5 Things We Learned from Our Recent User Testing Journey at Few

Written by Shireen Hashemi, Lead UX Strategist, Few.

Introduction

At Few, we’re dedicated to creating user experiences that truly resonate with people. Our recent user testing project provided us with valuable insights on our current process, helping us fine-tune our approach to designing and testing user interactions.

Before diving into the five insights we gained, let’s discuss our testing approach for this project:

The User Testing Process

We developed a detailed testing plan to explore how users interact with our client’s product, aiming to uncover any usability issues and areas for improvement. Here’s how we approached our first user testing experience:

Objectives

• Evaluate the User Flow: We examined how users navigated from sign-on to document sharing, aiming to identify any pain points along the way.
• Gather Feedback: Our goal was to collect insights on feature desirability and potential enhancements.

Usability Expert Review

Before conducting user tests, we conducted a usability expert review to pinpoint initial design issues. This groundwork informed our testing focus, allowing us to refine our approach and address key areas of concern.

Methodology

• Participants: With the support of our client growth lead, we recruited five sales representatives who matched our target user profile. This collaboration was crucial, as finding the right participants independently can be challenging and time consuming.
• Cognitive Walkthrough: Using Zoom, we observed users as they performed tasks, encouraging them to articulate their thought processes. This provided us with valuable insights into their experiences.
• Semi-Structured Interviews: We followed up with interview questions to delve deeper into users’ thoughts and suggestions.

Analysis

• Reviewing Recordings: We watched all the meeting recordings, noting any user frustrations, pain points, things they overlooked, and areas they struggled to find.
• Identifying Trends: We documented what users liked, their voiced desires, and expectations, cross-referencing these observations to uncover trends and common themes.
• Validating Heuristic Violations: User feedback helped validate the heuristic violations we identified in our expert review.
• Formulating Recommendations: Based on our findings, we developed recommendations and next steps to address the identified issues and enhance the user experience.

Lessons Learned

Reflecting on our user testing experience, here are the 5 key lessons we learned:

1 — The Importance of a Usability Expert Review

Before diving into user testing, conducting a usability expert review proved invaluable. This initial step helped us identify design issues and focus our testing efforts on the most critical areas, ensuring that we addressed potential roadblocks early on.

2 — Adapting the Script

While having a script was helpful, we found it most effective as a flexible guide. Allowing conversations to flow naturally and adapting to each participant’s unique perspective led to richer, more authentic feedback. When participants felt at ease, they were more open and informative, which provided deeper insights into their experiences. However, some users may be shy and need more guidance, and that’s when referring to the script comes in handy.

3 — Recruiting Participants

Our client growth lead played a pivotal role in recruiting participants, highlighting the importance of leveraging internal networks. If we didn’t have him as a resource, we most likely would have been cold calling folks on LinkedIn. Moving forward, we want to build more partnerships and create a participant database to streamline the recruitment process.

4 — Analyzing Findings

Despite working with a small group, analyzing qualitative data took more time than anticipated. However, conducting a thorough analysis and cross-referencing findings was essential to uncover common themes and pain points. Our client valued the depth of our findings, confirming that our efforts were worthwhile.

5 — Expanding Our Approach

This project opened our eyes to the potential of combining in-house and automated testing methods. While we currently focus on direct engagement, we plan to integrate automated testing to broaden our reach and enhance our insights. By building a diverse participant pool and leveraging a hybrid approach, we aim to provide the best of both worlds.

Conclusion

Our recent user testing journey at Few has been an eye-opener, offering us fresh insights that are reshaping how we approach user-centered design. By embracing what we’ve learned, we’re gearing up to make our testing processes even more effective and engaging.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to blend in-house and automated testing to broaden our reach and deliver deeper insights for our clients. This project has set the stage for exciting innovations, and we’re eager to keep creating user experiences that truly connect and inspire. The road ahead is bright, and we can’t wait to see where these insights take us next!