Usability testing

First, we research the interface and review additional source data, including:
- user's frequently asked questions reported to customer support
- user reviews at display network sites, and at the Apple and Google Play app stores
- user scenarios that the customer identified as being the most important to examine, particularly scenarios that are expected to impact the product's key metrics the most.

After that, we build a list of hypotheses to be tested during the study of the interface - from these hypotheses we also create a test scenario. A test scenario is a set of tasks that is given to each respondent and used to test the hypotheses. The tasks themselves simulate real-world situations that users would come across when working with the interface.

Each session with a respondent can take up to 1.5 hours.

Testing involves a moderator and can be conducted in our lab, at the respondents’ workplaces or remotely. Remote testing can be conducted in the situation that the respondent and moderator are based in different cities - in this case, the two interact with one another online.

The moderator directs the study and asks questions that help to understand why the respondent acted exactly this way and whether their actions were driven by the interface itself or other factors. During testing, we can apply in-depth interviewing techniques that encourage respondents to provide a detailed explanation of their experience along with personal opinions and motives for their actions.

The respondents we choose are actual or potential users of the product. Respondents are drawn from our own database and also from our customer’s databases when specific people are required.

Respondents undergo a strict selection process. Each potential respondent is required to complete a screener - a special type of screening questionnaire. The screener ensures that the person's experience meets the pre-determined requirements for the study group. It is designed in such a way to make it is impossible for a respondent to know “the right answers” and also to screen out the “professional” respondents.

Respondents complete tasks from our test scenario using the test interface. Throughout this time, we track the success rate of task completion along with the frequency of problems reported and any and all questions and obstacles that have arisen. Optionally, the time required to complete a task can be recorded.

Testing sessions can be watched live - in our office or yours! The session broadcast includes: a view of the respondent's screen plus all of the respondent's actions (including gestures on mobile device screens), face and voice. Upon completion of the research project, we hand the videos over to the customer.

A detailed analytical report is drawn up, containing our main conclusions along with a detailed description of every problem identified and recommended measures for their resolution. Problems are ranked by their criticality and probability of occurrence, making it easy to see which problems need to be tackled first.

We pride ourselves in the quality of our recommendations:
— We often offer several solutions to choose from. The most effective solution most often is also the most expensive, whereas the second-best solution can be slightly less effective, but with significantly lower costs.
— If we see that a good solution is offered by our competitors, we don't hesitate to mention it.
— Our recommendations come with drawings and sketches when they are necessary to illustrate the solution.