Optimal Blog

Within the UX industry, there are myriad terms and concepts you’ll need to understand in order to get your job done. One of the most common you’ll come across is information architecture (IA).

What is it? How do you find it? How do you research it? And how do you create it?

We’ve compiled an extensive directory where you can find authoritative content from information architects all over the world.

You’ll find this resource useful if:

• You’re new to UX
• You’re a writer, intranet manager, designer, marketer, product owner or content strategist
• You want to further your knowledge of information architecture

How to get the most out of this guide:

• Bookmark it and use it as a learning resource
• Share it with colleagues, students, teachers, friends
• Read it and share some of the basics to create an awareness of IA and UX in your workplace
• Check the health of your current IA with this handy guide.

Read on to learn all the ins and outs of IA including topics for beginners, those with an intermediate skill level, and some bonus stuff for you experts out there.

Information architecture is the system and structure you use to organize and label content on your website, app or product. It’s the foundation on top of which you provide the design.

• "How to make sense of any mess" - This book by Abby Covert is one of the quintessential introductory resources for learning about information architecture. It includes a great lexicon so you can understand all the jargon used in the IA world, and shows you how to make sense of messes that are made of information.
• "Intertwingled" - A book written by Peter Morville that discusses the meaning of information architecture and the systems behind it.

Ways of understanding information (and how to design for them)

Information seeking behaviors

• "Four modes of seeking information and how to design for them" - How do your users approach information tasks? Everyone can be different in their information seeking habits and patterns, so it makes sense to do your research and take a deep look into this. In this article, Donna Spencer explains the four different modes of seeking information: “re-finding”, “don’t know what you need to know”, “exploratory” and “known-item”.
• "How to spot and destroy evil attractors in your tree (Part 1)" - People can get lost in your site due to many different things. One that’s easily looked over is evil attractors, which appear in trees and attract clicks when they shouldn’t. This can confuse people looking for certain things on your site. This article by Dave O’Brien explains how to find and get rid of these evil attractors using tree testing.

Defining information architecture

Ontology, common vocabulary

• "Ontology Dojo: Learn how to use ontology to define your information and supercharge your deliverables" - People interpret the meaning of words differently to one another. So when you communicate with someone, the meaning you had in mind may be interpreted different to the other person. Ren Pope’s presentation from the IA Summit 2016 explains who can use ontology, the history of ontology, and how it relates to metadata.
• "What we talk about when we talk about ontology" - What does the word ‘catalog’ mean to you? What you think it means could be completely different to someone else. In the business world, it’s important that words and their meanings are considered. This article from David Peter Simon discusses ontology, why it’s important, and how to put it into practice.
• "The Accidental Taxonomist" - This book by Heather Hedden provides a definition of taxonomies and the different types out there, the skills needed to become a taxonomist, and how to design taxonomies for humans versus automated indexing.

The relationship between information architecture and content

Content inventories and audits

• "How to conduct a content audit" - Before you begin a redesign project, you must perform a content analysis of your existing website or app to get an idea of the content you already have. This article (and accompanying video) from Donna Spencer explains the basics of a content audit, how to perform one, and why people conduct them. As a bonus, Donna has included a downloadable content inventory spreadsheet that you can use for your own project.
• "Content analysis heuristics" - Before you get started on an information architecture project, it’s a good idea to first analyze what you already have. To do this, you use content analysis heuristics. In this article by Fred Leise, you can learn how to conduct a qualitative content analysis, and what each of his heuristics entails.

Content modeling

• "Content types: The glue between content strategy, user experience, and design" - A lecture and slideshow presentation from Hilary Marsh at the IA Summit 2016 that explains the importance of creating a good understanding of “content types” so people can all be on the same page. Hilary discusses content lifecycles, workflows, relationships, and includes a handy checklist so you can easily identify content types.

Content prioritization

• "Object-oriented UX" - When you’re designing a new page, website or app, many people look to a content-first approach to design. But what if you’re working on something that is mostly made up of instantiated content and objects? This is when it’s useful to add object-oriented UX to your design process.

Ways of organizing information

• "Classification schemes — and when to use them" - How do you organize content? Should it be in alphabetic order? Sorted by task? Or even grouped by topic? There are many different ways in which content can be grouped or classified together. But which one works best for your users? And which works best for the type of content you’re producing? This article from Donna Spencer discusses some of the different types of classification schemes out there, when to use them, and which projects you can use them for.

Research for information architecture

Every successful design project involves a good dose of user research. You need to be able to understand the behavior, thoughts, and feelings of people.

