enable you enable user customization such as adjusting text size or modifying color contrast to enhance accessibility. Ensure ease of use. Uh simplify interactions and provide intuitive guidance. Uh clear errors message clear error messages and meaningful feedback. And then we have use use accessibility tools. Uh use accessibility tools like screen readers, color contrast, analyzers and keyboard navigation. And then next we have design for multiple disabilities design for visual hearing, motor and cognitive impa impairments. uh applying WGAC and dynamic systems. The web content accessibility guidelines provide otherwise known as WC A uh provides a con a set of comprehensive standards to create accessible content focus focusing on key principles. um is perceivable. Uh making content adaptable and distinguishable for example providing text alternatives for images. Um it's operable ensuring users can interact with the interface uh using multiple methods input methods like keyboard navigation. It's un understandable um to make to make text instructions and interactions easy to comprehend as well as robust uh supporting assistive technologies and providing excuse me providing compatibility across various platforms. um introducing WCAG levels. The web content accessibility guidelines are a set are a set of global standards aiming aimed at making digital content accessible to everyone including individuals with disabilities u below our success criteria that um and levels that ensure inclusivity for diverse user needs. Level A is basic accessibility standards. Level AA is enhance access enhanced usability and inclusivity and AAA is advanced standards for comprehensive accessibility. Level A example is X formerly known as Twitter lets users view alt text on images and GIFs by selecting the alt button um with or without a screen reader. uh for double A uh Airbnb improved color contrast and text resizing to meet uh to meet WCAGA standards enhancing usability for travels travelers in all environments. the text in the search fields. For example, where uh check-in date and more appears to have sufficient contrast against the white background. Uh AAA example is BBC achieve WCAG AAA compliance with single with sign language videos and high contrast designs improving accessibility for visual and hearing impaired users. So some of the uh the criteria for WCAG outline actionable requirements uh to create accessible and userfriendly digital interfaces for diverse audiences. Here are some of the success criteria for each WCAG compliance level. First we have a of course uh the criteria for that is text alternatives for non-ext content functionality accessible make sure functionality is accessible via keyboard and then clear navigation and identifiable page titles. Uh double A is a contrast ratio at least four, five and one for text and images of text. Four to five for text and images of text. And then text is reusable up to 200% without loss of content or functionality. Excuse me. Resizable. um consistent navigation and put input labels um provided and then for AAA we have contrast ratio of at least 7.1 um for pre-recorded media and then mechan mechanisms to prevent errors in data entry such as input input validation and confirmation. The impact of WCAG on user experience. Um the impact extends beyond compliance ex enhancing us usability, accessibility and overall satisfaction for all users. Uh it removes barriers for users with disabilities. Enhancing use enhances usability for broader audiences including those in diverse contexts. um example noisy environments or low light conditions. Um it also improves overall user satisfaction by creating seamless and frustrationfree interruptions. And then next we have Apple's turn over screen, excuse me, vers Apple's voice over screen uh screen reader not only supports visually impaired users but also enhances hands-free usability for broader audiences. And then some tools for WCAG compliance are that um below are tools that assist designers and developers in identifying and resolving accessibility issues ensuring WCAG compliance and inclusive UXUI designs. So first we have wave. Um this evaluate web content for accessibility issues. And then um Harvard University uses wave to audit and maintain the accessibility of its online courses. And then we have ox um or x uh automate accessibility testing during design and development. Example here is IBM uses them to de uses them in uses ox in their development pipeline to test product interfaces and compliance with WCAG. And then some tools. Some tools include um color contrast analyzer which verifies the text and background colors meet WCAG contrast ratio requirements. An example there is Adobe XD integrates integrates it dur during prototype testing to ensure accessibility and UI designs. And then next you have Figma. You have Figma plugins for accessibility plugins like contrast and stark ensure contrast color contrast and accessibility compliance during design. For example, Spotify's design team uses Figma plugins to test and refine UI components for better accessibility. Quick case study about Airbnb and their achievement. Sorry, my laptop's about to die. um quick case study about Airbnb and they how they achieve accessibility through WCAG compliance. Um right now we're going to learn about how Airbnb tackled accessibility challenges um with the WCAG standards and creating how they created a seamless and inclusive experience for all users. So some context here. Airbnb is a leading global rental platform. Identify um change identified accessibility challenges that hindered user experience for individuals with disabilities. Uh their legal and ethical requirements pushed the company to adopt WCAG compliance standards. And then problem solving uh is navigation barriers. Users with users with visual impairments uh struggled with low contrast and keyboard in accessibility. Uh content issues. There was a lack of descriptive alt text for images and in accessible forms. Compliance issues. Airbnb needed to meet WCAG standards to ensure inclusivity and avoid potential legal issues. Um some solutions there were that they adopted WCAG2.1 which is a level doublea compliance and improve color contrast for um by four improved color contrast to that 451 ratio. Um and added all text all text for images enabled full dashboard navigation. It conducted usability testing in assisted technology user with assisted technology users. Um it also results 30% um increase in sessions during the duration for users with um assist assisted technologies. It also gave 20% reduction um reduction in bounce rate for users with disability and enhance brand reputation as an inclusive platform. Key takeaways here are that for UIUX designers integrating with WCAG principles early and in iterative iterative iteratively ensures accessibility and improves user experience for all usability evaluation and testing. So, an introduction to usability inquiry inquiry techniques in UIUX. And just to confirm everyone can see my screen, correct? All right. And a quick recap of what we went over last week. Uh, usability testing tools play a crucial role in understanding how users interact with products, spotting usability challenges, and enhancing the overall user experience. A usability report shares key findings from testing with stakeholders, offering insights and actionable recommen recommendations. These recommendations improve the user experience. Um, last but not least, we also learned that iterative usability testing is a crucial process for enhancing user experience through continuous feedback and refinement. And today's engage and think is pretty brief. Have you ever left a website or app because it was too difficult to use? Uh what frustrated you the most? Feel free to um take a second to think about that and then um unmute and share if you would like. Um just to answer Anush Anushka's question. Um I feel good. I I'm also a bit tired from the gym. Um but I like I said I will be going again after class. um pretty disciplined in that way. Um and I guess as far as I'll go first. Um as far as a website or app that I felt was difficult to use, um I feel like I'm constantly downloading new apps to see how I like them. Um, one app in particular that I was using, um, there was a one there was a fitness app that I had downloaded and it was just, um, what's the word because I I think it could be a a factor of the gym that I was in as well, but every time I would go to the gym, it would like freeze or glitch every time I was trying to like see certain um movements or exercises because they gave a video explanation of like what the movement was, but often times when I'm at the actual gym, I wouldn't be able to see it. So, um I really just didn't like that that factor and so I just stopped using it. Um, and I know that's like a pretty like simple reason because outside the gym it was fine. But if I if I can't use it in the facility facility that I'm that I'm in um then it kind of just makes it not worthwhile for me. Does anyone have like a different story or something similar? So moving on, today's uh learning objectives are that by the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify core usability inquiry techniques for evaluating user experience during product development. Design is a design a user feedback survey to gather qualitative data for improving product usability. You'll also be able to apply user interview techniques to gain detailed insights into user behavior and preferences and as well as analyze focus group discussions to extract actionable themes for enhancing product usability. So first uh the introduction to usability inquiry techniques, usability evaluation types. Here are some common techniques used in different usability evaluation types. First, we have um just going from left to right, usability inspection and usability testing. Um once you get into usability inquiry, we're now focusing more on surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Um we've already explored testing and inspection in previous lessons. In this lesson, we'll just mainly focus on the inquiry techniques. Uh what is usability inquiry? It gathers user feedback to improve design. It improves collecting it involves collecting qualitative