Usability Testing is Limited

User Experience September 22, 2008

"Usability Testing" seems like one of those buzzwords you use to impress clients. It's supposed to show you did research to come up with the interface results you did. But in my opinion, usability testing can go so far and I tend not to rely on it for designing a UI.

Usability studies test for efficiency in the form of timing and key strokes. What it doesn't test for is an emotional response. It's not enough to simply measure "how many clicks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop." And further, it's certainly not enough to ask people what they think. For the most part, people don't know what they want, so it's not enough to simply rely on their thoughts when asked about their experience with a given product. In fact, it's more likely that they will inadequately explain their thoughts (or perhaps even make up some) because they're happy to feel included in the design process.

While Apple doesn't do user testing, Microsoft bases all its UI decisions from in-depth, long-term studies. The whole idea behind its new Fluent interface for Office was to analyze the user workflow and figure out which buttons should be placed together and how all the tabs should be organized to increase efficiency. The problem here is that they're using collected data to assume the way a user will work, and it's just not always accurate.

Conversely, Apple provides an objective approach to design, having hired hundreds of super-qualified designers who understand the human mental model, user-centric design and art principles. As a result, their interfaces don't make any assumptions of the user workflow; instead, they provide a logical and objective organization of the various buttons to mimic what we'd expect to see in the real world. If you deconstruct it, you really can't argue with its foundation.

This isn't to say that *all* user testing is bad, but it's essential to keep in mind that it's not enough off which to base a design decision. You won't be any closer to understanding human psychology unless you've studied the principles of it yourself and have experimented in their application to design.

Design is objective. Aesthetics are personal. And what you basically get from asking a lot of people their thoughts on using a product is, well, a bunch of aesthetic opinions.

So, don't assume the way a user will work. Sometimes more clicks are better when the process is logical! Usability is not about measuring efficiency. It's about addressing a user's *real needs* and providing a logical toolset to help them achieve their goals.

More of this to come when I finish my book.........

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