Here’s an overview of the different types of user research you can conduct for information architecture projects.

Testing IA

• "Tree testing: A quick way to evaluate your IA" - When do you need to run a tree test on your IA? And how do you do it? This article from Dave O’Brien runs through a project he worked on, the research methods his team faced, and the results they received. He also shares a few lessons learned which will serve as handy tips for your next tree test.
• "Tree testing 101" - If you’ve never conducted a tree test before, our Tree testing 101 guide will fill you in on all the basics to get you started. This guide tells you when to use tree testing, how to set your objectives, how to build your tree, and how to run a study in our tree testing tool Treejack.
• "Card sorting 101" - A guide we put together to explain the basics of card sorting and how to use this method for information architecture. Learn about the three main types of card sorting, how to choose the right method for your project, and how to interpret your card sorting results.
• "How to pick cards for card sorting?" - An article on our blog that explains which types of cards you should include in your study, and how to write your card labels so that your participants can clearly understand them.
• "Choose between open, closed or hybrid card sorts" - A section from our Knowledge Base that explains what you need to know about running different kinds of card sorts. Learn what’s involved with open, closed or hybrid card sorts and which one best suits the project you’re working on.
• "Why card sorting loves tree testing" - Another article from our blog that explains the relationship between card sorting and tree testing and how you can use the two research methods together for your projects.

Advanced concepts in information architecture

IA in a world of algorithms

• "Information architecture in the age of algorithms" - How do you design information architecture for a system based on algorithms? Giles Colborne’s presentation at the IA Summit 2016 provides insight into the work behind this design process, as well as thoughts about the future of interaction design.

Cognitive science for IA

• "The pop-out effect: How to improve choice through information architecture" - At the IA Summit 2016, Stefano Bussolon and Luca Rosati discussed the paradox of choice, choice overload, and how to improve the way people make choices through information architecture.

IA at scale

• "Time, space and information architecture" - An article on our blog penned by BBC’s Creative Director of UX Architecture Dan Ramsden. Dan explains what he believes IA is, how to define it, and the various ways it can affect our lives. Watch his full UX New Zealand 2016 presentation or read a text version on his website.

IA and SEO

• "Information architecture for SEO" - When you’re organizing content on a website, you really have two audiences: people and search engines. So how do you make sure you’re doing a good job for both? In this “Whiteboard Friday” from Moz, Rand Fishkin talks about the interaction between SEO and IA, and some best practices involved with organizing your content for both audiences.

Usability testing is one of the best ways to measure how easy and intuitive to use something is by testing it with real people. You can read about the basics of usability testing here.

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Earlier this year, a small team within Optimal Workshop completely redesigned the company blog. More than anything, we wanted to create something that was user-friendly for our readers and would give them a reason to return. I was part of that team, and we ran numerous sessions interviewing regular readers as well as people unfamiliar with our blog. We also ran card sorts, tree tests and other studies to find out all we could about how people search for UX content. Unsurprisingly, one of the most valuable activities we did was usability testing – sitting down with representative users and watching them as they worked through a series of tasks we provided. We asked general questions like “Where would you go to find information about card sorting”, and we also observed them as they searched through our website for learning content.

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By stripping away any barriers between ourselves and our users and observing them as they navigated through our website and learning resources, as well as those of other companies, we were able to build a blog with these people’s behaviors and motivations in mind.

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Usability testing is an invaluable research method, and every user researcher should be able to run sessions effectively. Here are 5 tips for doing so, in no particular order.

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1. Clarify your goals with stakeholders

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Never go into a usability test blind. Before you ever sit down with a participant, make sure you know exactly what you want to get out of the session by writing down your research goals. This will help to keep you focused, essentially giving you a guiding light that you can refer back as you go about the various logistical tasks of your research. But you also need to take this a step further. It’s important to make sure that the people who will utilize the results of your research – your stakeholders – have an opportunity to give you their input on the goals as early as possible.

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If you’re running usability tests with the aim of creating marketing personas, for example, meet with your organization’s marketing team and figure out the types of information they need to create these personas. In some cases, it’s also helpful to clarify how you plan to gather this data, which can involve explaining some of the techniques you’re going to use.

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Lastly, find out how your stakeholders plan to use your findings. If there are a lot of objectives, organize your usability test so you ask the most important questions first. That way, if you end up going off track or you run out of time you’ll have already gathered the most important data for your stakeholders.

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2. Be flexible with your questions

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A list of pre-prepared questions will help significantly when it comes time to sit down and run your usability testing sessions. But while a list is essential, sometimes it can also pay to ‘follow your nose’ and steer the conversation in a (potentially) more fruitful direction.