and quantitative data to identify usability issues and enhance user satisfaction. Some core techniques are surveys, interviews, and focus groups. So going from left to right um here are essential here are three essential techniques to gather uh user feedback during usability evaluation phase. Uh first we'll go over the technique the purpose and how how it works and then give an example. So starting with surveys the purpose is to collect quantitative and qualitative feedback from a large audience. Um, it work how it works is that users answer structured questions including rating scales and open-ended qu open-ended queries. An example of that is a net promoter a net promoter score otherwise known as NPS uh how likely are you to recommend our group responses might highlight navigation is issues for usabil for user interviews. Uh the purpose is to gain an in-depth understanding of individual user experiences and pain points while how it works is to conduct one-on-one conversations to explore specific challenges or pre preferences and details. Um, an example is that after low MPS scores, interview users interview users to discover they they find the app's bill play bill payment feature hard to locate. So, um, if you're trying to if you're getting a pass through notification or a late payment notification and you're trying to pay that particular bill, being able to locate that easily is pretty important. Um and then focus groups. The purpose of focus groups is to gather diverse opinions through group discussions to explore broader user needs and and preferences. it works. How it works is it facilitates it's a facilitation um discussion with multiple user a facilitated discussion with multiple users um where to collect to collect collective feedback and identify common themes. Um so just to like reword that a bit um it's facilitated or hosted by um the research team um usually one individual would be essentially the speaker or the host um and they would facilitate a discussion with more than one person uh multiple users to collect their feedback um and then they gather this feedback sim similar similar to what we discussed during the research portion of things. Um, but they gather this feedback, synthesize it, and find common themes that um, based on the group's um, feedback. An example of that is a group. A focus group reveals that users want a simplified layout and customizable options for the dashboard. some techniques uh and research questions. Um before learning about surveys, it's essential to understand the difference between qualitative, which is open-ended, and quantitative, which is structured uh research questions to ensure you select the right approach for data collection. Um qualitative research questions tend to be open-ended questions. They aim to explore how and why people think, feel, or behave. And then methods include interviews and focus groups. It's allowing um thus thus allowing for in-depth responses and storytelling. And then quantitative research questions um quantitative research questions um are more more structured questions. They aim to measure how many and how much um using numerical data uh typic typically used in surveys uh which provide standardized comparable responses. Usability inquiry techniques. Um first we'll go over surveys a little bit more in depth. Designing a user feedback survey for a mobile app. And this is um discussion uh imagine a survey as a focused conversation with a very a varied group of individuals. Its purpose is to gather meaningful actionable insights to make it easier. Uh let's break down the process step by step using a familiar context and clear problem statement. So the context is you are part of a design team working on Fit Track, a mobile app that helps users track their workouts, log their meals, and set personalized fitness goals. Recently, recently user engagement has dropped and app store reviews have been become mixed. Your task is to design a user feedback survey to uncover pain points and gather insights for improvement. Your problem statement is your team need your team needs to your team needs to design a survey that will help gather feedback from fit tracks users to understand why engagement is declining which features users find valuable or frustrating and then what improvements or new features users would like to see. Step one would be defining survey goals. What specific insights do you hope to gain from this survey? How will these insights influence the next steps in your design process? And then step two is identifying the target audience. Who should be surveyed? Should your should you target all users or only those who have recently stopped using the app? Uh step three, crafting effective questions. What types of questions? What types of questions should be included? For example, multiple choice, open-ended rating scales. Uh how should how can you ensure that your questions are clear, unbiased, and relevant? [snorts] Step four is ensuring survey uh engagement. How can you encourage users to complete the survey? uh what what strategies can can you use to keep the survey short but informative? And then step five is testing and distribution. How will you test the survey before sending it to a larger audience through which channels? Uh is it face to face? Is it via email, telephonic, which is on the phone, um or online? Uh should the survey be distributed for maximum participation? Um, these are some of the things you want to think about when you're distributing your survey. And then step six is analyzing and acting on feedback. Once you've collected the data, how will you prioritize the feedback? How can you translate how can you translate the feedback into actionable design improvements? And in summary, in a nutshell, here are the steps to create a survey to gather user feedback and evaluate a product's usability. Step one is defining the survey goals. Um, step two, identifying the target audience. Step three, crafting effective questions. Step four, ensuring survey engagement. [clears throat] Step five, testing and distribution. And then step six, analyzing and acting on feedback. And feel free to take like a quick screenshot of this so you can remember the steps as you go along. And then key factors for selecting the right survey delivery method. Several factors should be considered when selecting a delivery method for products for products or services to ensure the most efficient and userfriendly approach. Here are some factors to consider. One, your target audience. Uh the survey's length and complexity. Uh the budget that it would take to conduct this survey. uh the response rate, the data collection and analysis, and then the timeliness. All right. And we've made it to our first demo. So today's demo is creating a usability feedback survey for Instagram using Typeform. Um we've all used Typeform before in the research portion of the course. Um, so today we'll be opening that up again and just continuing to use that uh but a little bit differently. We'll create a survey to gather feedback on users overall satisfaction with Instagram uh with Instagram their feature engagement, app usability, interaction with new features and suggestions for improvement. Steps to be followed are to access type form. Add a title and an introduction. Add an overall satisfaction question. Add a feature usage question. Add a navigation usability question. and then add a question about engagement as well as a question an open-ended question for feedback. Last but not least, we'll preview and test the survey. So, all right. Um, so just sharing my type form tab really quick. Um, yeah, they don't really make it easy to log in, but I was here earlier and I saw this. So, I just click the sign up again and then it gives you the option to log in from there. This is not the type form account that I want to use right now. So, give me one second. >> [snorts] >> All right. Can everyone see my screen? Okay. Awesome. All right. So, um if everyone is already logged in to I'm trying to get my view correct cuz this is not all right. Maybe that'll help. Okay. I don't know why it's not letting me scroll. All right, no worries. Um, if everyone's logged in, then we could just go to the step two. So step two is to create a new form um to start a new survey. So let me just drag mine down here just for context. And then once you create a new form, once you create a new form, um you're going to select build from scratch. [snorts] It doesn't necessarily look like the screen here, but um it may not look like that on your version. Um, but under the AI prompt, you should see the um like a button or um like in a light gray box, start from scratch. And once you select start from scratch, we're going to add a title and introduction first. You can um I see they chose to add a statement um as their title introduction at a you can either use that or um a welcome screen um if you so choose um either the statement or the welcome screen. Uh, the statement clearly explains the purpose of the survey and encourages users to provide honest and valuable feedback. Um, and I'm going to paste some text into the chat just so um we can go through it just a bit quicker. Um, but essentially trying to get to it. Um, essentially we're just saying thank you for using Instagram. We'd love to hear your feedback and improve our experience. This survey will take just a few minutes. So, we can start there. And then before we get to step three, um I just wanted to temperature check. Is everyone following? Is everyone okay? Great, great, great. Thanks, guys. Um, so for step three, we're going to add an overall satisfaction question. Um, click the add content and you'll see this right above um right above your the right above the window where you see the the questions or the survey kind of preview. You're going to select add content to your first question and then choose multiple choice I feel like just from my um in [clears throat] your experience right now. I'm going to just switch to the um to Acrobat really quick just to display the PDF. Um, so you're gonna choose multiple choice. Can everyone see my screen? Just to double check. >> Yeah, we can. >> Okay, great, great, great. And then enter the following question and add these options. How satisfied are