“Usability testing is a critical step in software development, aimed at evaluating how easily end users can interact with a system. Our focus is on usability testing for software, which is essential to ensure that systems are user-friendly and meet user expectations. This testing verifies the practical use of software and is vital for delivering a positive user experience.
The primary purpose of performing usability testing is to test the human-made product and its capability to meet its intended purpose. In the case of software usability testing, we test products like websites, web apps, mobile apps, computer interfaces, etc. When it comes to usability testing for websites, web apps, and mobile apps, we perform it to check whether the user interface is easy to understand and use or not.
According to the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB), usability testing is conducted to assess the software product’s comprehensibility, ease of learning, ease of operation, and appeal to users under defined conditions.”
What Usability Testing Is Not
Usability testing is not simply gathering information or opinion about the product. This can be called as market research but not usability testing. It is not performed by just showing the rough draft of product and asking to users, “Do you understand this?”
Rather usability testing usually involves systematic observation under controlled conditions to find out how well people can use and perceive the product.
Methodologies for Usability testing
Following are some of the methods that can be adopted to perform usability testing:
- Hiring a set of real time users that can work on website or app and report the results.
- Using a tool, which can provide statistics depending on the input of designs and wireframes.
- Hiring a third-party testing team specialized in usability testing.
- Submitting the designs and wirframes to external evaluator and getting the results, etc.
Who performs usability testing?
You can perform usability tests as an internal process, where developers and designers sit down with users to analyze how they interact with the system. This approach allows for obtaining results and modifying the system based on those results.
For an advanced approach to usability testing, you can hire real-time users and assign specific tasks to them. The facilitator or observer can then report on these tasks and their results, which can be used to improve the systems.
What parameters are included in Usability Testing?
Usability testing considers the following criteria:
Accessibility:
- Testing the load time of website, realistic or not.
- Testing for adequate Text-To-Background Contrast is present.
- Testing the font size and spacing between texts, whether readable or not.
- Testing whether website has any customised page designed for ‘Not Found’ page.
- Testing whether proper ALT tags have been added to images or not.
Navigation:
- Testing whether user can recognize the website navigation easily or not.
- Testing for navigation options are short and understandable or not.
- Testing for reasonable number of buttons and links.
- Testing for company logo’s linkage to home –page.
- Testing for consistency of style of links on all pages.
- Testing for presence of site search option and easy accessibility of site.
Content:
- Testing whether URLs are user-friendly and meaningful.
- Testing for HTML page titles that should be explanatory.
- Testing for above the fold presence of critical content.
- Testing for sparing use of emphasis like bold, etc.
- Testing for concise and explanatory nature of main copy.
- Testing for more clear and descriptive major headings.
- Testing for consistency in use of styles and colors.
Advantages of Usability Testing
- Usability testing can identify potential bugs and loopholes in the system that developers often overlook and that may go undetected in other types of testing.
- If it performed using proper resources, it can help to fix all issues that user may face while using the application, even before its release.
- You can modify usability testing to integrate with other types of testing, such as system integration testing, unit testing, functional testing, etc.
- Well planned usability testing can be economical and thus can be beneficial and highly effective.
Using usability testing is extremely beneficial before the product launch, as it leads to:
- Software that is easy to use and of better quality.
- Users readily accept a product that meets their needs.
- A product that helps new users learn quickly and easily.
Usability testing has limitations, such as being time-consuming for large data collection and the inability to test long-term experiences. Additionally, users may react differently when aware of observation.
Despite these limitations, experts recommend testing products using usability testing methods. It’s advisable to conduct tests at various stages of the iterative design process to ensure the final product meets all essential requirements.
So go ahead.
Happy Testing!
Krify, a multinational company, provides its software services that includes website, web apps, mobile apps and wearable apps development. We also provide quality testing services to our esteemed clients to shape their product in a best possible way before its release.
Reach us today, to get the free quotation on our website and app development and testing services.