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How many times have you been having a conversation with a friend over a drink or dinner, only for you both to completely lose track of time and find yourselves discussing something completely unrelated? While it’s not good practice to let your usability testing sessions get off track to this extent, you can surface some very interesting insights by paying close attention to a user’s behavior and answers during a testing session and following interesting leads.

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Ideally, and with enough practice, you’ll be able to answer your core (prepared) questions and ask a number of other questions that spring to mind during the session. This is a skill that takes time to master, however.

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3. Write a script for your sessions

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While a usability test script may sound like a fancy name for your research questions, it’s actually a document that’s much more comprehensive. If you prepare it correctly (we’ll explain how below), you’ll have a document that you can use to capture in-depth insights from your participants.

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Here are some of the key things to keep in mind when putting together your script:

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• Write a friendly introduction – It may sound obvious, but taking the time to come up with a friendly, warm introduction will get your sessions off to a much better start. The bonus of writing it down is that you’re far less likely to forget it!
• Ask to record the session – It’s important to record your session (whether through video or audio), as you’ll want to go back later and analyze any details you may have missed. This means asking for explicit permission to record participants. In addition to making them feel more comfortable, it’s just good practice to do so.
• Allocate time for the basics – Don’t dive into the complex questions first, use the first few minutes to gather basic data. This could be things like where they work and their familiarity with your organization and/or product.
• Encourage them to explain their thought process – “I’d like you to explain what you’re doing as you make your way through the task”. This simple request will give you an opportunity to ask follow-up questions that you otherwise may not have thought to ask.
• Let participants know that they’re not being tested – Whenever a participant steps into the room for a test, they’re naturally going to feel like they’re being tested. Explain that you’re testing the product, not them. It’s also helpful to let them know that there are no right or wrong answers. This is an important step if you want to keep them relaxed.

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It’s often easiest to have a document with your script printed out and ready to go for each usability test.

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4. Take advantage of software

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You’d never see a builder without a toolbox full of a useful assortment of tools. Likewise, software can make the life of a user research that much easier. The paper-based ways of recording information are still perfectly valid, but introducing custom tools can make both the logistics of user research and the actual sessions themselves much easier to manage.

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Take a tool like Calendly, for example. This is a powerful piece of scheduling software that almost completely takes over the endless back and forth of scheduling usability tests. Calendly acts as a middle man between you and your participants, allowing you to set the times you’re free to host usability tests, and then allowing participants to choose a session that suits them from these times.

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Our very own Reframer makes the task of running usability tests and analyzing insights that much easier. During your sessions, you can use Reframer to take comprehensive notes and apply tags like “positive” or “struggled” to different observations. Then, after you’ve concluded your tests, Reframer’s analysis function will help you understand wider themes that are present across your participants.

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There’s another benefit to using a tool like Reframer. Keeping all of your notes in place will mean you easily pull up data from past research sessions whenever you need to.

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5. Involve others

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Usability tests (and user interviews, for that matter) are a great opportunity to open up research to your wider organization. Whether it’s stakeholders, other members of your immediate team or even members of entirely different departments, giving them the chance to sit down with users will show them how their products are really being used. If nothing else, these sessions will help those within your organization build empathy with the people they’re building products for.

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There are quite a few ways to bring others in, such as:

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• To help you set up the research – This can be a helpful exercise for both you (the researcher) and the people you’re bringing in. Collaborate on the overarching research objectives, ask them what types of results they’d like to see and what sort of tasks they think could be used to gather these results.
• As notetakers – Having a dedicated notetaker will make your life as a researcher significantly easier. This means you’ll have someone to record any interesting observations while you focus on running the session. Just let them know what types of notes you’d like to see.
• To help you analyze the data – Once you’ve wrapped up your usability testing sessions, bring others in to help analyze the findings. There’s a good chance that an outside perspective will catch something you may miss. Also, if you’re bringing stakeholders into the analysis stage, they'll get a clearer picture of what it means and where the data came from.

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There are myriad other tips and best practices to keep in mind when usability testing, many of which we cover in our introductory page. Important considerations include taking good quality notes, carefully managing participants during the session (not giving them too much guidance) and remaining neutral throughout when answering their questions. If you feel like we’ve missed any really important points, feel free to leave a comment!

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Read more

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• Usability testing 101 – About to run your first usability test? Check out our handy 101 guide. You’ll also learn how you can use our qualitative research tool Reframer most effectively.
• What is usability testing? – Learn about the concepts of usability testing and how you can develop a plan for your own testing sessions.
• How to run fast and affordable usability tests with hard-to-reach, high-earning users – Finding the right participants for your usability tests can seem pretty tricky. Here’s how you can get the right people for your particular project.