you with the overall experience on Instagram? Is it very satisfied, satisfied, neutral, dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? [snorts] And I just pasted that into the chat. So, no worries about typing it yourself. Just make sure you're setting it up similar to the way this screen displays. And then step four is to add a feature usage question. U let me know when you guys are finished with step three so I can know it's safe to move on. Okay, great. All right, step four. We're going to add a feature usage question. Uh we're going to select add content again uh to add a new question and choose multiple choice one more time. or enter the following question and provide options allowing the user to select these choices. Which Instagram feature do you use the most? Um, and allowing them to select stories, reals, direct messages, posts, IGTV, or shopping. All right. And hopefully everyone's done with step four. Can I get a thumbs up? Great, great, great. So, step five is um add a navigation usability question. Uh select add new content again and then [snorts] choose opinion scale. Opinion scale should be in the green section of rating under rating and ranking. And then [snorts] we're going to enter the following question and create a scale from 1 to five. So once you select that, paste in the question again into the chat. Uh how easy is it to navigate the Instagram app? Uh one being very difficult, two uh five being very easy. And then when you're when you're done, just put a thumbs up and so I just know safe to move on to step six. We're flowing through through this one pretty smoothly at the end. Um it would be nice to see a couple um how you may have created it if you care to share. >> Uh could you um do you mind going back to the the rating once again? What was what is for one and what is for five again? Sorry. Oh. Um, one was very difficult and five was very easy. >> Okay, got it. Thank you. >> No worries. Of course, three was um neutral. Just FYI there. All right. And then next we're going to add a question about engagement. Uh selecting add content again. Um and this time we're going to choose a yes or no. Uh yes or no is under the purple section of choice. And then next we're going to enter the following question. um pasting it in the chat now. Have you have you used Instagram's newest features like reals, remix, and collaborative post? Um and then they can answer yes or no from based on that. and let me know by showing a thumbs up um if it's safe to go on to step seven or when it's safe. Okay, cool. Um step seven, we are adding an open-ended question for feedback. Uh so once again, select your add content and then this time select long text question for detailed feedback. And then you can find the long text question. Um the long text, excuse me, option under text and video. You're going to start by entering the following question. What's one thing you would like to see improved on Instagram? And I just pasted that into the chat as well. And then step eight is to preview and test the survey. Click the preview button to check how the survey looks. And then as you're previewing, make sure you're testing the whole survey to ensure everything appears and works as intended. Uh by following these steps, you have successfully created a post survey for Instagram using Typeform. This survey captures valuable feedback from users with their excuse me, from users on their experience with the app, allowing the Instagram team to improve user satisfaction, optimize navigation, and focus on features that matter most to the community. And then getting back to my main screen. All right. Does anyone want to share their uh type form? I mean, feel free to drop a link to each other um either here or in Slack or if you feel like um showing out loud, feel free to cam up and unmute. I just went ahead and shared mine. Um it's exactly what you had typed out. I just went ahead and changed around some colors to make it look more Instagrammy. Oh, cool. You may have a little bit of accessibility issues here, but I think it follow I think I see where you're going. I'm trying to like get into the Instagram color palette. Yeah, I just went ahead and looked up uh Instagram background and went ahead and added it in there and then um edited the buttons to look like the color scheme. But yeah, I definitely see what you mean by accessibility. >> Yeah, other than that, it's pretty spot on to what we we just um went through or shared. So, good job. Good job. Good job and thanks for sharing. And if anyone just took Oh, I have to make a selection. Okay, [clears throat] great. Um that's a good point that um just to bring out um I did notice that it didn't necessarily tell us to require make certain fields required but um when you are making certain surveys certain fields will be required for in order for the user to move on to the next step. So make sure you're catching that as well. >> Okay. Um, and then for like future surveys too, how do you um decide which ones should be required and which ones really don't matter to your survey for future survey? Well, >> I would say it depends on your organization. Um, for example, oftent times any core identifying information is always required. So asking for any names, uh emails, um contact information, things that can essentially um provision like either a verified user or um making sure that you're not having duplicate users essentially. So that's the reason for like identifying information usually being required in surveys. um but also depending on the needs of the actual survey um and the what the question is kind of entailing. So for example, if you're pulling merchants for um Amazon and um the first question is are you a merchant? >> Um yes or no. That would be another required question because it's essentially um in in order to move forward in the survey, we need experiences from we need merchant experiences, not people that are in merchants. So if you don't if you don't classify yourself or categorize yourself as as a merchant, then the survey wouldn't necessarily be for you. >> Okay? And then you can later on filter of going, "Oh, these people said no to being a merchant, so it doesn't really matter if they surveyed." >> Correct. Or depending on how you and I believe type form is um you can set this up in type form this way, too. If someone selects no to something that is a core identifying information or not, yeah, they don't enter core identifying information or says no to a question that is required to move on in the process. that there's often times where you can split the um pathway and essentially show that that user show that user a different path of like hey um weren't able to um continue on with your survey because of x y and z reasons or you don't qualify. Um, I've definitely had those th that happened to me uh before. And I'll just show you really quick um what I'm talking about as far as that pathways um split. I don't know what this is. Okay. So, you can go into [clears throat] the workflow. So, this is the content. We've mainly worked in the content view of type form, but in the workflow you can um do something. Let me hover [clears throat] back above it. Uh drag to another question to add branching logic. So essentially if your logic is All right. So, um BA is if it's based on selection, right? Um after you enter your information, always go to question two. See your availability, always go to question three, right? But say you get to question two and um I'm asking are you available on this this day at this time and if the person um if they excuse me I asked to select this is a survey that I was putting together about availability and if I ask a person to select their availability right and I'm mainly looking for people that are available on Friday, right? But anyone that selects if your availability is Wednesday, um then you go to the next question, right? Then you go to question four. Um add condition um and if your availability is Saturday, excuse me, no, that's wrong. If your availability is Friday, then go to question four. Um, or if your availability is Wednesday. This is not the same condition. It has to be split up. So maybe it's well, excuse me. I have to structure it differently just for the sake of this example. All right, scratch all of that. Sorry about that. >> But I can see what you mean is like saying that if they chose the wrong answer, you can then immediately put them to the end of the survey and tell them, "Oh, well, this is this is it. If you're not available, Friday or Wednesday, >> right?" So like say if my optimal date was Friday and I'm saying like if your availability is Wednesday or Saturday then we're automatically defaulting the end of the survey. >> And um this could be a provision screen as well like hey um it doesn't necessarily have to be like the default end. It could be um just for context, it can be um a statement screen that you include um that's saying, "Hey, thank you for your time and availability, but we um we cannot continue on, you know, surveying you for XYZ reason." >> Cool. Cool. Um, I know that was a bit wonky at first, but was did that clarify things? >> Yeah, it did for me. Um, that makes a lot of sense and also opens up another avenue of using these survey forms. >> Yes, definitely. Definitely. I actually was taking a survey the other day and I want to say it was was a platform that you can um upload your skills and your like projects to and stuff. And they had a um different branch or like a different wing that they wanted to like see if people could like qualify for. Um, and I tried to qualify, but I I wasn't on the platform long enough or I hadn't been using the platform long enough to um qualify. So once I selected how long I was using I've been using a platform, it kind of like just kicked me out of the survey and just said, "Hey, thank you for your time, but unfortunately" and it told me right away like soon as I pressed the answer, I said, "Yeah, you're um unfortunately you're um we cannot continue with your survey," >> which is also really nice. Oh, sorry. Go ahead. >> No, you're fine. Go ahead. Oh, I was just going to say that that's also really nice because like some surveys you'll go through the entire thing and then that's at the very end that it