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| BEYOND THE USABILITY LAB
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Conducting Large-scale Online User Experience Studies
To order this title, and for more information, click here
By
William Albert, Director, Design and Usability Center, Bentley University, USA
Thomas Tullis, Senior Vice President of User Experience, Fidelity Investments, USA
Donna Tedesco, Senior Usability Specialist, Fidelity Investments, USA
Description
Usability testing and user experience research typically take place in a controlled lab with small groups. While this type of testing
is essential to user experience design, more companies are also looking to test large sample sizes to be able compare data according
to specific user populations and see how their experiences differ across user groups. But few usability professionals have experience
in setting up these studies, analyzing the data, and presenting it in effective ways. Online usability testing offers the solution
by allowing testers to elicit feedback simultaneously from 1,000s of users. Beyond the Usability Lab offers tried and tested
methodologies for conducting online usability studies. It gives practitioners the guidance they need to collect a wealth of data through
cost-effective, efficient, and reliable practices. The reader will develop a solid understanding of the capabilities of online usability
testing, when it's appropriate to use and not use, and will learn about the various types of online usability testing techniques.
Audience
This book is written for usability specialists, user experience researchers, market researchers, information architects, interaction designers,
business analysts, and managers who are looking to learn about the capabilities of, and gain experience with, online usability testing.
Contents
1. Introduction to online usability methods
a. What is online usability, and how it differs from traditional usability
methods
b. Examples of different types of online usability studies
c. Pros and cons of online and non-online methods
d. When to use
(and not use) online methods
e. Combining online studies with lab testing
Chapter 1 provides an overview to online usability testing.
Special attention will be paid to how it differs from traditional usability methods (including remote testing). There will be an in-depth
discussion of the pros and cons of online testing, and when to use and not use online methods. We will provide real-world examples to
highlight the value of this method. We will also discuss ways to complement traditional usability testing with online testing. Our intention
is that the reader will be in the position to determine if an online usability study is appropriate for their organization.
2. Planning your study
a. Study goals
b. Budgets and timeline
c. Technology options
d. Participant recruiting and panels
e. Sample size
f. Panel options
g. Sampling strategy
h. Study duration
i. Participant compensation
Chapter 2 focuses on all the activities
and decisions that need to be made place prior to actually putting the survey together. The first three activities (goals, budgets/timelines,
and technology options) are all essential to accurately scope an online study. The next part of this chapter focuses on finding the right
number of targeted participants. This includes a discussion of research panels, sample size determination, and sampling strategies. The
chapter will conclude with a discussion of estimating study duration and participant compensation.
3. Designing your study
a. Introducing the survey
b. Screener questions
c. Starter questions
d. Constructing Tasks
e. Post-task questions and metrics
f. Post-session questions and metrics
g. Branching
h. Progress indicators and navigation
i. Speed traps
j. Question types
Chapter 3
is devoted to developing the study design. The first half of the chapter (topics a through g) are the various sections that are typically
included in an online usability study. For each section, we will review best practices and common pitfalls. We want to give the reader
the confidence for putting together an effective online study. The last part of this chapter (topics h through k) deal with common techniques
that are used in various parts of a study. They include topics such as branching, navigation, speed traps, and question types.
4. Launching your study
a. Piloting and Validating
b. Timing the launch
c. Phased launches
d. Monitoring results
Chapter 4
deals with issues around launching an online study. This includes all the activities that happen after a study has been developed until
the final data are available. This chapter discusses how to set up a pilot test and validate the study, timing a launch to maximize participation
and quality results, and phased launches. The chapter concludes with a discussion on how to monitor results. This includes both participation
rates as well as data quality.
5. Data preparation
a. Fraudulent participants
b. Consistency checks
c. Data reliability
d. Outliers
e. Recoding variables
Chapter 5 will help the reader prepare their data for the analysis stage. There some very important
activities that need to take place prior to data analysis that must be done to ensure valid results. Topics in this chapter will include
how to identify fraudulent participants, running consistency checks on the participant responses, and identifying outliers in the data
that may need to be removed from the analysis. The chapter will conclude with a brief discussion of how to recode variables that will
be most useful in the analysis stage.
6. Data analysis and presentation
a. Verbatim responses
b. Task-based metrics
c. Segmentation analysis
d. Post-session analysis
e. Behavioral data
f. Combining data
g. Identifying usability issues
h. Presentation
tips
Chapter 6 covers all the information the reader will need to know about how to analyze and present data derived from an online
study. Each section of this chapter covers one type of data that are typically captured in an online study. Verbatim analysis focuses
on how to derive meaningful and reliable findings from open-ended responses. Task-based metrics include success, completion times, and
ease of use ratings. Segmentation analysis includes ways to identify how distinct groups performed and reacted differently. Post session
analysis involves looking at metrics such as SUS scores, overall satisfaction and expectations, and ease of use ratings. Behavioral data
analysis includes metrics such as clicks paths, page views, and time spent on each page. Combining data from more than one metric is
a very important step in analysis. Methods for identifying usability issues from all the data will be described and examples given. This
chapter will be very practically oriented, giving step-by-step direction on how to perform each type of analysis. Many examples will
demonstrate different ways to present the results.
7. Building your own online study
a. Approaches to creating your
own online study
b. Presenting tasks and prototypes
c. Capturing task completion status
d. Capturing task time data
e. Capturing self-reported
data
f. Examples
Chapter 7 shows readers how to create relatively simple online studies themselves. Approaches to presenting tasks and
prototypes will be described, as will techniques for collecting task success, times, and various kinds of self-reported data, including
rating scales, open-ended questions, and the System Usability Scale (SUS). While some examples of HTML and JavaScript will be shown,
we will describe them in such a way that even someone new to those technologies could understand and use them. Complete examples will
be shown that readers could easily adapt. Code samples will also be provided on a companion website.
8. Online solutions
a. Keynote
b. RelevantView
c. User Zoom
d. MindCanvas
e. Survey Monkey
f. Opinion Lab
g. ACSI
h. Others
Chapter 8 reviews
the common online tools that can be used for running online testing. While the ?Do-It-Yourself? reader may want to use the techniques
described in Chapter 7, others may want to use a commercial tool like those described in this chapter. Most of the chapter will be devoted
to those tools that used most often to collect behavioral data such as Keynote, Relevant View, and User Zoom. There will also be a discussion
of online tools that do not collect performance data such as Survey Monkey, ACSI, and Opinion Lab. Comparisons of the tools, including
what kinds of data can be collected with each, will be included. The chapter will conclude with a brief discussion of other possible
solutions such as agencies that specialize in online testing. Readers will also be referred to our companion website to keep up with
updates and emerging software solutions.
9. Ten tips for a successful online study
a. Planning for metrics
b. Deciding
on the right tool
c. Choosing the right participants
d. Writing clear tasks
e. Piloting your study
f. Checking data
g. Comparing to
other data sources
h. Being creative with the data
i. Allow enough time for analysis
j. Presenting only the top line results
Chapter
9 provides a summary of some of the key points made throughout the book. This summary will be in the form of the top ten tips that someone
should know when conducting their own online study. These tips will be very practical in nature.
| Bibliographic details |
Paperback, 336 pages, publication date: JAN-2010
ISBN-13: 978-0-12-374892-8
Imprint: MORGAN KAUFFMAN
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