Summary: The equipment and tools you use to run your user testing sessions can make your life a lot easier. Here’s a quick guide.

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It’s that time again. You’ve done the initial scoping, development and internal testing, and now you need to take the prototype of your new design and get some qualitative data on how it works and what needs to be improved before release. It’s time for the user testing to begin.

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But the prospect of user testing raises an important question, and it’s one that many new user researchers often deliberate over: What gear or equipment should I take with me? Well, never fear. We’re going to break down everything you need to consider in terms of equipment, from video recording through to qualitative note-taking.

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Recording: Audio, screens and video

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The ability to easily record usability tests and user interviews means that even if you miss something important during a session, you can go back later and see what you’ve missed. There are 3 types of recording to keep in mind when it comes to user research: audio, video and screen recording. Below, we’ve put together a list of how you can capture each. You shouldn’t have to buy any expensive gear – free alternatives and software you can run on your phone and laptop should suffice.

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• Audio – Forget dedicated sound recorders; recording apps for smartphones (iOS and Android) allow you to record user interviews and usability tests with ease and upload the recordings to Google Drive or your computer. Good options include Sony’s recording app for Android and the built-in Apple recording app on iOS.
• Transcription – Once you’ve created a recording, you’ll no doubt want a text copy to work with. For this, you’ll need transcription software to take the audio and turn it into text. There are companies that will make transcriptions for you, but software like Transcribe means you can carry out the process yourself.
• Screen recording – Very useful during remote usability tests, screen recording software can show you exactly how participants react to the tasks you set out for them, even if you’re not in the room. OBS Studio is a good option for both Mac and Windows users. You can also use Quicktime (free) if you’re running the test in person.
• Video – Recording your participants as they make their way through the various tasks in a usability test can provide useful reference material at the end of your testing sessions. You can refer back to specific points in a video to capture any detail you may have missed, and you can share video with stakeholders to demonstrate a point. If you don’t have access to a dedicated camera, consider mounting your smartphone on a tripod and recording that way.

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Taking (and making use of) notes

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Notetaking and qualitative user testing go hand in hand. For most user researchers, notetaking during a research session means busting out the Post-it notes and Sharpie pens, rushing to take down every observation and insight and then having to arduously transcribe these notes after the session – or spend hours in workshops trying to identify themes and patterns. This approach still has merit, as it’s often one of the best ways to get people who aren’t too familiar with user research involved in the process. With physical notes, you can gather people around a whiteboard and discuss what you’re looking at. What’s more, you can get them to engage with the material directly.

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But there are digital alternatives. Qualitative notetaking software (like our very own Reframer) means you can bring a laptop into a user interview and take down observations directly in a secure environment. Even better, you can ask someone else to sit in as your notetaker, freeing you up to focus on running the session. Then, once you’ve run your tests, you can use the software for theme and pattern analysis, instead of having to schedule yet another full day workshop.

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Scheduling your user tests

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Ah, participant scheduling. Perhaps one of the most time-consuming parts of the user testing process. Thankfully, software can drastically reduce the logistical burden.

Here are some useful pieces of software:

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Dedicated scheduling tool Calendly is one of the most popular options for participant scheduling in the UX community. It’s really hands-off, in that you basically let the tool know when you’re available, share the Calendly link with your prospective participants, and then they select a time (from your available slots) that works for them. There are also a host of other useful features that make it a popular option for researchers, like integrations and smart timezones.

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If you’re already using the Optimal Workshop platform, you can use our  survey tool Questions as a fairly robust scheduling tool. Simply set up a study and add in prospective time slots. You can then use the multi-choice field option to have people select when they’re available to attend. You can also capture other data and avoid the usual email back and forth.

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Storing your findings
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One of the biggest challenges for user researchers is effectively storing and cataloging all of the research data that they start to build up. Whether it’s video recordings of usability tests, audio recordings or even transcripts of user interviews, you need to ensure that your data is A) easily accessible after the fact, and B) stored securely to ensure you’re protecting your participants.

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Here are some things to ask yourself when you store any piece of customer or user data:

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• Who will have access to this data?
• How long do I plan to keep this data?
• Will this data be anonymized?
• If I’m keeping physical data on hand, where will it be stored?

