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Test & Refine |
Prepare the Usability Test Report
How should you write the report?
Remember that everyone on the team is very busy and does not have time to read a lot. Make the report easy to use by:
- keeping each section short
- using lots of tables
- being very brief about the background information
- focusing on findings and recommendations
- including visual examples
What should you include?
Include:
- summary of the background and logistics
- summary of the quantitative data
- findings and recommendations
Summary of the background and logistics
You might include:
- very brief information from the test plan on:
- what you tested
- when and where the test was held
- the system that you used for testing (resolution, monitor size, etc.)
- what you did during the test (include the questions and task/scenarios as an appendix)
- who did the testing (names of the facilitator and note-takers)
- table(s) of information about the test participants (not names because we promise people anonymity, but rather summaries of the demographic features and/or a list of the participants by their user group; i.e., researcher, health practitioner, general public, etc.)
Summary of the quantitative data
You might show:
- the number and percent of participants who completed each scenario, and all scenarios (a bar chart often works well for this)
- the average time taken to complete each scenario for those who completed the scenario
- the average number of pages participants went to in completing each scenario
- the satisfaction results
If results varied by user group, you might show the data separately for each user group.
If you have measurable usability goals, you might show how the results from the test compare to the goals you are striving for.
If you have previous test results for the same or similar scenarios, you might show the comparison.
Tables and charts are good ways to show quantitative data.
Findings and recommendations
Using all your data (quantitative and qualitative, notes and spreadsheets), list your findings and recommendations. Each finding should have a basis in data—in what you actually saw and heard.
Depending on what happened in the test, on who will use the report, and on how they will use it, you may want to have just one overall list of findings and recommendations or you may want to have findings and recommendations scenario by scenario, or you may want to have both: a list of major findings and recommendations that cut across scenarios as well as a scenario-by-scenario report.
Report positive findings, too. Although most usability test reports focus on problems, it is also useful to report positive findings. What is working well must be maintained through further development. An entirely negative report can be disheartening; it helps the team to know when there is a lot about the Web site that is going well.
Link findings and recommendations. Each finding should include as specific a statement of the situation as possible. Each finding (or group of related findings) should include recommendations on what to do.
Example of a finding and recommendations:
Participants were unwilling to read a dense page of text
Finding: 9 of 10 participants who successfully got to the page that had the information they were looking for in this scenario expressed dismay at how much text there was on the page. They said that it was too much to read. (Show a small picture of the page; also include a few actual quotes here.)
When asked what they would do to get the answer to the question in the scenario, five of nine said they would guess the answer; four of nine said they would try to find a person to call or would ask someone they knew.
Recommendations: Break up the information on the page into a series of short questions and answers. Even when using bulleted lists (as there are on the page in this scenario), put space between each bulleted item if the items are longer than a few words. Also have only a few bullets in each list (not 20 as in the list on the page in the scenario).
Link recommendations to guidelines. To support your recommendations, it may help to cite guidelines from the Research-Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines that relate to your specific recommendations. The Guidelines include an explanation, examples, and research references.
Note how global and how severe. If you marked problems in your analysis as local/global and with a severity level, report those.
Include screen shots and video clips. You can make the report both more informative and more interesting by including visuals.
Include screen shots so readers can visualize what you were testing. Include parts of screens to illustrate specific areas that are working particularly well or that are causing problems for users.
If you are presenting the report electronically and the readers of the report have the technology available to see video clips, include a few short clips to illustrate specific points. People who did not observe the actual test sessions are often most convinced of problems and the need to fix them by watching and listening to relevant video clips.
Next steps
A usability test serves little purpose if no one does anything with the findings and recommendations. The next step is to make use of what you learned—to Implement and Retest.
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