goes, "Thanks for your time. Uh, really didn't like it didn't qualify or like you didn't meet the standards based off of like something you answered in the third question." >> Yeah. And telling you right away versus like wasting your time. >> Yeah. Exactly. >> No, that makes a lot of sense. And I I clicked on I believe this is cat survey. It looks good. Um Mhm. I think the accessibility is there as far as the um color scheme that you chose. So good job there. I see um this question it gave you 1 through 10. um at some point maybe [clears throat] add still add like a neutral point so that um people would know like I fell in the middle so to select like I guess five or six but that was pretty much all I caught. Good job. And then let me click because she dropped it in as well. Oh, all right. So, I was sharing cats and then um but things look very clean and simple. Um I was just saying to maybe add the neutral in the middle and then other than that it was pretty straightforward. Um I think it's accessible. Looks good. And then Meg. Um I mean I really like the background that you chose. So good job there. Yeah, good job here. I think um I see the neutral and the scale questions look like they were structured clearly. Um, I think this reads pretty well. I would just invite maybe um just because you can afford it with the lightness of the background. Um, I would just maybe lighten the overall like selection background just a little bit. um just it'll probably give you a bit more um like of a a lighter feeling like like the way the background feels um in the survey. Other than that, good job. >> Right. Thank you. >> And then getting us back into our lesson. Next, we're going to go over uh interviews. So, what are user interviews? User interviews involve one on-one conversations between a researcher and a user. The primary objective is to gather detailed feedback and understand the user's perspective regarding a product or service. The format of user interviews can be classified into three broad categories which are as follows. On a scale of one to five, how easy was it to start tracking and work out? Um, and it's a structured interview. It's a predefined set of questions asked in a specific order. And then if someone were to say, can you walk me through how to start tracking a workout? What would have made starting the workout easier for you? This is a semistructured interview. It's a mix of predefined questions and open-ended follow-ups. And then third, uh, if you were to say, tell me about your experience using the workout tracking feature. What did you like most about tracking your workout? This is an unstructured interview uh conversations without a list of questions allowing for natural natural flow and in-depth exploration and the purpose of user interviews and product evaluation. There they are essential for gathering qualitative insights that guide product development. Conducting user interviews to assess products is crucial for understanding user needs and goals. Um, as far as understanding user needs and goals, uh, we want to begin by identifying pain points, uncover challenges users face to enhance product alignment with their needs. Uh, next we want to clarify goals, understand what users aim to achieve, guiding design and functionality. And then next you want to gather contextual insights uh by exploring user context uh you learn the environments in which users engage with and products product for tailored features. And then next you want to identify usage patterns by optimizing workflows by using by excuse me by understanding real life interactions with the product. And then next, you want to validate product features um feature relevance. Assess if existing features meet user expectations. You also want to prioritize enhancements by discovering which features are most important to guide development development priorities. Um, evaluating user experience is discovering usable usability issues, identifying frustrations to inform usability improvements and then gauging satisfaction is understanding user satisfaction and emotional responses to shape product. Uh collecting feedback on prototypes is when we test concepts early, gathering early feedback on prototypes to refine ideas before development. And then we would want to iterate based on feedback. Um enable rapid adjustments based on user input. And then next we have building empathy and user user centricity is fostering an understanding where we engage with users. Um it builds empathy for a better design decisions. And then we want to support collaborative design, encourage team collaboration to create user user resonant solutions. Use case of user interviews. We are going to go over Slack. Um, and pretty much by now we've all have been using Slack at least if not in other endeavors definitely for this course. Um, Slack enhances its features by conducting user interviews in its early stage by conducting user interviews in its early stages to understand workplace communication issues. Uh through these interviews they discovered that teams needed an easier way to to collaborate and share files which led to development as a userfriendly messaging platform. Uh Dropbox uh you used user Dropbox used user interviews after launching its file sharing service to gather feedback on usability. uh interviews related, excuse me, interviews revealed that users were having trouble understanding how to share files easily and as a result, Dropbox simplified the user interface to make sharing and collaboration more intuitive. Uh, user interviews are fundamental research methods for gathering qualitative insights that help designers and researchers understand user experiences, behaviors, and motivations. A good example here is that Dropbox's user interviews reveal challenges with organ organizing and collaborating on shared files leading to the development of business excuse me Dropbox business and enterprise with improved features for businesses. Some key challenges in using interviews for usability evaluation are conducting interviews for usability evaluation can yield valuable insights into user experiences. But researchers often face challenges such as closed or narrow questions limit user insights leading on biased questions skew feedback. And then slack or excuse me lack of probing leads to super superficial answers. Over reliance on hypothetical scenarios. Um users struggle to share detailed experiences. Missed opportunities from lack of follow-up questions. Complex and lengthy questions uh confused users. And then poor poorly structured interviews cause fatigue and frustration. These are some key things to remember when you are um conducting an interview or preparing for one and tackling challenges and usability interviews. Here's some expert tips. Overcoming challenges in usability interviews requires practical strategies such as start with an open-ended questions to gather detailed user insights. Avoid leading or biased questions to keep responses neutral. Use how and why questions for deeper exploration. Focus on real experiences, not hyp not hypothetical scenarios. And then encourage storytelling to uncover user journeys and pain points. And then ask follow-up questions to clarify and expand on responses. Keep questions short and simple for better understanding. and then structure questions logically to ensure a smooth interview flow. All right. And we are on our first question. A gaming company wants to understand player A gaming company wants to understand player satisfaction with new features. The researcher has a few prepared questions like how do you feel about the new reward system but allows players to share. Let me read from the actual thing. I think I messed that up. uh asks questions like, "How do you feel about the new reward system?" but allows players to share their own thoughts and adds follow-up questions based on their responses. Which type of interview format is being used? Is it a structured interviews, b semistructured interview, or c unstructured interview? Okay, we have a variation of responses. I see how many people by show of hands, how many people say the answer is C? Yep, the answer is B. So B, semi-structured interview. And here's why. The re the researcher has prepared questions. Um, this rules out unstructured. Uh the researcher also the researcher allows players to share freely and adds follow-up questions. This is key to a semistructured format. And then a structured interview would stick strictly to a script with no um deviations. So good job there, guys. All right. Next, we're going to get into specialized interview methods and usability research. Specialized interview methods and usability research along with core interview types. Here are some specialized methods for gathering deeper, more spec specific insights into usability evaluation. First, we have contextual >> Oh, >> you're uh yeah, sweet. >> Cool. Just to bring us back a bit, um I was going over specialized interview methods and usability research. So along with core interview types, here are some specialized methods for gathering deeper, more specific insights into usability evaluation. First, we have contextual inquiry, uh retrospective interviews, and then comparative interviews. What is contextual inquiry? It is a method [snorts] that involves involves observing and interviewing users in their natural environments while they perform real tasks. And this example is saying, can you show me how you export this type of data? Then ways to conduct contextual inquiry. Imagine you you're designing at WhatsApp and you want to evaluate the app's usability through contextual inquiry. Here's how you can conduct it effectively. One, observe the user in real time. Watch how the user interacts in the app with the app during their typical workflow and then ask open-ended questions. uh while observing ask while observing ask questions like why did you use the search bar instead of scrolling uh to understand their thought processes. And then last but not least you want to document actions, challenges and feedback. You want to record observations systematically using a table for uh yeah systematically using a table for clarity. Then next you want to be a passive observer. Avoid influencing the user's behavior behavior. Only ask for