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Don’t make the mistake of thinking user data is ‘secure enough’, whether that’s on a company server that anyone can access, or even in an unlocked filing cabinet beneath your desk. Data privacy and security should always be at the top of your list of considerations. We won’t dive into best practices for participant data protection in this article, but instead, just mention that you need to be vigilant. Wherever you end up storing information, make sure you understand who has access.

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Wrap up

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Hopefully, this guide has given you an overview of some of the tools and software you can use before you start your next user test. We’ve also got a number of other interesting articles that you can read right here on our blog.

Having a library of user research books is invaluable. Whether you’re an old hand in the field of UX research or just dipping your toes in the water, being able to reference detailed information on methods, techniques and tools will make your life much easier.

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There’s really no shortage of user research/UX reading lists online, so we wanted to do something a little different. We’ve broken our list up into sections to make finding the right book for a particular topic as easy as possible.

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General user research guides

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These books cover everything you need to know about a number of UX/user research topics. They’re great to have on your desk to refer back to – we certainly have them on the bookshelf here at Optimal Workshop.

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Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research

Mike Kuniavsky

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This book covers 13 UX research techniques in a reference format. There’s a lot of detail, making it a useful resource for people new to the field and those who just need more clarification around a certain topic. There’s also a lot of practical information that you’ll find applicable in the real world. For example, information about how to work around research budgets and tight time constraints.

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• Goodreads link

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Just Enough Research

Erika Hall

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In Just Enough Research, author Erika Hall explains that user research is something everyone can and should do. She covers several research methods, as well as things like how to identify your biases and make use of your findings. Designers are also likely to find this one quite useful, as she clearly covers the relationship between research and design.

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• Goodreads link

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Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction

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Harry Hochheiser, Jonathan Lazar, Jinjuan Heidi Feng

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Like Observing the User Experience, this is a dense guide – but it’s another essential one. Here, experts on human-computer interaction and usability explain different qualitative and quantitative research methods in an easily understandable format. There are also plenty of real examples to help frame your thinking around the usefulness of different research methods.

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• Goodreads link

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Information architecture

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If you’re new to information architecture (IA), understanding why it’s such an important concept is a great place to start. There’s plenty of information online, but there are also several well-regarded books that make great starting points.

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Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites

Peter Morville, Louis Rosenfeld

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You’ll probably hear this book referred to as “the polar bear book”, just because the cover features a polar bear. But beyond featuring a nice illustration of a bear, this book clearly covers the process of creating large websites that are both easy to navigate and appealing to use. It’s a useful book for designers, information architects and user researchers.

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• Goodreads link

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How to Make Sense of Any Mess

Abby Covert

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This is a great introduction to information architecture and serves as a nice counter to the polar bear book, being much shorter and more easily digestible. Author Abby Covert explains complex concepts in a way anyone can understand and also includes a set of lessons and exercises with each chapter.

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• Goodreads link

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User interviews

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For those new to the task, the prospect of interviewing users is always daunting. That makes having a useful guide that much more of a necessity!

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Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights

Steve Portigal

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While interviewing users may seem like something that doesn’t require a guide, an understanding of different interview techniques can go a long way. This book is essentially a practical guide to the art of interviewing users. Author Steve Portigal covers how to build rapport with your participants and the art of immersing yourself in how other people see the world – both key skills for interviewers!

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• Goodreads link

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Usability testing

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Web usability is basically the ease of use of a website. It’s a broad topic, but there are a number of useful books that explain why it’s important and outline some of the key principles.

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Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Steve Krug

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Don’t Make Me Think is the first introduction to the world of UX and usability for many people, and for good reason – it’s a concise introduction to the topics and is easy to digest. Steve Krug explains some of the key principles of intuitive navigation and information architecture clearly and without overly technical language. In the latest edition, he’s updated the book to include mobile usability considerations.

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As a testament to just how popular this book is, it was released in 2000 and has since had 2 editions and sold 400,000 copies.

• Goodreads link

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Design

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The design–research relationship is an important one, even if it’s often misunderstood. Thankfully, authors like Don Norman and Vijay Kumar are here to explain everything.

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The Design of Everyday Things

Don Norman

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This book, by cognitive scientist and usability engineer Don Norman, explains how design is the communication between an object and its user, and how to improve this communication as a way of improving the user experience. If nothing else, this book will force you to take another look at the design of everyday objects and assess whether or not they’re truly user-friendly.

• Goodreads link

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101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organization

Vijay Kumar

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A guidebook for innovation in the context of product development, this book approaches the subject in a slightly different way to many other books on the same subject. The focus here is that the practice of creating new products is actually a science – not an art. Vijay Kumar outlines practical methods and useful tools that researchers and designers can use to drive innovation, making this book useful for anyone involved in product development.

