Approach

Continuing my journey to explore the features needed to make the Todo App effective, I delved into another important stage of interviewing a user to understand their needs as part of the UX Research. This was the first time I conducted a UX Research interview. And I must say I enjoyed it!! Being on the other side of the table allowed me to understand the user’s needs, preferences, and pain points.

Preparation

I conducted a research interview with Mariam Shahbaz, a Sr. Manager at Fidelity Investments. Mariam is a busy professional and a mother of two, making her a perfect fit for my project. I wanted to find out how she prioritizes her chores and if she uses technology to stay organized. I prepared a list of questions and interviewed her over the phone, introducing myself and asking for her consent to record the conversation. I assured her that the questions were solely for research purposes.

As part of the preparation, I had the consent script and the questions to conduct the interview prepared in advance and were used as guidelines for the conversation. 

Consent

• I’m conducting research to better understand the challenges faced by busy professionals like yourself in order to improve the design of productivity tools. Your insights will help us create solutions that better meet your needs.
• During the interview, I’ll be asking you some questions about your work habits, challenges, and preferences. The session will last approximately 20 minutes.
• Your responses will be kept confidential, and no personally identifiable information will be shared. Your insights will only be used for research purposes.
• Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. If at any point you feel uncomfortable or wish to stop the interview, please let me know.”
• Do you consent to participate in this research study, understanding that your responses will be used for research purposes only?
• Do you have any questions about the research study or what participation involves before we begin?

Questionnaire

• Can you describe a typical day in your professional life?
• What are the main tasks you need to accomplish daily?
• What are the biggest challenges you encounter while managing your workload?
• Can you walk me through any specific instances where you felt overwhelmed or frustrated with your tasks?
• How do you prioritize your tasks and manage your time effectively?
• Are there any time-consuming activities or processes that you find particularly burdensome?
• How do you communicate and collaborate with colleagues or clients?
• Have you experienced any difficulties in coordinating with team members or stakeholders?
• What tools or technologies do you currently use to streamline your work?
• Are any gaps or limitations in your current tools hinder your productivity?
• How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance amidst your busy schedule?
• Are there any aspects of your work life that could be improved to alleviate stress?
• What improvements or features would make your work life easier and more efficient?
• Where do you see opportunities for innovation or enhancement in your professional workflow?

UX Research Interview

The interview lasted approximately 10 minutes, with Mariam very forthcoming in answering most of the questions.  The transcript [1] of the discussion can be found below with key points highlighted:

Afshan Naaz 00:02
Good evening, Mariam. Good evening. Thank you for taking the time and, you know, being a part of this user experience. And the research that I’m conducting well to introduce I mean, you know, I’m Shawn, and I’m conducting this research to better understand the challenges faced by busy professionals like you. I’m doing this research in order to improve the design of the productivity tools. So, Mariam, basically, your insights will help us create solutions that better meet your needs. So during the interview, I’ll be asking you some questions about your work habits, challenges and preferences. This session will last approximately 10 to 15 minutes, and rest assured Meriam Your responses will be kept confidential and no personally identifiable information will be shared. Your insights will only be used for research purposes. Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. If at any point of time you feel uncomfortable or wish to stop the interview, please do let me know Meriam. Now do you consent to participate in this research study? Understanding that Your responses will be used for research purposes only? Yes, thank you, Maria, for your consent. Also, Mariam. Just wanted to let you know that I would be recording this. I do I have your consent for this. Yes. Thank you, Maria. Maria. And before we start, do you have any questions about the research study or what participation involves before we go ahead?

Mariam Shahbaz 01:56
Not really.

Afshan Naaz 01:57
Thank you, Mariam. Mariam, can you just describe about yourself give? Can you just give us an overview about your life and what do you do?

Mariam Shahbaz 02:09
So I’m a chapter leader and a financial firm. My morning starts with a team huddle. I lead to team so I get to meet my teams in the early morning hours. Rest of the day goes into project related meetings, Scrum events, one on one with my team members. I get very less time for tasks that needs my personal attention or contribution.

Afshan Naaz 02:34
Okay, Mariam. So what are the main tasks that you need to accomplish? Daily?

Mariam Shahbaz 02:43
Depends. Some tasks are pretty common throughout the weekdays, like meeting with the team and having a one on one interaction with the team members. chama totally dedicated to project related technical, prioritisation, prioritisation and other stuff. So that’s, that’s how my, you know, the entire work week goes. It’s less of less of individual contribution and more of collaboration. So, work week is spent more in meetings.

