Usability: what is it and how to measure it

Nowadays, we hear a lot about topics such as usability, user-centered design, mental models, etc. But what do these concepts mean? What exactly are they about?

What is usability?

The first and most important thing is to understand this concept. Usability refers to the ease with which people can use a particular tool or any object in order to achieve a particular goal. In general, it is a term that is used a lot in the field of web and mobile applications, but in reality any “everyday” object may (or may not) have good usability.

Now that this concept is clear, another question remains to be answered: what is user-centered design? For serving us? User Centered Design (or UCD, for its acronym) implies designing taking into account the user (that is, the people who will use the tool), with their needs, objectives and characteristics. The objective of this is to know that our design is not isolated, it not only has to be visually beautiful, but it must understand the needs and objectives that our users determine.

Usability tests

There are several methods to know the usability of a tool or system. One of them is the teausability st.

What is a usability test?

It is an observational test with real users as they use and perform tasks with a tool, site or application. It is a way of obtaining information from users, analyzing what they do more than the opinions they can give us about what they do.

The tests aim to improve the usability of the product, that is, they are useful for analyzing whether the site meets the purposes and tasks that it is supposed to do, taking into account the user who is expected to use it.

A usability test will allow us to:

• Find possible usability problems on the site.
• Evaluate possible solutions for the problems encountered.
• Understand and compare competitors, future developments of this same site or modifications to the current one.

Some tips when performing usability tests

Once the benefits of carrying out usability tests have been defined, it is time to start outlining the basic tasks to carry out one.

Some key points to keep in mind are:

1. Define the objectives and interests to be evaluated.
   • Example: You want to analyze a wool sales site. One of the objectives can be: “Check if multiple items can be purchased without the need to log in to the store”.
2. Identify potential users of the application or website you want to evaluate and recruit them. Typically, you need at least 5-7 users to run these tests.
   • Example: If you want to analyze a wool sales site, the ideal user would be the one who makes sweaters or weaves on looms.
3. Determine the tasks to be carried out during the test. Once these tasks have been selected, a script should be put together to refer to during testing.
   • Example: You want to test the purchase of wool. One objective is to understand how a user buys a kilo of wool in various colors.
4. Preparation and execution of the test. The test should be carried out in a quiet environment. It is important to have space for the user to be tested, the person who guides the user during the test with the script, and an observer who takes note of everything that is happening. It is advisable to guide the user and not help him to perform the tasks. If he gets stuck at any point, he can be invited to repeat the prompt, or continue with our script.
5. Analysis of results and proposal of solutions.
   • Example: 7 users were tested. 6 out of 7 could not continue with the purchase of the selected items because the site did not have payment methods. The recommendation in this case would be to verify the available means of payment and, if possible, apply them to the website.