• Goodreads link

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See our list on Goodreads

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We've put together a list of all of the above books on Goodreads, which you can access here.

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Further reading

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For experienced practitioners and newcomers alike, user research can often seem like a minefield to navigate. It can be tricky to figure out which method to use when, whether you bring a stakeholder into your usability test (you should) and how much you should pay participants. Take a look at some of the other articles on our blog if you’d like to learn more.

Summary: Usability testing is crucial to product success, and there’s really no excuse not to do it. Here’s a quick guide to prepare you for your first usability test.

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Back in 1994, an online shopping website called Amazon launched to little fanfare. With just a handful of products, it seemed like yet another internet company destined to join the rank and file like so many others in the dot-com bubble. But Amazon had a very different path to follow. The website soon grew rapidly in scale and value, and within 5 years was a leader in online shopping. As any internet user now knows, Amazon does a whole lot more than just sell books.

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It wasn’t clever advertising that led to the massive success of Amazon (although that certainly helped), but a drive to place usability at the core of the company’s focus. According to Forbes, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos invested 100 times more in the customer experience than advertising during Amazon’s first year of operation, meaning everything from how customers make their way through the website to how they get support from Amazon staff. Reinforcing the value of the customer experience, Nielsen Norman Group found that organizations that spend just 10% of their budgets on usability will see, on average, a 135% increase in their desired metrics.

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You can’t afford to skip over usability testing. It’s essential to give products and services the best chance of succeeding – and here’s how you get started.

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Unlike some other more exploratory user research methods, usability testing is very much focused on testing a prototype. It’s true that you can test a finished product, but it’s best practice to test prototypes as you develop them, iterate and improve, and then test again. This regular cadence of test/develop/feedback means the users’ point of view is constantly fed back to the people who need to understand it.

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We won't dive into tools and how to actually design a prototype, but the key thing is that the prototype should be informed by an understanding of the customer and how they're going to be using the product/service (e.g., generative research). Again, the best way to kick off the testing loop is to design something relatively rough and conceptual, and then test and improve before developing detailed designs.

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This leads in nicely to our next point, which is...

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What is it that you want to find out about how people use your prototype? Setting clear goals for your testing will, in turn, help you to define some clear metrics. While sometimes it’s immediately obvious what you need to test, in other cases (especially if you’re new to the idea of usability testing) it can be a bit more of a struggle. This is where it’s best to engage with those people who have a stake in the outcome of your research.

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You can also turn to your existing users. Look at how they currently use your product and use this to decide on key tasks for them to perform. Keep in mind that you want to test how a person completes a particular task – you’re not testing a particular feature. Your focus should be on how the feature supports the thing that a person is trying to do.

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Now for the part that often stumps new user researchers: figuring out metrics. It’s an understandably confusing process at first. There are a number of metrics that you can use to measure usability.

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• Time on task: The amount of time participants spend on a task before successfully completing it.
• Successful task completion: The percentage of tasks that participants successfully complete.
• Critical errors: Errors that prevent participants from completing tasks.
• Non-critical errors: Errors that do not affect a participant’s ability to complete a task.

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Here are some examples of goals (and metrics) for usability testing:

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• Goal: Does our online shopping website’s checkout process make it easy for customers to add additional products?
• Metric: Successful task completion. What percentage of users were able to complete this process?

• Goal: Is it easy for customers to contact support staff through our mobile app?
• Metric: Time on task. How long did it take participants to complete this task successfully?

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It’s best to nail down your goals and metrics before you start working on the plan for how you’ll run your usability tests. You can also use usability scales to help with this. This article from UX Collective provides a great rundown on some of the most popular metrics you can use in your testing.

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With an understanding of what you want to learn, it’s time to start putting together your testing plan. This is basically a list of the tasks you’ll give to participants in order to evaluate your prototype, as well as the script that you’ll follow to ensure you’re covering everything you need to during each testing session. Yes, even experienced user researchers bring along a script!

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For your tasks, take a look at your prototype with a specific eye towards the areas that you’d like to test. If you want to test a sign-up flow, for example, figure out the ideal path that someone should take to successfully complete this process and break it down step by step. Why is this important? Well, if you have an idea of the steps needed to complete a task, you can evaluate the prototype by seeing how users make their way through them.

