User research
I believe that usability research is important throughout the design cycle. Therefore, next to high-fidelity usability research, I also employ various other ways of getting feedback from users. These include:
- low-fidelity usability research (e.g. guerilla testing short first-impression interviews with prototypes/designs/wireframes)
- 5-minute interviews with users to get a sense of their vision on the topic
- online (concept) tests to validate small parts of the interaction cycle (e.g. only menu interaction) and compare possible design solutions
For each user test, I always set up a framework and in some cases scenarios, to use as a guideline during the test. Depending on the type of test (high or low fidelity), I have had various roles in each of these tests.
In some cases, tests took place in specified testing locations where I alternated between the moderator and the observer. Usually, the client and stakeholders were also present in the observer room. In other cases, for quick tests, I performed the test by myself and was both the moderator and observer at the same time. For short tests this is possible, because you can write down your observations quickly after each interview. It also helps to not put the users too much on the spot.
Usually after each tests, I would discuss the first findings with the client. For guerilla testing, I would always provide the client with a quick findings overview, to help them understand where we are basing our design decisions on.
