User Testing @ Uncommon Good
UX Research | UX Strategy | B2B
What is Uncommon Good?
UncommonGood is a B2B engagement platform for non-profits that cultivates a community oriented towards progress, providing access to fundraising tools, value-driven sweepstakes, volunteer opportunities, branding and storytelling support, and so much more.
How I got involved
I joined the research team to offer direction on best practices for the user testing protocol, refine the research plan, and run 7 user tests alongside two other UX Designers.
Hypotheses
We expect new Pro Users to be able to create and export/send an email.
We expect Pro Users to be able to create a segment and understand what it means to edit and duplicate a segment.
Goal
Test experience and functionality of features for Pro User Email.
Each task should take under 3 minutes to complete.
The user should not get stuck or need to go back at any point during the task.
Learning Expectations
Creation/Sending/Exporting Behavior: Can Pro User successfully create, export, schedule, and send emails? Do they understand what exporting will do?
Segments Behavior: Do Pro Users understand what a segment is? Can they successfully create and save a segment? Do they understand what it means to duplicate and edit a segment?
Existing Flows: Do they make sense to Pro Users? How do the existing flows come across to Pro Users? What are their impressions?
Time and Energy: Are Pro Users spending too much time on a task? Too little? Just right?
Design: Does the UI, visual, or hierarchical design effectively communicate to Pro Users?
Usability Testing:
Protocol Takeaways
Specify user scenarios
If we can paint a clearer, more specific scenario that is realistic to the user in the context of this feature, then we can better observe and measure user behavior by putting them in a real life scenario.
Minimize bias
If we can encourage the user to move through the flow first before asking questions, then we can decrease bias and increase the ability to observe authentic user behavior and where the user is getting stuck or confused.
A realistic prototype
If we can add realistic content to the prototype, then confusion will be minimized and their ability to go through the flow organically will be maximized.
My approach, applied.
In order to yield the most effective results from usability testing, immerse the user in the most believable scenario for the specific task, and have this reflect in the prototype design. This will allow the user to speak truthfully to why they make specific decisions and share the most direct feedback and insight.
Usability Testing:
User Tests
2 features
7 user interviews
→ 4 tests on Creating a Segment
→ 3 tests on Creating an Email Campaign
Email Campaign Insights
“I want an easy way to edit my brand colors and fonts directly on this page.”
Tech Terminology:
When choosing to send the email, the term Segment feels foreign to the user.
User is not clear on what “export email” means and what it would do.
Create a Segment Insights
Users want to be able to visually see all the fields at once rather than progressive disclosure.
Terminology like Sweepstakes that is obvious to Uncommon Good feels foreign to the user.
Opportunities
Educate the user
Adding hover tips helps inform the user when they are not clear on a term.
Help the user see the full picture
When completing a task quickly, showing the open fields all at once helps the user understand what they are meant to do, rather than revealing it progressively.
Know your audience
Terms like Segment are familiar for marketing and advertising but less familiar to those working in non-profits. How might we adjust the terminology to be easily definable without needing clarification?
My approach, defined.
Go with the “duh.” If users are not sure what something means, is there a simpler term that is recognizable and definable?
Increase efficiency: The less the user needs to think, the more the user can do.
When designing features, I want to be very clear on who my target audience is and what language they speak, with a goal of making the feature accessible especially to the least technically savvy user.
Preparing insights for the client.
Through Affinity Mapping, we identified the patterns, distilled the opportunities for iteration, and created a visual presentation to present to Uncommon Good.
Data says a thousand words.
Use data to summarize qualitative feedback
By identifying the patterns and using data to illustrate them, the client was more receptive to why certain improvements were needed, even if it was different from their original desired outcomes.
How this inspires my process
Data is a powerful way to inspire and encourage stakeholders to get on board with quick and effective iterations, all fueled by real user feedback.