SUMMARY:Usability testing and expert review are both valid methods. Leaving aside the time and the budget available, I can advise you to use one or the other method mainly depending on the objectives you want to achieve and the conditions of your product’s interface.
When it comes to improving the usability of a website or application we can find ourselves at a crossroads: conduct a series of tests on real users – usability testing – or request a review by one or more UX designers, with an expert review or UX review, as we call it here at glueglue.
Premise: the two options are not necessarily alternative to each other. In an ideal world, they should be dealt with one after the other, with a direct comparison of the results of the two different approaches. Anyway, we know that reality, made of deadlines and budget limitations, rarely meets the dream world. But let’s start from the basics.
What is a usability test?
Usability testing is a method used in order to understand how usable an interface can be through a series of tests conducted with real users. We usually ask a variable number of people interested in our service to try and complete specific tasks. Those tasks may vary depending on the website or application we want to test. An expert will observe and take particular care when users encounter a problem.
The advantages of usability testing
Every day we hear about user-centered design, and this is not by chance. Digital products that have been able to differentiate themselves over the long term are those that gave priority to the actual users’ needs. See the well-known Uber and Airbnb which have created industry wars by improving the lives of millions of unsatisfied users. And obviously their founders’, too. What’s better than getting feedback directly from the people I’d like to sell my service to? Here are the main advantages:
- Authenticity of the results
If well conducted, a usability testing session leads to spontaneous and authentic results. Those are crucial in order to understand how to proceed and manage the efforts on the product. - Focus on specific actions
If you want to improve a specific area or action, e.g. your e-commerce, watching 20 different users add a product to their cart and complete the purchase can reveal deep and hidden problems. - You can say it: we are a user-centered company
There is no user-centered company that does not ‘listen’ to its users: a usability test puts the user at the center of the process. In fact, a video of a user who is not able to register is also incredibly effective.
The disadvantages of usability testing
- High number of participants
There are countless debates on the exact number of useful participants. As a matter of fact, their task is to detect an actual amount of interface problems. An NN group study reveals that with 5 participants you have the best cost / benefit ratio. Especially if you have clear ideas on what makes more sense to test. However, this number may vary significantly depending on the product and its complexity. - Time…
The time used to conduct a usability test may vary. You will need a suitable place, an expert and at least 5 people who actually use your service. You will then have to process the data and focus on the essence of the conducted test. Consider at least 3-4 days in total to do things right. - Will to listen and learn
Obvious? Absolutely not. The mindset of the expert who conducts the test and will have to ‘read’ the results is key. It is not always easy to accept reality, especially when it’s uncomfortable. The will to listen and really improve the interface are fundamental requirements.
What is an expert / UX review?
An expert review, or UX review of a website or application, consists of a review made by UX designers (experts). They proceed to a cross-functional analysis of the product’s functional areas. Plus, they assign a percentage score to every area, highlighting the gaps. It allows to have an overview of the general usability and helps to prioritize improvement actions.
The advantages of an Expert or UX review
The figure of the UX designer is increasingly transversal and let’s say it, sometimes even “fashionable”. This is the case when a person with usability, information organization and visual design skills can really make a difference. No matter how unique a service or product is, it will always have to respond to a series of standard and consolidated patterns. This is why many of the problems of an interface can be detected easily. Here are the main advantages:
- Easier times
Products may vary a lot (iOS and Android apps etc) but this is not really a problem. A skillful team of UX designers can bring to light a big amount of problems in less than 24 hours. - General view of the product
A UX review is the ideal way to start off on the right foot. It will allow you to have a global view of the state of the product and prioritize the actions. - Reduced costs
It’s safe to say that a UX review will give you very useful information with a few thousand Euros.
The disadvantages of the UX review
- A matter of points of view
The output of a UX review is based exclusively on the point of view of a group of professionals, which is not necessarily bad, but it must be considered that the user has not actually been consulted, at least directly. This means that you will have to have great confidence in the experience and opinion of the experts at hand. - Superficiality of the analysis
As we said, this approach is particularly suitable when you want to have an overview of the usability of an interface. On the other hand, it will rarely give ideas regarding problems related to the typical way of use of a specific consumer in line with your target, considering the fact that users are not real customers. - Effective validity of the method
Here, again, there are several methods that can be followed, here at glueglue we rely for example on hundreds of questions divided into 9 main areas to which each UX designer assigns a score. These questions must be frequently updated to actually be effective and, in this case, we can say that the method chosen to proceed is of great importance.
Conclusions
Usability testing and expert review are both valid methods that allow us to identify the gaps of an interface and understand how to improve them. Leaving aside the time and the budget available, I can advise you to use one or the other method mainly depending on the objectives you want to achieve and the conditions of your product’s interface.
Do you have an e-commerce that presents different problems that are not yet fully identified? Probably an expert review will be the right choice, allowing you to photograph the product’s global status of usability and indicating the areas to focus on the most.
Do you have an application that has a low user registration rate? A usability test focused on this specific aspect will allow you to thoroughly investigate this specific feature and improve it accordingly.
These are just examples of how one or the other method can help you improve the usability and the product’s overall user experience, obviously every case has its peculiarities and must be carefully evaluated.
Choosing one or the other way can really make the difference.