clarification when necessary. And then analyze your notes post session. Look for patterns, reoccurring challenges, and insights that could help that could highlight usability issues. Uh translate insights into actionable design changes. I pro propose improvements based on your findings to enhance user experience and then documenting user observations for contextual inquiry. Here's an example of how to system systematically record user actions challenges and feedback during a contextual inquiry. Say your task is to send a message. Uh your action would be open open the app navigated to chats. Uh some challenges would be took time to find this specific chat and then feedback could be it's hard to quickly locate old chats. Uh some suggestions for improvement could be implement a chat search or a pin feature. And then just to uh continue reading them. uh searching uh if your task was searching for a contact um you could use the search bar. Um if there weren't any challenges, you could just put no issues. And then for user feedback, um you can say that the search bar is convenient. And you can say highlight frequent highlight frequently searched contacts um as a suggestion for improvement. Then your next task would be to send sending a voice note. Um your user action would be pressed and held the mic button. Your challenges may be struggled with holding button too long. And then your feedback you could say I wish there was a lock for voice notes. And it also say add a lock feature for voice recordings as a as a suggested improvement. Um if your task is to change your profile picture, you would want to navigate to settings um and then update updated photo and challenges could be is confused about saving changes. Um, and the feedback is there's no clear save information. Uh, and then provide a clear save changes prompt would be your suggested improvement. And then what is a retrospective interview? It is a method used to gather detailed insights about user experiences after they have completed a task or interaction with a product. Ways to conduct retrospective interviews are building on your ability your excuse me your usability research. Retrospective interviews help you gain deeper insights by asking users to reflect on their past experience experiences with the app. Here's how you can effectively use this method. Um start by asking users to reflect on real experiences. um encourage users to recall specific instances when they use the feature. For example, can you describe the last time you updated your status? Uh next you have focus on specific scenarios like dive deeper into task or in dive deeper into task or challenges uh users have faced and then ask questions like what steps did you take to ch to change your status privacy privacy settings. Next you would want to gather feedback on what worked and what didn't. Uh use open-ended prompts to explore positive and negative aspects. For example, excuse me, for instance, what did you find most useful or what frustrated you? Document reflections uh systematically. Record user feedback in a clear structured format, noting actions, challenges, and suggestions. And then next, you want to identify patterns across interviews uh by looking for reoccurring, excuse me, recurring themes or pain points such as users consistently struggling with the same feature. Uh you also want to use feedback to propo to propose design changes. Uh based on insights, suggest improvements to address challenges and enhance the user experience. This is really helpful um when you're talking with your stakeholders and trying to suggest things. Having um this uh insight and detailed feedback um is really helpful to pair that up with your potential solution. Uh based on this insight and this data um users may um benefit from X Y or Z experience. So just some insight there. and then documenting retrospective interviews um feedback. Here's a structured approach to capturing user feedback, challenges, and suggestions during retrospective interviews. I say the feature is updating is updating status. Uh the feedback could look like the interface looks clean and simple while challenges look like found privacy settings hard to locate. You could say add a shortcut to privacy settings on the main screen as a suggested improvement. Next, you can if your feature or task is changing profile picture, um your feedback could say it was easy to update my picture. Uh challenges could be uh confused about saving saving changes. And then if you were uh trying to provide a clear excuse me your suggested improvement could be um provide a clear save changes confirmation me message. If your feature or task is sending voice notes your user feedback could be on the audio quality saying it was good. Uh, your challenge could be uh struggled with holding the mic button too long. And then uh add a lock option for recording voice notes could be your suggested improvement. And then if you were searching for contacts, your feedback would look like the search bar works quickly. Your challenges you could be could be no challenges. And then if you have no challenges, therefore you may not have any suggestions for improvement. And next we're going to get into comparative interviews. Um and then we'll take a quick break after this. Uh comparative interviews are a method for comparing multiple products, designs or features by asking participants to share their their preferences, experiences and thoughts on each. uh we have WhatsApp and then Telegram. Ways to conduct comparative interviews. In addition to understanding user behaviors within WhatsApp, it's a it's valuable to see how they how the app stacks up against competitors like Telegram. Here's how to conduct them effectively. Have use have users perform the same task on both apps. Ask them to complete identical tasks like sending a group message or sharing a document. Prompt users for immediate reactions. Encourage them to share preferences after each task. For example, which app made it easier to share the document and then focus on specific feature comparisons. Evaluate features like media sharing, group management, or privacy settings. and then document preferences and challenges. Record responses in the in a table to highlight differences. Analyze feedback for key trends. Identify patterns and what users found intuitive [clears throat] or challenging. And then use insights to enhance WhatsApp. Improve weaker areas by adopting best practices from competitors. And then if your feature is sending group me sending a group message uh your WhatsApp feedback could be it was quick to navigate but hard to edit while your telegram feedback could look like it's easy to navigate and edit messages. Um, your user preference in this case would be Telegram and the suggestions for improvement would be improve message editing functionality. uh feature if your feature was sharing a document um on WhatsApp you found a simple intuitive um a simple and intuitive file selection while on Telegram you found the faster upload but less intuitive file management. So your preference was WhatsApp. Uh your suggestion could be um optimize file upload speed. And then if your feature is voice messaging, uh your you your WhatsApp feedback could look like clear audio and intuitive mic button while your Telegram feedback could look like voice lock option but inconsistent audio quality and therefore your preference would be WhatsApp. the suggestions for improvement um or add a voice lock feature and then if your task was group group management um basic tools easier for beginners would be your WhatsApp feature excuse me your WhatsApp feedback and then your Telegram feedback may look like advanced admin controls and flexible settings. So your users's preference uh may depend on their needs. And then your suggestion for improvement could look like offer more admin controls while maintaining simplicity. And then for our next quick check, your team wants to gain insight into how users interact with a recently updated feature on your app. You aim to understand users actual experiences and challenges in real life scenarios. Which method would be most be the most suitable for this purpose? Is it a comparative interview? B, contextual inquiry, or C, retrospective interview. So, preparing for user interviews. Follow these six essential steps to effectively prepare for user interviews and gather valuable insights. First, we want to define your survey objectives. Uh, draft questions. Third, uh, select participants. Fourth, schedule interviews. Fifth would step would be set up the environment and then six plan logistics. So to further elaborate, define your survey objectives is essential. It is an essential step to ensure that a survey gathers relevant and actionable insights. Here are some steps to define the survey objectives. Uh first being identify goals. clearly define what you want to achieve within the survey. Um, a quick example of that is you might want to understand user satisfaction with a new feature and then gather insights for a redesign or evaluate the usability of a product. [snorts] And then second, you want to determine specific information and needs. Uh, outline the specific data you need to collect to meet your objectives. And then third, prioritize objectives. Decide which objectives are most important if the survey has multiple goals. Uh this helps streamline questions to avoid respondent fatigue and keep the survey focused. And then you want to prepare the user interviews by drafting questions. Here are some drafted questions for user interviews designed to gather insight to gather insights on usability, pain points, and potential improvements. uh gather, excuse me, general background and role. Uh for example, can you tell me about your role and what it involves? And then um current product or service experience. For example, how do you usually interact with products or services during your work or daily activities? What painoints and challenges? Um an example of that is what challenges have you faced while using um said product or service? [snorts] And then motivations and expectations. A good example of that is what inspired you to start using that product or service. And when you're seeking feedback on specific features, good example of that is