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Here’s an example of what that sign-up flow could look like for a website, step by step:

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• Click ‘Register’ on the homepage, taken to the sign-up page
• Add personal details
• Click ‘Next’ at the bottom of page, taken to email opt-in page
• Click to sign up for different emails
• Click ‘Next’ at the bottom of the page, taken to account page

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Chances are, there will be a number of ways to complete your task, and it’s important to account for each of them. Don’t assume that just because you’ve designed a fancy navigation, users will head there first when tasked with finding a specific page – they may head straight down to the footer. This means your list should account for these alternative steps.

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It's always a good idea to run a pre-test with someone to make sure the tasks make sense, the script flows, and also time the session to make sure it fits in with what you planned.

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Once you’ve come up with your tasks, it’s time to move onto the script. As we mentioned above, even experienced user researchers like to have a script on hand during usability tests. Here’s an example script that you can tweak and refine for your own purposes. Over time, you’ll probably find that you develop a template that works really well for you.

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Hey [Name]. First of all, I just want to thank you for coming along to this study. Before we get started, I’d like to give you a quick overview of how everything is going to work – please let me know if you have any questions!

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The format for this session will be quite simple. I’ve got a series of tasks I’d like you to work through, and I’ll ask a few questions as we go. Before each task, I’ll give you some context around why you’d even be doing this and your goal.

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I just want you to know that we’re not testing you – we’re testing the [website/app]. There are no wrong answers. Everything you do is valuable learning for us.

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Lastly, I just want to think aloud as much as possible as you work through the tasks. For example, if you’re looking for something, say “I’m looking for X thing”. This will just help me to better evaluate how well the [website/app] is working.

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Ready to get started? Any other questions? Let’s go!

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Note: You may also want to consider mentioning asking for recording consent if you plan to record the session.

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If you’d like an alternative template, Steve Krug has one on his website here.

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Take some time to get your script to a point where you feel comfortable going through it, and then turn your attention to the tasks you’ll be running during your session.

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To start off, give a high-level explanation/story that your participant can use to get into the right frame of mind, and then add any detail about why they might be trying to complete that particular task.

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Lastly, there’s the final wrap-up/debrief. Allocate some time at the end of your session to ask for any final comments and to thank the participant for coming along.

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Having a solid script and a list of tasks is really just one part of the usability testing equation. It’s equally important to take good notes during sessions and then document these for future reference – and analysis.

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Unfortunately, it’s often a time-consuming process. To help with capturing notes effectively, it's important to use the right tool. A qualitative notetaking tool like Reframer can help you not only capture your insights all in one place, but also make it easy to analyze your data and spot themes. Also, using tags helps you to filter observations based on each tag later in analysis, to help you identify pain points and moments of delight.

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You can learn more about Reframer and the other tools on the Optimal Workshop platform here, or try them out for yourself.

Once you pull out the themes from your research, you can feed this back into the design and iterate from there. Ideally, this is a continuous loop – and it’s one of the best ways to ensure you’ve got a regular stream of customer data feeding into your product development.

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There’s no need to be afraid of the usability testing process. It’s a key link in the chain of developing usable, successful products. Sure, those first few sessions can be quite nerve wracking, but there’s a good chance your participants are going to be more anxious than you are. Plus, you’ll be bringing a script, so everything you need to say is mapped out for you.

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If you ever need a reminder of just how valuable usability testing can be, you only need to take one look at Amazon.

Like all qualitative research methods in UX, user interviews conducted over the phone have their pros, cons and challenges. Sometimes they are your best or only option. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to do the best we can with what we have because it sure beats doing nothing at all. It might be that your participants are remotely located and maybe you don’t all have access to the same technology — access to technology is a privilege! Or maybe you do and that technology just isn’t playing the game and you have to improvise. Maybe you work in a secure environment that puts all kinds of limitations on your research or maybe it’s something else entirely.

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One of the biggest challenges of running a user interview over the phone is that unless you’re doing it via video call, the communication is entirely verbal. There’s no body language for you to communicate or observe, you can’t talk with your hands or draw something out on a page and you can’t control the environment in which your participant dials in from. That said, it absolutely can be done and it is possible to gather useful and usable insights for your project by running a user interview over the phone. Here are 8 tips to help make it happen.

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It’s very important that you dial into a phone-based user interview from a location that is free from distractions and excessive background noise. You don’t want to have to keep asking your participant to speak up or repeat themselves because you can’t hear them and they shouldn’t have to listen to your colleagues sharing Game of Thrones spoilers in the background. In my experience, quiet spaces aren’t always available at short notice and it pays to plan ahead. If you can, book a meeting room in advance, arrive early and make sure you book extra time either side of your interview time slot so that any meetings booked before yours will have ample time to clear out.

