Course 4 – Conduct UX Research and Test Early Concepts

Week 2: Conducting Research with Usability Studies

Google Ux Design Professional Certificate

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Conducting Research with Usability Studies INTRODUCTION

As part of the Google UX Design Professional Certificate course on Conducting Research with Usability Studies offered through Coursera, you’ll learn how to conduct usability studies. Usability studies are an important research method used to assess how easy it is for people to complete core tasks in a design.

In this part of the course, you’ll also explore how to reduce bias and be inclusive when conducting usability studies. Finally, you’ll gain skills in taking notes while observing participants in a usability study. Through integrating these topics into your own practice, you can create meaningful experiences that work well for everyone who interacts with them.

Learning Objectives

  • Take notes during a usability study
  • Discuss best practices to reduce bias when interviewing
  • Explain potential biases involved in moderating interviews
  • Apply techniques to build rapport with study participants
  • Explain how to conduct a moderated and an unmoderated usability study
  • Describe why and how to use usability studies

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF USABILITY STUDIES

1. Why are usability studies important for UX research?

  • They allow designers a final opportunity to get user feedback before production.
  • They solicit positive feedback from users.
  • They provide user feedback that helps the design team make improvements to the user experience. (CORRECT)

Correct: Usability studies assess the difficulty of completing core tasks in a design.

2. In unmoderated usability studies, participants test out the prototypes without human guidance. What are some benefits of an unmoderated usability study? Select all that apply.

  • Participants remain fully engaged as they complete the activities.
  • Participants operate the product in a real-world environment. (CORRECT)
  • Participants complete the tasks on their own time and in their own space. (CORRECT)
  • Participants may feel more comfortable giving feedback without others around. (CORRECT)

Correct: Researchers can learn how a user interacts with the product without guidance from a moderator.

Correct: Unmoderated usability studies provide participants more flexibility to complete activities, which may help them feel more comfortable about giving feedback. It also allows them to operate the product in a real-world environment.

Correct: Unmoderated usability studies may help participants be more transparent when no one else is present. They also allow participants to operate products in a real-world environment and complete tasks on their own time, which may help participants feel more comfortable giving feedback.

3. Which of the following is a limitation of a moderated usability study?

  • The moderator can build rapport with participants.
  • The moderator guides the participant through the study.
  • The moderator can influence participants. (CORRECT)
  • The moderator can follow up in real time.

Correct: Moderator influence or bias towards the participants is a limitation of this type of study.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON USABILITY STUDY BEST PRACTICES

1. When conducting a usability study for a UX design prototype, what are some components that should be included? Select all that apply.

  • Assumptions of participant reactions
  • Sufficient sample of participants (CORRECT)
  • Follow-up prompts or questions for participants (CORRECT)
  • List of tasks for participants to complete (CORRECT)

Correct: Usability studies should include participant sample sizes large enough to uncover major user issues, but small enough to keep the cost down. Participants should be provided with a list of tasks to complete and follow-up prompts or questions to answer.

Correct: Usability studies should have a sufficient sample size, and participants should be provided with a list of tasks to complete as well as follow-up prompts or questions to answer.

Correct: Usability studies should have a sufficient sample size, and participants should be provided with a list of tasks to complete as well as follow-up prompts or questions to answer.

2. A UX team is building an app for a pharmacy pick-up service. They want to test a prototype in an unmoderated usability study. What should the researcher pay attention to while viewing the video of the participants?

  • How each user responds to the tasks they are asked to perform (CORRECT)
  • How the app’s code was written
  • How well the app performed for the users who successfully completed each task
  • How the app looks in the video

Correct: It’s important to collect feedback while watching the users interact with the prototype. This helps researchers understand how easily users can complete the desired task.

3. During a moderated usability study, what techniques should you employ to effectively communicate with participants? Select all that apply.

  • Ask leading questions
  • Ask open-ended questions (CORRECT)
  • Expand participant feedback with follow-up questions (CORRECT)
  • Repeat participant feedback for clarity (CORRECT)

Correct: During a moderated usability study, you should ask participants open-ended questions, expand the conversation around their feedback with follow-up questions, and ask them to repeat their responses for confirmation or clarity.

Correct: If a participant’s feedback seems unclear, repeat it back to them for confirmation. To avoid leading participants into a specific answer, begin by asking participants open-ended questions and expand the conversation around their feedback with follow-up questions.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON POTENTIAL BIASES DURING INTERVIEW MODERATION

1. A UX researcher is conducting a usability study for a banking app. Some of the participants include people over the age of 60. The researcher assumes the participants will have difficulty using some of the app’s features due to their age. What type of bias is the researcher displaying?

  • Social desirability bias
  • Friendliness bias
  • Implicit bias (CORRECT)
  • Serial position effect

Correct: This is an example of implicit bias because of the researcher’s stereotypes about people in that age group.

2. At the beginning of a usability study, the moderator establishes a very strong rapport with the participants. As a result, the participants provide only positive feedback on the design prototype. What type of bias are the study participants displaying?

  • Friendliness bias (CORRECT)
  • Serial position effect
  • Implicit bias

Correct: Friendliness bias is the tendency of people to agree with those they like in order to maintain a nonconfrontational conversation. In this case, the participants want to agree with the moderator.

