Usability testing on the knee

    In general, I have long been interested in the topic of usability and interface design, scripts, and characters. But I do not do this professionally. Up to this point, I was content only with knowing how to do it “in an adult way” , and with the conviction that “in a good way” projects should be developed through UI testing (test first;). But, as usual, he didn’t go beyond conversations and sad sighs.
    It all started with the fact that once again discussing the project, features and further plans, I took and blurted out: “Let's go to college and check on students.”



    We didn’t have time to turn around when it came “tomorrow”, it’s time to go. And in our country, in the best traditions, nothing is ready.
    There are 2 laptops (Ubuntu), one with a camera. Normally, only XVidCap is written from the screen. They brought the video to the monitor and moved the browser a little to the side to write the screen and the person’s video (XVidCap catches the video output), but the sound does not plow. A video without sound is not relevant. There was no longer time to dance with a tambourine. We decided to write only the screen without video and sound.
    Until 2 a.m. we write scripts for testing. Time is telling, mercilessly cutting the banter that erupts in the script. Someone smart said that boys need to write on behalf of girls and vice versa. Cursing, I write and print 2 options.
    They wrote a small story in the form of simple tasks:
    ----------------
    You gathered the company, as usual, to ride on Saturday. Climb on Yandex, watch the weather, and there ... A storm warning, hail, and even a thunderstorm. And all misadventures on Saturday, and on Sunday a clear, clear sky.
    * Change the date of your event.
    * Warn all participants that the date is being rescheduled.
    ----------------
    
    I spotted the time - I go through everything in 10 minutes.
    Now sleep, get up tomorrow at half past six.

    Morning. Under drizzling rain, we run to the university (we have our own people there;) The
    university is a bastion of science and civilization. There are no sockets, the Internet - even more so. I took a skylink with me. On the second attempt, the connection trace ran - there is a connection. (As an anti-advertisement, I hate the skylink, but helps out as a fallback. Yes, I know that there is yota, etc.)
    We were not lucky with the audience, we sat in the dining room in the corner.

    We turned around , tested, exhaled and called the first person ... A small introduction, give a small pile of tasks and freeze behind us ...
    To be honest, I got ready for sophisticated torture when a programmer is shown how people swear and work with what he created. But nothing, all the guys coped with the task and revealed a bunch of rude jambs and inconveniences. Our main hit was “Transfer your event to the created group” - the cursor rushes around the interface, links and buttons. And now he freezes on the coveted link, whispering to himself, clenching his fists: “Well, come on, press it!” - no, he left ...
    First the first laptop surrendered, and then the second accidentally disconnected right in the process of testing, fortunately, at the very end .
    Emotions go wild.

    All.

    Exhaled. Relaxed.
    Found an empty audience, with a power outlet this time. And while the impressions are fresh, they drove away the whole video again, stopping, discussing and recording the report. We recorded a bunch of stocks, thoughts and ideas.
    Who cares, our log . Just do not throw bricks - there is already no living place.
    And now the conclusions:
    • We had fun from the heart! (But God forbid you smile next to the invited person.)
    • We did it! What many just sigh about, we took and did. Yes, as amateurs. Yes, on the knee. But we did it, and what we learned and understood now became part of us. I am now not only TDD , but also  UI-test infected.
    • Now we will regularly conduct such trips. Normally configure the capture of video and sound. We rewrite and expand the scripts. The world has changed ...
      We have 2 mobile stations, scripts and all the data for testing are in the repository. For example, I can come to a cafe, get something , right there to catch a couple of people, record a video, and send it to my colleagues. Yesterday I received from a friend: “Hold the video. For the groups - to kill us, for the eye - 2 to tear ”.
    • It is easy. Yes, damn it, it's easy. So much so that I can no longer justify those who spend a lot of money on development and promotion, but do not bother to catch a dozen people to see how they even work with it. Not to mention seriously thinking about “designing interaction.”

    Who knows what's next? That's right, take and do.
    I will not give links. For a long time I have not crawled out from behind the console and do not know the latest publications. Unless, " usability testing at a low price " for the overall development.
    In general, if you wish, you will find a bunch of material on this topic. There are many companies that do this professionally if you do not want to do it yourself. The main thing to start.

    Make a step.

    Ps Thank you to all the participants, the institute, and the teacher who allowed me to steal a couple of students.

    Pps Created Usability testing group on the knee
    We meet and test our projects, show each other, see where and how users stumble. Learning from the mistakes of others.
    All interested can see how this process looks with all the artifacts. We learn from each other and hone technology.
    I invite professional studios to invite to their test sessions.

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