Home | Site map

Phase 5: Test

We agree with communications consultants JoAnn Hackos and Ginny Redish that successful design comes from a basis in direct observations of, not assumptions about, the users or potential users of the product.

And like Karen Schriver, we believe a user-focused evaluation can produce a substantial improvement in document quality, often offering results that are quite different than what any expert would predict.

Research tells us that users themselves do not know how to articulate what they do— especially if they are very familiar with the tasks they perform. User testimony also is incomplete and inaccurate. Users emphasize activities they find exciting or difficult. They often report on what they believe to be true rather than what is true.

Testing: using others

We incorporate testing into all phases of our site design process. When we conduct a thorough user testing, we follow a process similar to the "Guerilla Usability Testing" structures advocated by Jakob Nielsen:

• Select truly representative users.
• Prepare them for testing.
• Listen to their responses.
• Evaluate their findings.

Organizations have found our evaluation reports valuable because we incorporate user quotations. We've learned, as instructors of creative non-fiction writing, that quotations make writing come alive. We try to capture every word and nuance of the tester's experience, so the organization can tell the difference between a comment such as "the users were frustrated," and one in which we include a quote such as "I have absolutely no idea where I should go to find this information."

Testing: using ourselves

Our students are sometimes surprised when, during class, they ask Thom to test a site to find information. "Wow, you really DO get lost, don't you?" they exclaim.

One of Thom's strengths as a tester of information products is that he gets lost in information. He was drawn to visual displays of information because of his difficulty moving through paragraphs. But this difficulty makes him the "poster boy for information overload," and he excels in passing along his confusion to others.

Action

For more information on how Info.Design can help you test your Web site, direct a question to thom@thomhaller.com.