Running a Test

[MUSIC] 0:00 [SOUND] You've had a chance to read the usability test script. 0:03 Now let's take a look at how it works in practice. 0:07 I'll now be role playing through a portion of the Amazon.com usability test. 0:10 Okay, hi, I'm Anya. 0:17 Welcome to our office. 0:18 I'll be your researcher for the usability study today. 0:20 >> Hi, I'm Jess. 0:22 >> Hi there, I'm Tyler. 0:23 I'll just be taking notes today. 0:24 Thanks for coming in. 0:26 >> It's nice to meet you. 0:27 >> Okay, wonderful, would you like to use the restroom before we get started? 0:27 >> Nope, I'm good. 0:30 >> Okay, then please come on in and here's your seat right here. 0:31 Okay, so here's a water bottle before we get started in case 0:41 you get thirsty along the way. 0:44 >> Thanks. 0:45 >> Wonderful. 0:46 And if you can tell me if you've signed the consent form already online? 0:47 >> I did. 0:51 >> Okay, great. 0:51 So we're just gonna dig right in. 0:52 So, again, thank you for taking the time to participate in our study. 0:54 And from now on I'll be reading from the script right here just 0:57 to make sure I don't miss any important details. 1:01 So I invited you here today so 1:04 that you can help us learn about how people buy AC units for their homes. 1:05 From now on I'm going to be recording you and 1:09 your voice as well as the screen up there. 1:12 This will just ensure I don't miss any valuable information as we move through 1:14 the study. 1:19 It will also allow those who aren't here to observe things in real time, 1:20 to watch the video later. 1:24 None of this footage will be used outside of our product team. 1:25 And the information that we do gather will be anonymized so that we can draw general 1:29 conclusions about the product and certainly nothing about you. 1:34 There are currently people watching the study from another room. 1:38 I may check in with them occasionally just to see if they have any questions for you. 1:41 And I want you to know that I am the researcher and not the designer, so 1:45 don't worry about offending me with your feedback. 1:48 We are really testing the product and not you. 1:51 Any and all feedback is helpful for us. 1:55 Any challenges or problems that you observe are a fault of the product and 1:58 not you, [LAUGH] just want to make that very, very clear. 2:02 So don't hold back and please be honest in every way. 2:05 Your honesty and openness is the most valuable thing that we could have today. 2:09 So, I'm going to ask you to think aloud. 2:13 This means that please speak what you are doing as you 2:16 are doing it throughout the study. 2:20 If you do forget this I'll remind you along the way because it is very important 2:23 for us to know why you're doing something as well as the fact that you're actually 2:28 doing it. 2:33 Any questions so far? 2:34 >> Nope. 2:35 Okay, wonderful, so I'm gonna start with a few background questions. 2:35 If you're not comfortable answering any of them, just let me know and 2:39 we can skip those. 2:43 So firstly, what is your current profession? 2:44 >> I'm a customer success manager. 2:47 >> Okay, wonderful. 2:48 Okay. 2:50 Notice how I used simple language to communicate with the participant. 2:51 I assured them that their honesty would be appreciated and 2:55 that ultimately this was about testing the product and not testing them. 2:59 I introduced the concept of the thinking out loud protocol and 3:03 let them ask questions. 3:07 I then asked a few background questions, including those that should have been 3:09 asked previously to confirm that the participant qualified for the study. 3:13 Next, let's take a look at how we would walk through one of the sample scenarios. 3:17 Okay, so to get started, if you can please go to amazon.com and 3:23 find an air conditioner unit that you'd be likely to purchase for your home. 3:26 Please proceed with that purchase, but 3:31 I will stop you before your credit card is charged, so don't worry about that. 3:32 And if you need any other information along the way, 3:36 please feel free to reference any sites that you normally would at home. 3:39 Okay, I will go to Google Chrome, and 3:42 I will go to amazon.com, search for an air conditioner. 3:46 There's a lot of choices here. 3:59 I'm going to pick the one that says Amazon's Choice. 4:03 >> That's interesting. 4:08 Can you tell me why you chose that particular label? 4:09 >> Well, I assume that Amazon has done a lot of research about this product, so 4:12 it's probably a good one. 4:17 >> Okay, thank you for that information. 4:18 >> It says it has 10,000 BTUs, but 4:26 I don't really know what that means, so I'm gonna Google that. 4:29 >> So I noticed that you're looking for more information. 4:52 Would you mind thinking out loud so that I can know what you're looking for? 4:54 >> Sure. 4:58 So, I don't know what 10,000 BTU means, so, I think it has 4:59 something to do with room size, and my room is about 200 square feet, 5:04 so, I'm hoping I can just find a chart that will tell me which one to buy. 5:09 >> Yeah, I understand now. 5:15 Thank you. 5:16 What did you notice about how I presented the scenario and 5:17 asked follow up questions? 5:21 Jot down your initial observations and we'll review them in the next session. 5:22 After each of the study sessions is done and 5:27 the participant has left the office, the researchers should take ten 5:30 minutes to talk openly with observers about what each person noticed. 5:35 The goal is to come to a shared understanding of the main insights but 5:39 not the solutions. 5:43 Doing this can uncover findings and 5:45 ideas that may not have been obvious to the researcher or notetaker. 5:47 It is also one more way to incentivize observers to pay attention during 5:51 the session, since they'll be expecting a discussion at the end. 5:56