3. A designer conducts a usability study to get feedback on a map feature for a delivery app. One of the interview questions asks, “Did you like using the map feature to track your deliveries?” Which type of bias may occur if participants provide only favorable feedback?

  • Implicit bias
  • Serial position effect
  • Social desirability bias (CORRECT)

Correct: The study question only asks participants to reflect on the positive aspects of their experience with a product. This may result in social desirability bias.

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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE ON BIAS DURING INTERVIEWS

1. Which of the following is a good example of an open-ended interview question?

  • Would you recommend this product to a friend?
  • What tasks were difficult to understand or accomplish, and why? (CORRECT)
  • Was the product easy to use?
  • Did you enjoy the designs?

Correct: Open-ended questions like this one allow participants to give honest feedback.

2. Implicit bias is the tendency for people to answer questions in a way that will be viewed favorably by others.

  • True
  • False (CORRECT)

Correct: Social desirability bias is the tendency for people to answer questions in a way that will be viewed favorably. Implicit bias is the collection of attitudes and stereotypes we associate to people without our conscious knowledge.

3. Fill in the blank: To reduce the chance of designer biases leading you down the wrong path, you should define the _____ criteria  before conducting interviews.

  • digital
  • design
  • research (CORRECT)
  • fidelity

Correct: To reduce the chance of designer biases leading you down the wrong path, you should define the research criteria before conducting interviews.

4. At what point in the design process can you conduct usability studies? Select all that apply.

  • When you identify the design problem
  • When you have an interactive prototype (CORRECT)
  • When you have a low-fidelity prototype (CORRECT)
  • When the product is complete (CORRECT)

Correct: This is the most common time to conduct a study because it gives the design team insight on what needs to be revised or added before the product launches. Usability studies can also be conducted once there is a low-fidelity prototype, or when the product is complete.

Correct: Also called concept testing, you can conduct a usability study in this stage of the design process. They can also be conducted once there is an interactive prototype, or when the product is complete.

Correct: Once the product is complete, you may want to conduct a usability study to change a feature of the product, or test it with a specific group of people. Usability studies can also be conducted once there is an interactive or low-fidelity prototype.

5. What is a benefit of moderated usability studies?

  • They allow the moderator to ask specific questions and follow up in real time. (CORRECT)
  • They allow participants to complete tasks on their own time and in their own space.
  • They make it easier to see how a participant uses the product in the real world.
  • They may allow participants to feel more comfortable giving feedback without others around.

Correct: Having a moderator present is beneficial because they can collect more information to improve the design by asking specific questions and following up in real time.

6. What are the benefits of conducting unmoderated usability studies? Select all that apply.

  • They allow real-time feedback.
  • They encourage more honest feedback. (CORRECT)
  • They give participants time and space to complete tasks on their own. (CORRECT)
  • They provide more accurate user experiences to analyze. (CORRECT)

Correct: Since unmoderated usability studies aren’t guided by a person, participants may feel more comfortable providing feedback without others around. This can result in more honest feedback, especially if certain participants are sensitive to the influence or presence of other people.

Correct: Since there isn’t a person guiding the study, unmoderated usability studies give participants more time and space to complete tasks on their own. Unmoderated usability studies also provide more accurate user experiences to analyze, and may encourage more honest feedback from participants.

Correct: Since unmoderated usability studies don’t have a person guiding participants, it’s easier to observe how the product is used in the real world. They also give participants time and space to complete tasks on their own which, in turn, may encourage more honest feedback.

7. How can you reduce the possibility of influencing participants during a usability study interview?

  • Remind participants they’re not being tested
  • Keep emotions neutral (CORRECT)
  • Build a rapport
  • Remind participants to be open and honest

Correct: Your mood should not impact your judgement or influence participants’ feedback. Make time to reflect on your emotional state before the usability study begins. This helps you separate your emotions from what goes on during the study.

8. What is the first step you should take to lessen the influence of bias when interviewing?

  • Let participants express themselves fully and in their own words
  • Phrase interview questions thoughtfully
  • Identify and admit your own biases (CORRECT)
  • Be mindful of your body language

Correct: The first step you can take to lessen the influence of bias when interviewing is to identify and admit your own biases. By acknowledging your own biases, you can be more objective as you conduct a usability study. You may need help doing this, so it could be useful to actively seek input as you come to understand your biases.

9. In a moderated study, how can the moderator avoid making biased assumptions about how a participant feels from their body language or tone of voice?

  • Repeat the participant’s actions to make them feel comfortable.
  • Ask the participant how they felt at the point in the study where they appeared to show an emotion. (CORRECT)
  • Encourage the participant to stop reacting to the question in that way.
  • Make assumptions based on other participants’ reactions.

Correct: Asking participants how they feel when they appear to show emotion helps to avoid bias in a usability study.

Conducting Research with Usability Studies CONCLUSION

In conclusion, conducting research with participants to get feedback about design is a key part of the UX design process. Usability studies are an invaluable research method, and this course will guide you on conducting them correctly to ensure accurate results. It is important to consider methods that reduce bias as well as ways to be more inclusive when hosting a usability study. In order to execute a successful usability study, note-taking is necessary to track observations for later review.

After completing this course, you’ll have all the tools and knowledge needed to take your design decisions from concept to reality by conducting thorough and relevant usability studies. So why wait? Join Coursera now and start on your way toward improving your designs with quality feedback from real users!

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