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It can also help to headphones and try to find a meeting room that is quiet and not right next to another one with glass walls because, as I’ve learned the hard way, sound carries and it can be just as disruptive as dialing in from an open plan office environment! If a quiet space isn’t available in your workspace, consider making the call from home if you can or from some other quiet space outside of the office. This might seem obvious, but I see mistakes around call location happen all the time. Participant experience matters and the environment you dial in from can have a big impact on that.

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Just like you need to plan your call location ahead of time, it’s also best if your participant does too and you’re the best person to help them do that. I once had a participant dial in from a moving car with all the windows rolled down and another from a busy call center environment — both scenarios could have been avoided. A great way to help your participants plan ahead is to politely ask them dial in from somewhere quiet when you first book the session. You might include this information in the calendar invite along with all the other helpful details you’ll be providing e.g., contact details, session details and instructions for any technology you might be using to run the call. Keep it light and friendly and maybe list it as the ‘where’ for the meeting e.g., Where: Please dial in from a quiet location so we can chat.

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Sometimes despite your best efforts, a participant may still join the session from a less than desirable location. They might not be aware of how loud the background noise in their office is or they may have forgotten to go somewhere quiet. Maybe they’ve unexpectedly needed to work from home and their dog won’t stop barking. When this happens, it is best to try to see if they’re able to move to a better location away from the noise and distractions. Toughing it out rarely works and can derail the entire session wasting both your time and the participant’s. Be patient and empathetic with them and consider exploring whether it’s possible to reschedule if it can’t be resolved then and there.

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Participant responses will be entirely verbal and you’ll want to factor in extra time to ask clarifying and further probing questions. If you plan to go in with a pre-prepared list of questions, keep it brief. It’s totally fine to have a larger overall list of questions you’d like to ask — especially for cases when participants are super articulate and rip through them quickly — but limit the number of ‘must-ask’ questions as much as you can, otherwise you might not get through them all.

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And on that note, tip #3 does not mean you should hold an extra long session to compensate — nobody wants to sit on the phone for an hour! It can be exhausting and you don’t know if your participant is having to hold the phone up to their ear the entire time — ouch! Keep the session length to under 30 minutes in total. If you feel that’s not enough time to get the answers you need, consider diversifying your approach by running your research in multiple parts.

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You might follow up with a short survey after your session or you might include a few additional questions in your screener before the interview to gather more context from your participants. Keep these brief, don’t ask anything you don’t actually need to know and be mindful of taking up too much of your participants’ time — they are giving you a gift, so don’t overdo it.

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Some people are quite comfortable talking to complete strangers over the phone and some people aren’t. You’re going to come across all types of people and you may even feel a little nervous before each session — we’ve all been there! I think it’s important to recognize upfront that awkward interruptions and silences in the conversation are going to happen and to embrace it with confidence and humor. It’s not a big deal and your participant will likely be just as nervous as you are. Tackle it together. Keep the conversation light and humorous — make a joke, and if you interrupt the participant, apologize and keep going. Smiling when you talk can also help make you both feel more comfortable — you’ll feel better and they’ll hear the warmth in your voice that will put them at ease too.

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With all those juicy insights being delivered entirely verbally down the phone, it’s a good idea to record the conversation if you can. You might miss something and recording the session will allow you to go back to it. I’d also recommend avoiding taking detailed notes during the call. Just immerse yourself in the conversation and type your notes up later from the recording.

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Everyone has their own unique approach and style to running research. I’m someone who finds it hard to focus when talking on the phone and I’ve noticed that it’s much easier if I don’t have to do anything else! Do what works for you, but definitely consider recording those sessions where possible to help ensure research traceability and make life easier when sharing with your team. Just note that you’ll need to ask your participants if it’s OK that you record the call.

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A silver lining to the challenges of running user interviews over the phone is that your participant can’t see you. You don’t have to worry about how you’re dressed or how you’re sitting or keeping your facial expressions in check. You can have your planning notes and questions lists spread out in front of you or up on your screen without having to worry about them being distracting or potentially leading. You can put yourself on mute if you have to and you get to dial in from a really comfortable place. Make the most of it! Run the session from an environment where you feel relaxed and confident. No matter how many times I’ve done this, I always feel a twinge of the jitters right before I make the call and being in a comfortable and safe space can make all the difference.

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Sending a quick thank you note after a user interview conducted over the phone is a nice way to add a human touch to close out the participant experience. It’s also a good time to deliver or confirm details around how any incentives will be granted to the participant for their time.

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So there are 8 tips to help you ace interviewing users over the phone! What are your top tips?