testing content

TESTING CONTENTAngela Colter@angelacolter #testconMay 9, 2011

“If at any time during any rolling consecutive twelve

billing cycle period you fail to make two Minimum

Payments on a timely basis or exceed your Credit Limit

twice we may elect to increase your Purchase, Cash

Advance and/or Balance Transfer APRs to the Penalty

APRs. All Penalty APRs will remain in effect until, in a

subsequent rolling consecutive six billing cycle period,

you do not exceed your Credit Limit at any time and

you make all of your required Minimum Payments on a

timely basis when, in your next billing cycle, all Penalty

APRs will no longer apply.

“If at any time during any rolling consecutive twelve

billing cycle period you fail to make two Minimum

Payments on a timely basis or exceed your Credit Limit

twice we may elect to increase your Purchase, Cash

Advance and/or Balance Transfer APRs to the Penalty

APRs. All Penalty APRs will remain in effect until, in a

subsequent rolling consecutive six billing cycle period,

you do not exceed your Credit Limit at any time and

you make all of your required Minimum Payments on a

timely basis when, in your next billing cycle, all Penalty

APRs will no longer apply.

WHY TEST YOUR CONTENT?

Photo: @DavidFeng

Photo: John Van Laer

Photo credit: Laura C. Gooch

Photo: Zara Arshad

Photo: Ben Hobson

� Readability Formula

� Usability Test

� Cloze Test

READABILITY FORMULA

�

.39 x + 11.8 x – 15.59 = grade level# words

# sentences# syllables

# words

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Formula

Whether you're a content strategy

veteran or curious about where to

start, this is your conference.

9TH GRADE

Conference this you're where or

veteran your about strategy is

whether a content start curious to.

9TH GRADE

FORMULAS· Quickly estimate text difficulty

· Produce an easily understood metric

· Can help you argue for funding to test with users

· Are not magic

· Should not be your only evaluation method

· Are not a guide for writing good content

�

“Improving comprehension by writing

to a readability formula is like lighting

a match under a thermometer

to warm up a room.–George Klare

USABILITY TEST�

Did you understand that?

Find out what users do,

not what they say they do.–Jakob Nielsen

Find out what users understand,

not what they say they understand.–Me

How to design a usability test� Recruit the right participants� Identify critical issues to users and business

� Create tasks that test those issues

� Ask users to think aloud, paraphrase

� Know what the correct answer looks like

THIS TASK:• Buy a Zone 2 TrailPass

TESTS THIS CONTENT:• Where is the online store?

• Can I figure out how to use it to make a purchase?

THIS TASK:• Buy a pass that suits your needs.

TESTS THIS CONTENT:• Where is the online store?

• Can I figure out how to use it to make a purchase?

• What modes of transportation will I use?

• Are my start and end stations in the city?

• How many times a week will I use it?

• How many days are left in the month?

USABILITY TESTS· Tell you what problems users have

· Reveal why they are having problems

· Make you feel the user’s pain

· End opinion-based arguments

· Can require lots of time and resources

�

CLOZE TEST�

andyrutledge.com/closure.php

CANCELLATION AND SUBSTITUTION POLICYYou can transfer your ______ registration to someone else ______ up to May 3 ______ no charges or penalties. ______ note that if you ______ up for both the ______ and a workshop, you’ll ______ to transfer both registrations; ______ are no partial substitutions ______ registrants.

How to create a Cloze test � Take at least a 125-word sample of text� Remove every 5th word� Go for 25-50 blanks� Ask users to fill in the exact word the author used� Calculate the percentage of exact matches

How to score a Cloze test � 60% or more: appropriate� 40-60%: may need additional help� 40% or less: too difficult

CLOZE TESTS· Indicate whether material is appropriate for a

given audience.

· Take into account reader’s prior knowledge of the

subject matter

· Take little time to design, administer and score

· Do not require subject matter expertise

�

Formula Cloze Usability

People Just you As many as it takes to

convince you (5+)

As many as it takes to

convince you (5+)

Time Very quick Quick Not quick

Cost Low

$0-$100

Mid

$0-$25 per participant

High

$100+ per participant

Content Text Text Text and

Wireframes

Comparison of testing methods

WANT MORE?Web: angelacolter.comA List Apart: alistapart.com/articles/testing-content/Email: acolter@electronicink.comTwitter: @angelacolter