che Usability?

I just completed a round of user testing today and had some real characters show up for the evaluations.

Being out of your natural work environment while two people observe you is not really an easy position to be in. As a result, people react in different ways.

Here are the three types of user testers I came across this week:

The Designer
Instead of just using the page as they would on their own, “designers” want to redesign the interface. They usually have comments like:

• “It’s ok for me, but people with accessibility issues might have trouble”
• “It would be better if you move the button over here”
• “I think people with colour blindness might have problems with the colours.”

These suggestions might be useful if the participants were actual designers, but most times they’re not, so their suggestions probably will not help you.

To get “designers” back on track, acknowledge their ideas, but remind them that the purpose of the session is to understand how they are able to complete certain tasks.

The Thinker
Even after having the “think out loud” process explained to them, “thinkers” explore the page without so much as a grunt. These people drive your note-taker crazy, as there are limited notes to take.

Get “thinkers” talking by asking probing questions such as:

• “What are you looking for?”
• “What are you thinking?”
• “Can you talk me through what you just did?”

Mr/Ms. Negative
For these people, there is not one good element on the page. Even a web standard is up for ridicule.

Allow negative types to express themselves, but try to direct them to some positive features by asking “Is there anything about the page that you like?” 

Recently, I had a client who took the W3C’s advice about not using “Click here” for links too literally.

The client’s user base is not very web-savvy. To compensate, my client decided to write instructions for a new online form. The form has a variety of features such as:

• check boxes
• radio buttons
• drop down menus, and
• action buttons (e.g. Submit and OK).

Determined not to use the word “click,” my client used the word “select” throughout the instructions. I know! Oh, the humanity!

“Select” is an acceptable word, but it is not the right one for every situation. Remember: users spend 95 percent of their time on other sites. Most other sites instruct users to “click” on a button, not to “select” a button. Users understand “selecting” a check box or an item from a drop down menu, but they will be confused by “selecting” a button.

More importantly, the W3C advice on not using “Click here” refers to links found in chunks of text. Since users scan information on your site, writing “Click here” for all your links does not help them decide where to go next. However, W3C did not intend for site owners to rid the word “click” from their vocabularies.

Learn two things from this short story:

1. Do not take “advice from the experts” to your peril
2. Use the right words for both your content and your link names, as doing so will help your users get the most out of your site.