day 2: steve krug closing keynote

Closing Keynote: You're NOT doing usability

testing? Are you…nuts? Steve Krug, Author, Don't Make Me Think and Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems

Steve Krug

Conversion Conference East Oct. 20, 2011

You're NOT doing usability testing?

Are you…nuts?

Who is this guy, anyway?

 Steve Krug (steev kroog) (noun) 1. Son, husband, father 2. Resident of Brookline, MA 3. Usability consultant

 Advanced Common Sense  Me and a few well-placed mirrors  Corporate motto: �It�s not rocket surgery™�

#convcon @skrug

Welcome to the last session

 A few opening thoughts  Think: �These are not the droids you�re

looking for…�

You are feeling relaxed, alert, and comfortable

Your energy and attention levels are as high as they�ve ever been

You are not stressing about getting to the airport

Your head is not too full to accept any more input

#convcon @skrug

Obligatory social networking slide

 #convcon  @skrug  I was going to pretweet for your

convenience  Thanks to Lou Rosenfeld

 But I�m not sure I can predict for you

#convcon @skrug

Show of hands

 Help me calibrate  Have read Don�t Make Me Think?  Have read Rocket Surgery Made Easy?

Show of hands?

 Have you ever done usability testing of your site?

 How often and when?  Never?  Right before (or right after) product ships?  Routine (several times during

development)?

What I�ve learned about conversion

#convcon @skrug

What I�ve learned about conversion

 I hate to parachute into conferences  I knew a thing or two already  I read [most of] Tim�s book when it

came out  I have a no-better-than-chance record at

Which Test Won  I did some reading to brush up

#convcon @skrug

Cialdini!

 �We will be more successful [convincing people to take an action] if we provide a reason.�

 �To deal with [our extraordinarily complicated stimulus environment], we need shortcuts.�

 �We expect discount coupons to save us money

 AND the time and mental energy required to think about [how to save money].�

#convcon @skrug

Cialdini!

 So much of it reminded me of things I�ve learned from usability testing

 After eight pages, I was in insight overload

#convcon @skrug

And some great sessions here

 Empathy!  Amy Africa!

#convcon @skrug

Takeaways

 You have ton of methods and tips  They all make perfect sense

 ...even if some contradict each other

 Almost all produce 40%-650% increase in conversion  Seriously. I believe it.

 You�re not just about quantitative [anymore]

#convcon @skrug

What is a usability test?

 Watching people try to use what you create while thinking out loud

 NOT a focus group  Focus groups are about opinions  Usability tests are about watching people

use things

My intent for today

 Convince you that you should be testing, or testing more

 Show you how easy it can/should be

#convcon @skrug

Admittedly, I�m a guy with a hammer

 Best thing I know of for improving anything people interact with  Gets you away from designing by personal

biases  Shared experience for team  Aha moment: Our users are not like us  Full of insights and surprises

 It just works

#convcon @skrug

Here�s the thing…

 All sites (including yours and mine) have serious usability problems

 Tuning without fixing the problems is like painting over potholes

 A/B tests don�t get you the same kinds of insights

#convcon @skrug

Something I learned at SxSW

  Joshua Porter (blog: Bokardo)   �Metrics Driven Design�   Please ignore how much better his slides are

From: �Metrics Driven Design� by Joshua Porter, SxSW 2010

The plan

 A live demo test  So you can see how simple it should be  Thanks to everyone who volunteered their

 The whole book in 15 minutes  Only a two-hour read

 Questions

#convcon @skrug

I believe anyone can do it

 ...if they keep it simple enough

#convcon @skrug

Most sites don�t get tested

 $$$  Time

 No one has the time to do it  It will slow the process down

#convcon @skrug

Traditional usability testing

 Lab  Experienced professional  8 users, minimum  Big honkin� report  Weeks of work, usually by an outsider  $5k - $10k  Happens rarely

Rocket Surgery usability testing

 Three users per round  Three should be plenty  You�ll be doing it again next month  You�ll find more problems than you can fix

 No lab or mirrors  Set up a monitor in another room so the

development team can watch

 No elaborate recruiting  �Recruit loosely and grade on a curve�

Do-it-yourself usability testing

 Record with Camtasia or Morae (Techsmith.com) or CamStudio

 No stats, no exit questions, no faux validity

 No big report  Debrief over lunch

#convcon @skrug

A demo test

#convcon @skrug

We need a volunteer

 Qualifying criteria:  Have used a Web browser  English-speaking adult  Doesn�t work for ____________  Not a low-talker  Because we have a large pool, someone into

sustainability and things green  It�s painless!  You�ll get a big round of applause when

#convcon @skrug

RSME: The fifteen minute version

 Six maxims

A morning a month, that�s all we ask.

#convcon @skrug

Start small, if necessary

 Not monthly; one time  Test competitors/comparables

Start earlier than you think makes sense.

#convcon @skrug

Incorrect thinking

#convcon @skrug

Correct thinking

Recruit loosely and grade on a curve.

Naturally,)we)need)to)test)people)who)are)just)like)our)target)

audience.)

…)people)who)are)a)lot)like)our)users.

…)people)who)actually)use)our)

Representa:ve)users!

Real)users!

Make it a spectator sport.

Focus ruthlessly on a small number of the most important problems.

#convcon @skrug

Testing works too well

 If you�ve done any testing, you know uncovers lots of problems quickly

 But I finally realized this is part of the problem:

 It takes far less resources to find problems than to fix them

 You can find more in a day than you can fix in a month

Problems you can find with just a few test participants

Problems you have the resources to fix

When fixing problems, always do the least you can do™.

Your motto should be…

 What�s the smallest change we can make that we think might solve the observed problem?

 Tweak, don�t redesign

#convcon @skrug

Resources aplenty

#convcon @skrug

There�s a complete demo online

 www.sensible.com  Or Google �Steve Krug� on YouTube

#convcon @skrug

…and all the documents in the book

 Test script  Checklists  Handouts  www.sensible.com

 Got to the Rocket Surgery book page  Turn left at �Downloads�

#convcon @skrug

Run, do not walk, to Amazon.com

#convcon @skrug

And the companion volume…

Thanks for all the fish

 Send any questions, feedback, gripes to

skrug@sensible.com @skrug on the Twitter

 And come visit

www.sensible.com

#convcon @skrug

Questions, anyone?

day 2: steve krug closing keynote

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