A 10 minute presentation about user experience and usability testing that was presented at the Digital Marketing Speed Presentations hosted by SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing, in Pittsburgh, PA) MeetUp on August 12, 2014.

1. Carol Smith - @Carologic
SEMPO
August 2014

2. In business to create
engaging,
usable,
accessible,
and relevant experiences

3. Good SEO is a great UX
•Focus on specific users and their needs
•Navigation based on user’s tasks
•Monitoring analytics and making site
improvements
•Optimizing experience on different devices
•Following best practices

4. Users want Content
•Helpful content
•Not stuffed with keywords or duplicated
•Links to reputable sites
•Internationalized and localized
•Photos with ALT text
•When images aren’t available
•When users need accessible content

5. Usability Testing
• Real users,
doing real tasks
• Prototypes or live
products
• Observed, not
guided
Steve Krug - http://www.sensible.com/rsme.html

6. Don’t need a lab, but it is nice
•Anywhere
•Any Stage
•Anytime
Photo by Roebot at http://www.flickr.com/photos/roebot/2964156413/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nzdave/491411546/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nzdave/
Participant
observed through
2 way mirror and
on screens

7. Prototype Testing
•Are initial designs helpful?
•Before money spent on visual design
or backend development

8. Avoid mistakes
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwulff/12256075/sizes/m/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwulff/

9. A/B Testing
•Answer questions about:
•Layout on homepage
•Effectiveness of banners
•Choice of wording on call to action
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelquinet/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelquinet/513351385/sizes/l/in/photostream/

10. Current Site/App Testing
•When redesign is planned
•Identify and clarify existing issues
•See drop off on analytics – Why?
•Usability heuristics being achieved?
•System status available
•Recognition, Not Recall

11. Regular Testing
(Yes, this is an old idea; a great one!)

12. Tweak, Don’t Redesign
•Small iterative changes
•Make it better now
•Don’t break something else
•Take something away
•Reduce distractions
•Don’t add – question it
Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems.
By Steve Krug

13. "The biggest waste of all
is building something
no one wants“
- Eric Ries @ericries
Eric Ries @ericries via @MelBugai on Twitter at LeanStartupMI in 2011

14. Contact
slideshare.net/carologic
@Carologic
https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroljsmith

15. Recommended Readings
1

16. References
• Albert, Bill, Tom Tullis, and Donna Tedesco. Beyond the Usability Lab.
• Albert, Bill and Tom Tullis, Measuring the User Experience
• Bias, Randolph G. and Deborah J. Mayhew. Cost-Justifying Usability: An Update for the Internet Age.
• Cooper, Alan. The Inmates are Running the Asylum
• Goodwin, Kim. Designing for the Digital Age: How to Create Human-Centered Products and Services
• Gothelf , Jeff. http://blog.usabilla.com/5-effective-ways-for-usability-testing-to-play-nice-with-agile/
• Henry, S.L. and Martinson, M. Evaluating for Accessibility, Usability Testing in Diverse Situations.
Tutorial, 2003 UPA Conference.
• Krug, Steve. Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability
Problems.
• Kuniavsky, Mike. Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research
• Molich, Rolf. A Critique of “How to Specify the Participant Group Size for Usability Studies: A
Practitioner’s Guide” by Macefield. Journal of Usability Studies. Vol. 5, Issue 3, May 2010. pg. 124-
128.
• Mulder, Steve. The User Is Always Right: A Practical Guide to Creating and Using Personas for the
Web
• Nielson, Jakob. Alertbox. Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users. March 19, 2000.
• Rubin, Jeffrey and Dana Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct
Effective Tests. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• http://www.upassoc.org/usability_resources/usability_in_the_real_world/roi_of_usability.html