User-Centered Design Process in a Nutshell

Posted on July 31, 2010

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  1. Design
    It is the idea of the product transformed into a blueprint, yet it is still abstract.
  2. Build a Prototype
    It is the first tangible model of the product and extremely important as testing cannot begin without it. Ranging from paper prototypes to interactive web pages, choose the level of fidelity that takes the least amount of time and resources.
    (Further reading: comparison of fidelity levels, benefits of using prototypes)
  3. Self-test & Improve Prototype
    Identify as many problems as you can yourself before asking the users. Use heuristics and cognitive walkthroughs. Heuristic evaluations compare product against a set of rules or principles, while cognitive walkthroughs are role-playing sessions where reviewers try to perform tasks with the product as inexperienced users. Improve the prototype based on the results from self-test.
    (Further reading: Overview of Cognitive Walkthrough process, comparison of heuristics and cognitive walkthroughs, Other methods (focus groups, interviews, surveys, etc), some heuristics:

  4. Do User Testing & Improve Prototype
    1. Goal: What do you want to learn from users?
    2. Persona’s & Subgroups: Create precise & detailed persona’s of expected users. Give each a name, a car, a job, a life. Don’t design for average user. Design considering each user separately. Divide persona’s into expert and novice users. Have at least 3 participants to test each group. Design for both novice and expert users and remember that novice users will mature into experts.
      (Further Reading: Chauncey Wilson’s user-profile factors)
    3. Tasks to be Tested: You can’t test all tasks that could be performed with the product so focus on those that meet the goal of testing. After listing the tasks to test, prioritize them to make sure important ones get done even if time runs out. Time each task based on the evaluation measures (quantitative/qualitative) and keep the test under an hour.
      (Further Reading: Commonly tested tasks, Evaluation Measures)
    4. Scenarios: Convert the tasks to be tested into scenarios. For example, the task of filling out online form can be converted into ‘You want free email. Register for an account’. Avoid creating steps or instructions. Focus on the bigger process, not the steps required to complete it. Avoid using the language of the product. Don’t say: click on “check-mark”.
    5. Post-test Questionnaire: Having gone through the testing, the participant has become a great resource for user feedback. Don’t let him go without asking his opinions on ease of use, perception and any other input he wants to give.
    6. Dry Run: Do a dry-run without actual participant or get a tolerant user. Then do a pilot test with an actual user. You need a briefer, a logger and a cameraman/timekeeper. The briefer will be the only person who talks to the participant. The logger notes down everything. The cameraman/timekeeper keeps track of the time taken for each task.
    7. Test: Screen users to put them in the right subgroup before the test. Debrief them about the whole process. Observe them as they complete the test and do post-task and post-test questionnaires.
      (Further Reading: Pre-Test Briefing, Thinking-Out-Loud Procedure, Categories for logging test results)
  5. Repeat process for features that got changed

For samples of how to implement these visit: http://ablongman.com/barnum/

summarized from: Barnum, Carol. “Usability Testing and Research”.

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