15 MINUTES OF FAME

Working on new course page design(s)

We always want to test.

Any testing is better than none. Good testing is better than any testing.

Our problem is getting the right people to test with.

We require a very particular set of participant that we can’t just find knocking around on campus.

PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

PARENTS

Can’t rely on our usual suspects as the data becomes biased very quickly.

How do we get to the people we need to talk to?

Can’t rely on our usual suspects…

How can we get to the people we really need to talk to?

MOART E S T E R S

PLZ

Multiple test types (Quick recall, comparison etc.)

Qualitative and quantitive testing

Participant sourcing based on demographic criteria

Good reporting tools

Not much to ask really, is it?

WHAT DO WE NEED?

www.usabilityhub.com

Question test - Gather feedback quickly

Five second test - Show something for 5 seconds

Click test - Visualise how people interact with your designs

Navigation test - How do people navigate around your designs

Preference test - Which do you prefer?

TEST TYPES

All the FEELS?

A five second test it is then.

100 people in total - 50 for each variant

From 5 specified countries (US, UK, India, Malaysia & Italy)

At least college/secondary school educated

At least 18 years old (no upper age cap)

PARTICIPANT SORTING

FIVE SECOND TEST / TWO DESIGN VARIANTS

How modern does the page feel?

How sophisticated do you think the page is?

How professional does the page feel?

Does this feel like a page from a university website?

Any comments?

THE QUESTIONS

UNDER 15 MINUTES WE HAD OUR 100 RESPONSES

You can watch them come in in realtime :-)

PARTICIPANT STATS

COUNTRY

US 49%

UK 33%

India 9%

AGE

18 3%

20-24 13%

25-29 22%

30-34 20%

GENDER

Female 40%

Male 60%

EDUCATION

College 45%

Postgrad 21%

Highschool 10%

Some college 10%Malaysia 4%

Italy 5% 35-39 13%

100 participants

DESIGN A

MODERN?

Very 24%

Quite 52%

Not very 24%

SOPHISTICATED?

Very 16%

Quite 62%

Not very 10%

Not at all 2%

PROFESSIONAL?

Very 44%

Quite 44%

Not very 10%

Not at all 2%

UNI-LIKE?

Very 38%

Quite 28%

A bit 26%

Not very 2%

Not at all 6%

DESIGN A

“A little too cliché for a university site.There’s nothing unique”

“It doesn't feel like a university webpage,uni pages usually suck.”

“The site looks good, trustworthy and legit.”

“The name of the university is funny.”

DESIGN B

MODERN?

Very 32%

Quite 66%

Not very 2%

SOPHISTICATED?

Very 18%

Quite 62%

Not very 10%

PROFESSIONAL?

Very 44%

Quite 54%

Not very 2%

UNI-LIKE?

Very 40%

Quite 32%

A bit 26%

Not very 2%

DESIGN B

“Clean and contemporary design. Inviting.”

“I liked the look and feel of this site, and it only didn't feel like a University site because they typically are

more traditional.”

“The page is more like commercial institution but educational, but I liked it anyway.”

“The picture is strange, and bath as a name is strange too.”

DESIGN B received marginally better feedback and ratings than A

Comments for B were overwhelmingly positive. A had a few duffers.

We weren’t that far off the mark with DESIGN A in the first place

THE CONCLUSIONS

Tight demographic specs mean tests take considerably longer

These tests don’t replace face-to-face testing with real people

It can be quite expensive to recruit high volumes of participants

WHAT ELSE DID WE LEARN?