Finding out how users actually use your website is the foundation of a good website redesign, but this step is often skipped because of timeline or budget concerns.
This session will teach you the basics of conducting user research using widely available free and low-cost tools. It will cover:
How to recruit and screen participants for one-on-one user tests
Collecting, analyzing and reporting on qualitative and quantitative data
How to test your new designs for usability tests
An introduction to the Think Aloud approach
Using online user testing tools
How to control and conduct an A/B test
Developing actionable user priorities
The session will walk through the process and provide sample questions, surveys and reports.
Participants will learn how to make incremental improvements to their website or prepare for a website redesign using a data-driven approach.
The session will include:
Introduction to User Research
User research is not a focus group
Why online surveys are good, but not enough
How to ask non-leading questions
Techniques for prioritization
Recruiting for a one-on-one user test
Developing a pre-screening survey
Setting up your “research lab”
Writing a test plan
Content tests vs. design tests vs. information architecture
Tools for recording your test – UserTesting.com or Silverback
How to analyze your results
The benefit of conducting these tests is that marketing teams can make data-driven decisions. In higher education, this data is helpful in breaking up politics and keep the design process focused on users priorities rather than internal priorities.
These techniques are suitable for testing: current sites, prototypes, content, and design files.