Testing Methods

It's finally time to begin doing testing! There are several different methods of testing, each with their own positives and negatives. I'll be listing some of them here, along with situations in which each might be most successful.

Think Aloud Testing
Think Aloud testing is a fairly simple type of test that requires both a lab and recruited participants. During a Think Aloud session, participants should be instructed to speak their every thought as they navigate through your design.

Positives:

• May unveil new usability issues
• Lets you know why users act the way they do

Negatives:

• Unnatural; Most users don't talk to themselves constantly while they navigate websites
• Users may not always know how to express what they are thinking in words

Surveys
Chances are, if you live in the United States, you've taken a survey before. Surveys are a nice way of gathering information on known usability issues and how they affect a user's experience, and there are several standard surveys that one can use, including the System Usability Scale (SUS).

Positives:

• Easy to create and send out
• Requires little burden on our participants; participants can even be in different geological locations

Negatives:

• Less insight into a participant's experience
• Low likelihood of response

A/B Testing
A/B testing is a way to test revisions to designs that are already up and running. In A/B Testing, users are either directed to the redesigned page or the old page, and the rate at which they performed "desired actions" (for instance, purchasing an item) are monitored. In this way, you will be able to discover which design is more effective.

Positives:

• No need to actually consult with your users before testing
• Gives clear results on which is the better design

Negatives:

• No clear evidence given on why each design is better or worse
• Creating the test requires more effort