can you share a time when you used um what specific feature? And then what was your experience like? And the next competitive analysis and alternatives. Have you used other similar products or services? How would you describe your experience with them? And then select preparing um selecting participants. Step one, identify audience segments. uh you want to focus on demographics like age, gender, location, education, occupation, and income level. Your psychoraphics such as interest, values, attitudes, and lifestyles. And then behavioral factors like usage patterns, purchasing behavior, loyalty, and engagement levels. And then step two, you want to define the selection criteria. [snorts] Um, relevance to objectives is ensuring the audience you select has direct relevance to the objectives of your survey. Uh, your experience level. Um, determine whether you need feedback from novice users, experienced users, or a mix of both. And then your user type. Decide if you need feedback from specific types of users such as firsttime users, returning users, or frequent users. And then uh recruit participants. Enhancing CERS or users. Use your database to identify and reach out to current customers or users who fit your criteria. social media and online communities. Uh le use of social media online communities. Leverage social media platforms, forums and online communities related to your product or industry to find potential participants. Uh [snorts] then step six is you want to validate your selection. Um pre-screening survey is use a short pre-screening survey to ensure participants meet the criteria before they take the main survey. And then uh last but not least is pilot testing. Conduct a pilot test with a small group from your selected audience to ensure they understand the questions and can provide valuable feedback. Um next you want to prepare for interviews by scheduling. >> [snorts] >> Scheduling is a key aspect of planning and conducting interviews, especially when managing multiple participants timeliness and resources. Uh some tips to follow are allocate appropriate time and include buffer times. Uh provide flexible time slots and then send timely invitations and reminders. Some tools um include Google calendar and Calendarly. Uh preparing for interviews. Set up the environment. Setting up the environment for user interviews is essential to create a comfortable and conductive atmosphere for participants. Here [snorts] are steps and steps to set up the ideal environment. Uh you want to start by choosing the right location. Uh gathering necessary equipment. Uh testing your setup. preparing the interview space ensure confidentiality and then set the atmosphere as well as maintain friendly a friendly demeanor. Uh some of the logistics include um logistics and user interviews refers to the planning, coordinating and managing of all practical details required to conduct effective and efficient interviews. Some tips to follow are prepare and test recording tools, use transcription and notetaking software, obtain consistent and maintain excuse me, obtain consent and maintain privacy, managing time wisely, have a backup plan for technical issues, and then when it comes down to conducting the interviews, some techniques for conducting the interviews. Um, conducting effective interviews requires a mix of preparation, communication skills, and adaptability. Here are key techniques to help you conduct successful interviews. We can start with a strong introduction, create a comfortable environment, use active listening, ask [snorts] open-ended and then ask open-ended questions. Um, we also want to be neutral and non-judgmental, be flexible and adaptable, manage time efficiently, excuse me, time effectively, and then clarify and summarize. Some best practices for conducting interviews are to ensure you obtain valuable and unbiased information. It's essential to follow best practices. Here are some key practices to keep in mind. Prepare thoroughly. Define clear objectives. Create a discussion guide and understand your participants backgrounds. Choose the right participants. Recruit a diverse set of users who represent your participants, excuse me, who represent your participants and have relevant experience. And then fostering comfort. Build rapport. Maintain neut neutrality and respect participants time. Use effective questioning. Uh ask open-ended neutral questions. Avoid leading questions and encourage storytelling for detailed responses. Practice active listening. Listen attentively. Ask follow-up questions and clarify ambigu ambiguitities to ensure a clear understanding. And then record and take notes. Get consent to record, take notes, and capture non-verbal cues for a comprehensive data collection. [snorts] And then minimize bias. Avoid assumptions and keep personal opinions out of the conversation to ensure unbiased feedback. Adapt and be flexible. Adjust questions based on participants responses to explore unexpect unexpected topics. And then summarize and validate. Summarize key points periodically to confirm understanding and validate insights. And then we have another quick check. A company is developing an educational app targeting high school students. They want to conduct interviews to understand how users perceive the app's design and functionality. They need to identify specific audience segments to gather the most relevant feedback. Which factors would be most relevant when identifying audience segments for these user interviews? Is it A income level and occupation? B age group and education level, C psychoraphics and behavioral factors, or D experience and educational experience with educational apps. Quite a few answers here. I think it's a it's it seems to be uh coincide with the theme today. Um the [clears throat] answer is B. Uh age group and educational level. Here's why. Uh when segments segmenting users for an educational app targeting high school students, the most relevant factors are the ones that directly define the diff and differentiate that audience. Age group helps your uh helps you segment freshman versus seniors which affects needs and behaviors. Educational level identifies where they are academically, their curriculum needs and their learning context. And then why not the others? Um a income and level and occupation not relevant for high school users. Psychoraphics and behavioral factors are useful in marketing but secondary for core usability segmentation at this stage. And then D is an experience with educational apps is helpful as a sub as a subsegmentation but not a primary factor when the target population is defined mainly by school level. So good job there guys. Um I feel like you all got it right. I think everyone has been consistent with B. Um, and then usability. We're going to get into usability inquiry techniques and focus on focus groups. So, what are focus groups? It is a usability inquiry technique where a small carefully chosen group of people gather to discuss a specific topic, product, service, or marketing campaign. Who is involved in a focus group? A focus group includes key roles to ensure productive discussions and valuable outcomes. We have a moderator >> Nisha. >> Sorry to interrupt. I can't see your other screen. Thank you. >> Thank you. As soon as you said my name, I said, "Oh, I know." I'm just going to go back a little bit just to backtrack. um the slides that um I was moderating and um or facilitating and didn't display. So, uh usability and inquiry techniques. We're going to go over focus groups now. Uh what are focus groups? It is a usability inquiry technique where a small carefully chosen group of people gather to discuss a specific topic, product, service or marketing campaign. Uh when we now we're discussing who is involved in a focus group. A focus group includes key roles to ensure productive discussions and valued outcomes. For example, a moderator. They lead the discussion. Uh they keep it on track and ensure all participants contribute. And then participants uh six to eight participants is usually key. They represent the target audience and they share they share their experiences, opinions and suggestions. And then you want a note taker, a notetaker or observer. They record key points, user user quotes and observe body language or non-verbal cues. And then conduct steps to conduct a focus group or usability inquiry. Um set usability objectives. Define the usability aspects you want to explore such as ease of navigation, feature accessibility, or overall user satisfaction. Um, some specific goals are to help guide the focus group and keep discussions relevant. Um, step two would be to recruit participants. Choose a mix of users that represent your target audience. Ideally, select users with a range of experiences with the product from beginners to more advanced users to capture diverse perspectives. Uh, third, you want to develop a moderated guide. Um, create a guide that includes open-ended questions and prompts focused on usability. Questions could include, what did you find difficult to use in the product? How did you feel about navigating through the product? And then for step four uh facilitate the discussion. Uh the moderator's role is crucial here. They should guide the discussion without influencing opinions without influencing opinions. Um encourage quieter participants to share and ensure that dominant part personalities don't overshadow the group's input. And then step five, record and analyze data. After the session, review recordings, transcripts, and notes to identify common usability themes. Look for re look for recurring issues, suggestions for improvement, and shared user pain points. And then step six, present findings, summarize key insights, and provide actionable recommendations. As an experienced tester, you are tasked with evaluating the user feedback on the interactive fashion app. The app features a variety of shopping related services including product browsing, purchase options, and gamify rewards and interactive micro interactive micro interactions designed to improve user engagement and retention. Your job is to gather insights from users who have used the app and assess their experience from ease of navigation to engagement with the reward system. This will help