We’ll use today’s session to test out your prototypes and brainstorm ways to refine and finalize them. The second half of class will be a work session so that you can make progress on the final deliverable which is due on Monday.
Credits
These notes have been adapted from Barron Webster and Carolyn Zhang’s class,“Design in the Real World” at SVA.
The goal of a user test is to receive feedback on a prototype. Depending on the scale and type of project, there might be specific goals(testing for accessibility, for example). It’s also helpful to have a range of individuals represented when finding people to test out your project, but the group  should also reflect the expected audience of the product.
For our purposes, this activity will be more general and an opportunity to talk through the user flow of your feature.
Preparing Questions
Having a few guided questions will help a user tester know what to provide feedback on. It’s especially helpful to be a bit strategic with your questions so that you have more thoughtful answers.
đź‘Ž Do not
Ask yes or no questions because they don’t offer thoughtful insights
Ask leading questions
Examples:Â
"Did you find the prototype easy to use?" is overly simplistic, and answering"no" might embarrass the user.
“Do you like the design?” is too vague and not helpful. You could ask if the design supports an idea, or how the user would describe the tone of voice, instead
"Do you get frustrated trying to click the next button?" is a leading question that will make people think about their frustrations first.
đź‘Ť Do
Ask open ended questions that encourage reflection and analysis.
Ask for feedback on specific actions and then observe how the user interacts with it
Examples
“What were you thinking when you chose the left option?”
“Can you find out how to get to the next page? Where did you look first? What were you thinking when you were searching for it?”
“Walk me through your thought process as you use this.”
User Testing in Groups
Take a look at the below chart. Take a few minutes and fill out your prototype URL, a description of the feature, and three questions for the user testers. One of your questions should include a specific task.
Once we’ve done this, we’ll open up break out rooms. With your group, walk through each other’s apps. Have the user testers share their screen and go through the testing process of your app, take notes on how they interact with it. Once finished, user testers should record their feedback for you on the below document.
As you are working, I will review your apps and provide any additional feedback in my special column.
Sub-channels(channels in channels, but with a clear hierarchy)
(note, full functionality has not been mocked up)
Was the navigation intuitive? How was it different from making a normal channel?
Were there any aspects of the interface that felt excessive? Parts that felt lacking in functionality?
What do you think of private/closed subchannels within public top-level channels? or the opposite, public subchannels within private/closed top-level channels?
Paris
I think navigating through the channels and sub-channels can be a bit confusing, especially as the number of them increases. I think a drop down menu would be a good strategy here.
To answer the second question, I think the functionality of the three initial blocks on the first page needs to be a bit clear.
Jason
The navigation makes sense and there was a clear hierarchy of channels. One of my suggestions would to make the(Are.na/user/channel/subchannel) as it’s own page. Basically, have a hamburger menu and when its clicked open a whole new page with the file like system. With this current one, I can image it being super long and messy
I think the functionality is there and it was pretty clear of the direction, there just needs to more“content” or attributes on the page, right now there’s only a little info on the components
Same answer as Paris
The breadcrumbs system at the top of the page is clear and consistent to me.(Are.na/user/channel/subchannel)
I wonder if we need a more obvious call to action to create the sub channel. It seems like the first screen is showing us a channel view, and I’m not sure where“Create a Sub Channel” would live. Clicking on that would offer a prompt similar to“Create a Channel”(and similar to your edit channel screen) that has public/private/closed options.
Regarding your third question: I can see value in having them be public, private, or closed so I would opt for that.
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User Testing
Preparing Questions
đź‘Ž Do not
đź‘Ť Do
User Testing in Groups