The document discusses the importance of effective note-taking during usability testing. It notes that note-taking requires preparation and an understanding of the goals and metrics of the test. The document outlines exercises where participants watch video clips of usability tests and record notes based on predefined goals and scoring metrics. Lessons learned emphasize understanding the goals of the study, defining appropriate metrics, and planning for analysis before collecting data to improve note-taking.

1. The Note-Taker's Perspective
During Usability Testing:
Recognizing What's Impor tant, What's
Not
User Focus 2012
October 19, 2012
www.userworks.com
(301) 431-0500
Kristen Davis & Dana Douglas

2. Note-Taking Misconceptions
 No preparation needed
 Take the notes, then figure out how to analyze and
summarize the data
 Anyone can do it
 Attention to detail, fast typing are the key skills
 A one-size-fits-all approach will work for all practitioners and
for all products under evaluation
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 2

3. Why is Ef fective Note-Taking
Impor tant?
 To improve the data analysis process by:
• Capturing the appropriate data the first time
• Making analysis more efficient
• Increasing accuracy
• Identifying trends easily
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 3

4. Exercise 1: Taking Notes

5. Exercise
 Record your observations as you watch this video clip
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 5

6. How Did You Do?
 Did you capture the key findings?
 Did you miss anything?
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 6

7. Exercise 2: Know the Study

8. Practice Exercise
 Product: NIHSeniorHealth.gov website
 Participant: Seniors who look for health information online
 Task: Locate a specific piece of information
 Study Goals:
• What navigation path do participants use when looking for specific pieces of
information?
• Do par ticipants notice and use the pagination?
• Does the visual design treatment used in the left hand navigation clearly
indicate the user’s location within a specific health topic?
 Task Goals:
• Are par ticipants able to locate information on the 2 nd page?
• Are the left hand navigation labels clear?
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 8

9. Exercise
 Record your observations while watching this video clip
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 9

10. How Did You Do?
 Did you capture the key findings?
 Did you miss anything?
 Did you note:
• If the participant noticed and used the pagination?
• If the participant was able to locate information on the 2nd page?
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 10

11. Lessons Learned: Understand the
Goals
 Goals should be set prior to data collection in order to:
• Record appropriate data
• Target the type of data that will be useful when reporting the findings
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 11

12. Exercise 3: Know the
Metrics

13. Practice Exercise
 Product: Blood glucose meter
 Participant: Person with diabetes who uses a meter
 Task: Change default settings in the meter
 Rating scale for scoring task completion:
• Completed with ease: Participant easily completed the task
• Completed with minor dif ficulty: Participant somewhat struggled to
complete the task (e.g., attempted more than two paths)
• Completed with major dif ficulty: Participant significantly struggled
to complete the task (e.g., attempted numerous paths and/or used
customer service)
• Failed to complete: Participant was unable to complete the task
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 13

14. Exercise
 Record your observations while watching this video clip
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 14

15. How Did You Do?
 What score did you give the participant?
• Completed with ease: Participant easily completed the task
• Completed with minor dif ficulty: Participant somewhat struggled to
complete the task (e.g., attempted more than two paths)
• Completed with major dif ficulty: Participant significantly struggled to
complete the task (e.g., attempted numerous paths and/or used customer
service)
• Failed to complete: Participant was unable to complete the task
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 15

16. Lessons Learned: Define Metrics
 Defining the task completion rating scale prior to data
collection allows:
• Data to become less subjective
• Note-taker to record the scores in a systematic and consistent way
 Some additional metrics:
• Clickpath
• Time on task
• Shorthand codes
 Example: Number of times a participant clicked the pagination
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 16

17. Summar y

18. Keys to Success
 Both moderator and note-taker need to know the product
and the issues of interest
 Be thoroughly familiar with whatever tool you are using
 Plan for categorization and data analysis before data
collection
 Don’t try to capture comments verbatim; interpret what is
noteworthy as you go
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 18

19. Questions/Comments?
Kristen Davis Dana Douglas
UserWorks, Inc. UserWorks, Inc.
User Experience Specialist/ User Experience Specialist
Note-Taker Extraordinaire
kdavis@userworks.com ddouglas@userworks.com
www.userworks.com
(301) 431-0500
The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing
User Focus 2012
Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc. 19