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Practical Tips for Web and Mobile Usability Tests

In this piece, we want to narrow our focus to best understand how the fundamental differences between how Web and mobile are used require different tactics. Source: Practical Tips for Web and Mobile Usability Tests

Avoid Cargo Cult Usability Testing

When I was 15 or so I bought an album by the band Cargo Cult on the recommendation of a friend. I didn’t know what the band name meant, and since this was assuredly pre-Google, I… 

The (Myth?) of the Page Fold

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While doing some contact-form redesign for a friend/colleague I noticed that a the majority of the sites he wanted me to work on were, um, severely cramped and top  heavy with very limited white-space.

He explained that his boss was adamant that everything needed to be above the fold,  so he was forced to “squeeze” the design to insure that everything was visible above ~700 pixels.

Simply packing tons of information and functionality with little or no white-space or context didn’t seem to be the best solution to the “fold problem”.

I found a few illuminating articles that, in very general terms, agree that:

  1. vital content/functionality should be above the fold,  that
  2. users are not afraid to scroll, and that
  3. it is easier for the user to scroll than to decide whether to click thru to another page

I’m not completely convinced yet, but UK based cx partners declare that, based on the results of over 800 user test results, the page fold is a myth. They claim that only 3 times in 800 tests did the page fold barrier prevent users from getting the content they were looking for.

Eye-tracking efficacy, feasibility

I ‘ve  recently read a few articles (some links below)  regarding eye-tracking software and its application to HCI/usability research that were quite interesting but they also brought up a few questions, like:

  • Is eye-tracking still on the margins or is it a relatively common tool in the UX toolbox?
  • Is it cost-prohibitive from a ROI perspective?
  • Is there consensus on the efficacy of the results?

I realize that the questions may seem basic but, remember, I’m currently a hobbyist not a professional (YET!) so I don’t have a context for how much penetration eye-tracking software has in the UX world.  I did notice that Whitney Hess on her Pleasure & Pain blog mentions that..