you refine the app's design and feature set based on user behavior and preferences. So step one, we're going to go to type form. Um, if you still have the tab open, feel free to just, um, create a new form. Um, and then select start from scratch. If you don't have the app open, um, open it up again or the platform open, excuse me. Open it up again and then, um, do the following steps. Create a new form and then start from scratch. And I just put a thumbs up in the, um, when you're done, just so that I know like it's safe to move on to the second step. Oh, this one is not as visual as the um last one during the steps, but we'll be okay. Thank you. Okay, we got a couple thumbs up already. Um a few more seconds and then we'll move on. All right. Um, add elements to each section. First, we want to add an introduction and a title. Um, add an overall satisfaction question. and then add an ease of navigation question, open-ended question, a feature engagement, gamification or micro interactions question, and then suggestions for improvement, and then a thank you statement. So, essentially, we're building out all of our sections right here. Uh, give me one second. I'm trying to swap my screen so I could at least show a little bit. Created a new form. We started from scratch. um to add an introduction and a title. We're going to start with the statement section. Um and this is where I said you could start with the welcome screen as well, but um in the example that they're giving the starting with the statement section. Um I'm going to paste this phrase into the chat again for you all just to kind of fasttrack it a little bit. But essentially, you're adding um your thank you statement here. Thank you for using the interactive fashion app. Your feedback helps us improve the app and provide a better shopping experience. And then from there, you're going to add content to the first question and then select multiple choice. Once you select multiple choice, you're going to input which feature do you use most. Is it product browsing, virtual tryons, gamification features like earning points or your checkout process or others? Sorry, I was just trying to see what this question was. Um, you can simply say for um, and we can also rearrange this, but um, just bear with me really quick. Just add another question um, after the thank you say um, thank you for using the interactive fashion app. at a question that says um are you satisfied with our with what is it with the with this fashion app and then it could be a yes or no. Um, or you can say, "Do you enjoy using this app? after. All right. So, I just pasted that in the chat. Hopefully, that's clear. Um, so after the feature you use the most, we're going to go into the opinion scale. Um, you're going to select a new new content and then go into the opinion scale and then enter the following question and scale from one being very difficult to five very easy and then don't forget three as your neutral. Um, how easy was it to navigate the app? And this should be your third question. When everyone is feels good about their question, their first three questions, feel free to give me a thumbs up so I know it's safe to move on. Anisha I have a question. So >> yes >> in the instruction up there it says one is very difficult and five is very easy but it's vice versa in the in the form itself is one is it very difficult or is it the other way around? Ah, I just noticed that I usually see it the way it's displayed on the actual screen, like one being very easy and five being very difficult. So, I would suggest going with that scale um >> just for the sake of like what's normally out there, but it's probably just like a typo on the from the platform. >> Got it. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, Betty. I just wanted to confirm. Thank you. >> Yeah, thanks for catching that. I didn't even catch that myself. I was just like, h okay, I did think the something similar earlier. I was just like the arrangement was a little off, so maybe it was something along those lines as well. >> Yeah, >> but um thanks for catching that. When I put in the very easy, neutral, and very difficult, they're kind of staggered one uh like like in a column at the top of the one. I'll put it like a little screenshot in a chat room. How do you make it so that they're below the numbers or is anyone having the same thing as me? >> Let me see. I mean, not a big deal, but I'm popping it in right now in the chat room. That's what I'm getting. Is there like a button that should like I'm like looking and I don't see any other options. >> Let me see. Um because I can see Yeah, it's like listing it out for you. Um I'm kind of looking and I don't have like really like um a way to switch it. It doesn't really >> This is opinion scale. Um, so let me let me try this. Um, [laughter] did you write so on the on the far right hand column on your screen, did you type in the labels for the respected buttons or >> um so um let me share this. >> Is everybody else getting them in the middle or no? like below the numbers or is it just me? >> I'm getting the same thing as you. >> Okay. >> And you're typing them over here. >> So, this is uh I put in the chat room uh my far far right um look and there's no really um way to switch it. I don't see any um options. [snorts] Um, I don't see the option either. Um, so is your screen it could be based on screen size is what I just kind of tested to see. So, um, if I'm on desktop view, did did you change yours to desktop view or like try make >> I'm viewing it on a desktop and I just made it bigger. It did not switch. >> Uh, can you do we still include the zero there? because I removed the zero and just one through five. >> Yeah, this was just me trying to see the example for Joanna is not the actual survey that we're working on. >> Yeah. >> Um, yeah, I see the change. Thank you. I don't really >> No worries. >> So, did you just make it the screen screen bigger? No, there's an icon I guess where Anusha was showing us that desktop right there. So if you click between mobile and desktop, it will flip it. >> I am in desktop view. >> Yeah. >> Can you share >> and then Okay, now I'm in mobile view and it switched. [laughter] >> Yeah. >> Okay. So it's in the mobile view that it switched for me. Yep. Okay. Thank you. >> No worries. >> Interesting. >> Oh, there's an issue with [clears throat] accessibility here. I don't have enough color contrast in my buttons. So this is also a good way to check too um when you guys are designing and um making surveys of like just making sure that you don't have any uh text or content or um accessibility issues and it's a quick fix um if you do. So just a heads up there. Uh let me get back into the guided practice. Um, back into Acrobat. Okay. All right. And what was the last thing I pasted into the chat? How easy was it to navigate the app? So, I feel like we got that one down for the most part. Um, the next is long text. Um, we're going to add an open-ended question. So, choose long text when you um and then ask an open-ended question. Um, enter the following question. What if anything what if anything made navigating the app difficult or confusing? Um I feel like this one is pretty simple. Uh then step five 2.5 excuse me would be to add feature engagement uh like gification or micro interaction questions. uh selecting add content again and this time choosing multiple choice. The question that we're prompted to include are is which interactive feature did you engage with the most? Um is it the points reward system, interactive product tryons, micro interactions or swipe gestures um or social sharing features? And your screen should look something like this. something like this. Um the options below and then when you guys are finished setting up uh what is this 2.5 let me know so I can paste in the next prompt and make sure [clears throat] I'm not going too fast. Does does anyone have any questions or need any support? >> What was the question before that one? Um the question the question before this one before the um interactive >> that one that's what I was >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you. I was just missing that last part of it. Thank you. I got it. >> No, no worries. And I'm just going to paste the next one in. Um the opin the next one is an opinion scale. um one being not engaging and then the five is highly engaging. So I'm going to paste that in the chat as well. Um and then scale from 1 to 9 to 10. Cool. [clears throat] All right. Awesome. We got some people that are that are finished. So, I can go to the next one, I would imagine. Uh the next one is add suggestions for improvement. Um and this time we're going to choose long text. The copy or content that should coincide with this one is, "What features or improvements would you like to see in the app? And then next we're going to click on add content and choose opinion scale. [sighs] This particular scale is um one being not likely and five being very likely. Uh how likely are you to recommend this app to others? And then I'm just going to drop the scale in there as well. And then let me know how you guys are doing with that one. All right. Thanks, guys. Good, good, good. Does anyone need any support or have any questions? Okay guys, and then next we're going to add some more content. And we have another opinion scale. How satisfied are you with your overall over overall experience using the app? And then one being very very unsatisfied to satisfied being five. And I'll paste that scale as well so you guys can have it. >> [snorts] >> And then next um we can add a thank you statement. Click add content and choose statement to add a thank you statement. That could look something like, "Thank you for your feedback. Your input will help us to improve the app and make your shopping experience better. And then after you're finished with that step, uh feel free to um give me a thumbs up and so we can preview and test your survey. Manisha, I have a question. Sorry. So, I don't see a thank you screen is welcome screen. The one that I need I need to um click to add. >> Oh, uh no, you can click. >> Okay, got it. Sorry, missed that part. >> No worries. >> No worries. uh these these steps in categorizing your questions by type, you