Lean Usability Testing at Insignia Health

Lean Usability TestingThe How, What and Why of Usability

Testing at Insignia Health

Michelle Kerkstra, Skamania 2012

What does “Usability” mean?

Making sure something works well, and that a person

of average ability or experience can use it for its

intended purpose without getting hopelessly

frustrated

Steve Krug has been an industry leader in usability design for more than 20 years

• Apple• Netscape• AOL• Lexus• etc…..

Usability Lessons with Steve Krug

1. Web applications should explain themselves

2. Don’t make me think

3. Don’t waste my time

4. We’re creatures of habit

5. No time for small talk

User Testing Happens at Every Stage of the Development Process

Usability tests are qualitative.

The purpose isn’t to prove anything; it’s

to get insights that enable us to

improve what we’re building.

How We Conduct Usability Sessions

Development Team

Sales/Client Services

Stakeholders

1. Facilitator asks participants to perform tasks and talk out loud as they go. Observers watch and learn in another room.

2. Retrospective Next Day- Problems and Solutions

Usability Testing Moving Forward

Once a month Once every two weeks

5 Participants 2 Participants

Moving Solution Brainstorm to a different meeting with only key stakeholders present

Including Problems & Solutions in Retrospective

When tackling usability problems…

• Tweak, don’t redesign

• Simplify, always

What we’ve found so far

• Inconsistent registration flow• Site purpose unclear

October 5

• Lack of consistency in content,

tone, and nomenclature• Confusion between how

different pages and concepts are

related

November 1

• Improved UX surrounding goal

and area of interest selection• Incorporated framing into goals• Remove HA from registration• Reduced and refined home page

text

• Improve onboarding experience• Refine content throughout

registration• Revisit prioritization of elements

on homepage and challenge

board

Why we do User Testing

1. To find usability problems

2. To see through the eyes of end users

Watching users makes us better designers.