Elevator Pitch
Learn the basics of usability testing your application–finding issues before you invest in fully coding your app and greatly reducing the risk of your app failing due to lack of user acceptance. If you’ve had a great demo but terrible reviews after launch, this may be the step you’re missing.
Description
Have you designed an application, had stakeholders give you the thumbs up, focus groups and demos go well… only to have pushback upon launch? Are the people using your software complaining that it doesn’t work or they need more training? Usability Testing can help with that.
Usability testing is a technique where an application design is tested, refined, and validated at each stage of the design process. This ensures large usability issues are caught sooner rather than later.
In this workshop, Ash will teach the basics of usability testing: what is is, why it is used, and how to plan, conduct the test, and analyze your results. In this day-long workshop, you will be asked to bring in your own design prototype (whether that paper prototype, Axure, HTML, or a full fledge application) and will learn how to test and analyze your prototype. A practice prototype will be provided for those unable to bring in a prototype. (Please bring a tablet or laptop if you plan to use the instructor-provided prototype.)
By the end of the session you will have the skills you need to perform basic usability testing and get some stellar results!
Notes
This is a course I have lots of experience teaching at my company. This is a crash course into thinking about end users when designing, not getting attached to your solution (i.e.- “call your baby ugly”), and iterating on a design to get it right. Usability testing is an invaluable technique to putting a design through its paces PRIOR to developing it, piloting it, or releasing it. As Frank Lloyd Wright said, “You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledge hammer on the construction site.” This course is about using eraser. I advocate making the $1 mistake to avoid the $100 disaster.
I’m also a delightful public speaker. You should invite me to your conference. :)