can evaluate user feedback through comprehensive post survey in TY form and gather valuable insights to improve the interactive fashion app. So hopefully that was helpful. Um, and feel free when you're finished, um, to once again, um, let me swap my screen just so I can further emphasize this. All right. Um yeah, feel free to check your accessibility um making sure that all your uh items are clear. I have like one issue in this this particular document and um I believe it's in this section or at least in the the way buttons look. It said my buttons weren't um I don't know my buttons weren't um accessible. Uh so just make sure you check your accessibility and um go from there. Guys, I invite you all to drop your uh surveys um into the chat when you're done and or Slack uh just so you guys can um get some feedback from each other. Um not necessarily on what the survey would entail um but more so like design feedback on accessibility um functionality of certain things. um help clarify any issues that you may have had. You know, I just realized that if you just end the survey, it will add an end statement. [snorts] I accidentally clicked. So, I'm thinking, oh, why do I have two of them? Are there any questions? Um, anyone need any support? Did everyone make it to the thank you screen? How do you add uh photos to like if you wanted like to add a photo? >> Um it's more so in the layout. So, like at the bottom of certain sections, you may be able to say like you want a a decorative image. Do you see that? I mean, on the bottom I just said uh see chats to create like a with a like a dictate button kind of a thing. Oh, on the side on the right side there's add image or video. >> Mhm. >> Okay. >> And at times you can see at the on the right side like at the bottom um they it's like worded as decorative image in a way but I think it's the same thing. image or video and then um if you want you can change them adjust the settings um adjust the aspect ratio of your your image. So there's some flexibility there. Definitely some flexibility there. [clears throat] Does anybody else have a a question or need some support? All right. feel free to like reach out or slack me if you guys like end up realizing that you need some support in type form or have a question about something. Oh, let me click this one. Someone shared. Thanks, Shela. Uh, I'm going to share her survey. Uh, >> uh, that was the easiest one. that was the one that cleared the accessibility, you know, with >> and I feel like accessibility can make things a bit more difficult, but especially um given how they they may uh utilize the color palette that you may set set. So, but I think it's pretty clear um you have your neutral list labeled as well as easy and difficult. Sorry. What? Yeah, I really I I like the cleanness. Um it's very clean and simple and you did a good job of like just making sure that all of your uh sections in your um in your opinion scale are labeled. So, I think that was good, too. Good job. >> The one thing that threw me off is the the text is not centered, right? That's just me in the opinion scale, >> right? >> Oh, let me can I like ref >> to center the text in the opinion scale? >> Yeah. >> I didn't Yeah, honestly I haven't seen that as an option on my end. Um >> but I can understand that being like because the rest of the page is pretty censored. >> Yeah, [laughter] thank you. >> No worries. No worries at all. Does anybody anyone else want to share or want me to um display their survey? Hey Anisha, I guess I missed uh something really important. So in the opinion skill, I'm not able to add the text where it is in where it says engaging, not engaging or likely, unlikely. I'm able to add only the opinion scale from 1 to 10 or 1 to 5 according to my choice. But how do I add the text? >> Oh, okay. No worries. Yes. Uh the text is just helpful for your users to know what your um for example the instructions itself had even mixed up the very likely and um not likely. So it's just helping them to know which is which in which order you're ranking things as as high or or low etc. Yes, I actually uh I'm not able to add that option like how are you writing? I mean um >> Oh, did you use the opinion scale? >> I did but the text is um actually it is appearing a little above the opinion scale and not below. >> Okay, I think this is similar to what the issue Joanna was having before. Can you toggle your mobile view and your desktop view? >> Okay, let me check. Yeah. Um, >> oh yes, yes, yes, that is what it is. Thank you so much. I got it. >> No worries. No worries at all. All right. Uh, any other questions before we get back into it? We're pretty much closing out now, but um let me just message the uh LSM so they can drop the survey in the chat and uh let us know how we're doing. Let me just message them so that they can add that. All right. And I I also um I also messaged them the other day about last week's class. Um there were some issues I believe last Saturday where we were all trying to log in and there were like two different meeting rooms that some of us were in. So some people didn't get counted um for attendance. And I also don't see any of the of you guys' feedback that you guys give me after after a session. So, um I'll follow up with them on that just because it's a bit unclear of how um excuse me, from to my knowledge of when we joined the class, I thought that everyone was would be okay as far as attendance. Um being that we all switched over and the LS the LSM was with us. So, I am not 100% sure why that became an issue, but I guess it makes sense because I didn't even get I personally didn't get the uh survey results from that session. So, um I guess we'll see, but I'll um make sure that I at least um stay on top of it to get some sort of like response um from the LSM for you all. I did that as well because a couple people um responded on Slack that um they haven't been um present or you know they were present but it uh showed that they weren't and um a gentleman responded to me that I would like to inform you that the issue occurred due to a technical glitch. However, it has been corrected in our back end and will not affect your course progress. That's what they they said. So, I don't know. Double check you guys if you were present on the I believe the session we're talking about is uh November 8th. And but I do have another issue and he said that they will um unlock it manually if needed um because we get certificates for um completing certain amounts of like because it was like kind of like the end and I can't really get my certificate. It's not the end certificate but it's like a stepping stone certificate. Um so he said that um if you were not able to get it you might have to reach out to get like a manual assistance with getting that certificate. >> Okay. So like your milestone certificate you may if you have any issues getting that during for this particular >> that they'll reach out to them. >> It's on Slack. I don't know if because he responded to me, but I don't know if um yeah, if um you guys see it too. I don't know if it's like a personal message. I could put it in a um in the chat room right now, but uh I think it's like it was like again it was a glitch on their side. It should be fixed if uh people look into their um Simply Learn. Um, >> yeah, mine's still not fixed. >> I don't think that they um and I'm not sure if they fully understood what was going on because his response this morning was um basically to reach out to support if you um have any um >> yeah, >> like unmet expectations, etc. or if you need support with certain things. But I think this is more so a spec this is definitely a specific issue that >> um that he's aware of because he was there too. Um so that's why I'm saying I don't know if he fully understood what you were what was being asked. I'll follow up just to make sure that that is consistent for everyone that was available and present um in the session on November 8th because everyone at least everyone that at least everyone should have gotten the message that you got Joanna as far as it's stating um that your um attendance would not be compromised in any way and um if you have any issues getting your end of um course certifica end of this end of lesson certification um to reach back out. So I think that's the best way to handle it, but I'll um just double check with them just to make sure um it's consistent for for you guys. >> Thank you. Okay, cool. And um can the LSM please paste the survey for this session here? I did message them. Okay, great. I see them. Um and then for today's key takeaways, uh usability inquiry techniques like survey interviews and focus groups help collect valuable user feedback. Surveys provide quantitative data from a broad audience, helping pinpoint usability issues. And then user interviews offer in-depth qualitative insights into individual user experiences. Whereas focus groups gather diverse opinions, facilitating broader discussions about user needs and preferences. And then last but not least, there's effective usability evaluation leads to actionable insights enhancing overall product design and user satisfaction. We have a couple We only have a couple resources today. Nothing too crazy. Um, [snorts] I'll just share that for visibility since I read it and likely was not sharing that particular tab. Sorry about that, guys. Um, but I was just mainly going over the takeaways for today. Um, and now I'm going to paste the additional resources into into Slack. All right. So the first one is a uh simply learn solution. Hold on, let me I'm trying to click on it's not. Okay. So, the first one is um from loop panel. It's a focus groups and UX a comprehensive guide. And then the second one is from content square. It's how to use UX surveys to gain product experience insights. So, I'm going to paste these into Slack just so that we have all of our additional resources and for learners who weren't able to join us today or may have had to leave a little early um are able to see. >> And with [snorts] that, we have come to the end of our course. If you have any doubts or questions, ask them in the comment section below. Our team of experts will reply to you as soon as possible. Thank you and keep learning with Simply Learn.