When’s the Best Time to User Test? A Case Study

On a recent project, we had enough time to do a small user test, which got me thinking about the optimal time to get feedback. We discussed two options: at the visual design stage with a clickable prototype, or with a rudimentary minimal viable product.

9 Lessons Learned from a Year of Usability Tests

When I started at Atomic, I had never participated in or conducted a usability test. In true AO teach-and-learn fashion, I’ve since then been a part of user testing on all of the major projects that I’ve been on since I started almost a year ago. I have a few concrete take aways that I […]

A Great Lightweight User Testing Setup

One of my core beliefs as a software designer is that regular user testing is extraordinarily valuable to almost any project. Getting feedback and validating the usefulness and usability of features as they are being developed helps ensure that your time, budget, and effort are being spent wisely as you work to create a product. […]

Test(ing) Kitchen: Assembling the Ingredients for Your Next Usability Test

“…no one is born a great cook, one learns by doing.” – Julia Child, My Life in France Or, to paraphrase the late great Julia — no one is born a great designer, one learns by doing (and testing). Cooks test out their recipes with an audience, and the same principle applies to new products […]

Test-Driven Design

The other day, I was having a conversation with a colleague about some user testing she was looking to do on a project. “I need to get permission from the client,” she said, “and even once we do it, I’m not sure how much information it will provide. We’ve already done a few tests already; […]

Usability Testing Field Notes

Recently one of our teams at Atomic Object worked with a client to do 2 days’ worth of usability testing with real users. I acted as the test facilitator for this project. As the test facilitator, I greeted test participants when they showed up, explained how the test would work, and walked them through the […]

Usability Testing for Simple Websites

The reasons for and ways of accomplishing usability studies on complex web applications are well documented. They increase user satisfaction and retention, they reduce user frustration and training—in short they add business value in obvious ways. There are a lot of known ways of doing this testing, too. You can use discount methodologies, testing only […]

Capturing and Sharing iOS App Usability Tests

When usability testing, it is often desirable to record the screen of an application to either share it with a remote group of stakeholders or capture it for further review. With screen recording software and built-in webcams, testing websites on a computer is relatively simple. But testing applications and websites on mobile, and particularly iOS […]

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User Testing