Tightening the design feedback loop
"Underground" usability testing with Morae
As lead designer and information architect for his company's website, Kim is a firm believer in usability testing as a way to improve the customer experience…and the bottom line. But he can't get management to fund formal testing. Renting time in a lab or buying fancy equipment is simply out of the question.
So two weeks ago, Kim downloaded the Morae trial and started doing "guerilla" testing on his website. The goal: identify and fix one current problem with the website, measure the benefit in terms of dollars, and prove to management that usability testing pays for itself.
Finding problems in current designs
Kim recruited four recent hires from various departments around the company to be his "participants." He had each one sit down at the computer and try to accomplish a series of tasks on the company website.
Morae captured these sessions as video. And it tallied up how long and how many clicks it took each person to complete each task. Kim sat nearby with his laptop, marking significant moments and jotting notes directly onto the digital timeline.
One problem became obvious right away. Participants were visibly frustrated by the Contact Us page. And three of the four could not figure out how to check the status of their order. Based on their feedback, Kim made some changes to that area of the site.
Testing a prototype
To get feedback on those changes (and build some interest in his project) Kim set a laptop and webcam next to the espresso machine in the company break room. Above the laptop was a big sign reading "Can you find the status of your order?"
Morae's AutoPilot ran the tests with no input from Kim—automatically recording participant reactions, clicks, and time on task. It also collected some basic demographics such as how long they'd worked at the company and how familiar they were with the website. This testing confirmed that the new design solved the problem, so Kim pushed it live.
Kim shared his findings with the business team, using video clips and a few graphs produced with Morae. They could clearly see that Kim had found the same problem consistently across many participants. And by pointing to the reduction in calls to customer service, he made a powerful case for buying Morae.
Next on Kim's list: get approval to purchase a UserVue subscription so he can watch actual customers, anywhere in the world, interact with his company's website.
Top benefits of Morae for designers & developers
- easy setup
- no fancy equipment needed
- test prototypes or final designs
- supports quick "guerrilla" testing
- stakeholders can see problems
Success stories
Kim is a composite of many Morae customers. But these stories are real...
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