Afshan Naaz 03:19
Okay, Mariam. So what are your biggest challenges like you encounter while managing your workload, as you said, you have a lot of workload, so how you manage your professional as well as your personal life.

Mariam Shahbaz 03:35
Since most of my days goes in meeting, I just do not get enough time to prepare. And there’s, you know, I don’t get time to think outside the box, bring in new ideas. So a minute until I jot down everything for which I don’t get enough time. Oh,

Afshan Naaz 03:56
is it? Okay. All right, so how do you prioritize your tasks? And how do you manage your time effectively?

Mariam Shahbaz 04:07
I prioritize my tasks based on how important the ask is and how urgent it is. And if it’s both important and urgent, it gets my attention right away. If it’s either not important or not urgent, then it takes the second you know, preference and then and then the rest remains at the bottom. So I also try to, you know, timebox the task so that I can deliver the quality work while remaining focused. All

Afshan Naaz 04:43
right, all right. So I’m very sure with your busy professional life like it, it wouldn’t be difficult for you to manage at the personal level as well and prioritise things there as well, isn’t it? Yes, yes. So like it is Definitely, how do you manage? Or how do you list out your, your chores for your personal life as well? So do you maintain anything? Do you just scribble it somewhere?

Mariam Shahbaz 05:13
Yeah, so not that much for personal life or unless and until I have an event, upcoming event. So for that I, I use my computer. And again, the tools that I use is very common, be it professional or for personal use. I use sticky notes and OneNote a lot sticky notes for you know, just for an instant task that I need to add or something that I need to remember. And then I try to merge everything into one note, either end of day or, you know, end of week.

Afshan Naaz 05:56
Okay, so now when you said you use one note, are there any gaps or limitations like, you know, in that current tool that hinders your productivity? Have you ever thought about it?

Mariam Shahbaz 06:07
Yeah. I do not enjoy writing a lot. Yeah, I prefer. I prefer face-to-face meetings in person. So. So I wish I wish there was a voice recorder or something that

Afshan Naaz 06:27
comes to my next question. Meriam. So like, somewhere, you said voice recorded somewhere like Siri, Alexa? That’s what you’re talking about?

Mariam Shahbaz 06:38
Yeah, so if my organization is fine with using Siri and Alexa, right, yes, sure.

Afshan Naaz 06:44
Okay, any other features? Suppose I mean, you know, have you ever I mean, you know, since now you said you wish you had something of this sort, and you you hate to write or type it out. So, any other additional features you might want to Vish, I mean, you know, would be there in this kind of a tool?

Mariam Shahbaz 07:04
Yeah, so often, you know, once we are done with the day or week or month, the TAs keep remaining on the notepad adding adding volume to the existing documentation, right. So wish, if I can push the old task, then again, it shouldn’t be like auto delete or something, I should be able to select which task I want to keep in the list for future use, and which I can, you know, select for deletion. Okay,

Afshan Naaz 07:39
so you want a tab that can delete the task when when you know, they it’s over and done with, isn’t it?

Mariam Shahbaz 07:47
Yeah, not all, because sometimes you you want to keep a list of task that you have done in past for future use,

Afshan Naaz 07:55
right? Yeah. Have you ever tried other other apps like Google, or Google Keep or anything else? No, I haven’t. No, you haven’t. Okay. So you have a grid only? One of the tools? Okay, okay. All right, Maria. Um, so apart from the the features of Voice Recording, or maybe like, you know, the ability to delete, is there anything else

Mariam Shahbaz 08:25
that I could think of at this moment?

Afshan Naaz 08:26
Okay, okay. And something that has worked for you or did not work while you are using the current tool, as of now?

Mariam Shahbaz 08:40
No, not really.

Afshan Naaz 08:43
Okay. All right. I can understand Meriam the frustration especially with busy professionals, and being a mom so I can understand like how you must be juggling between so many, and especially when you have so many roles to play and you know, so many hats to wear at the same time. Okay, so thank you so much for your insights, Mariam. And before we leave for him, do you have any questions for me?

Mariam Shahbaz 09:11
No questions, but good luck with your research. Thank

Afshan Naaz 09:13
you. Mariam, thank you so much for your time. You’re welcome.

Analysis

Based on the interview, for Mariam as a busy professional, the following goals, frustrations, and pains can be interpreted:

Goals

• As a busy professional, Mariam wants to manage her workload effectively and prioritize her tasks based on importance and urgency.
• She wants to deliver quality work while remaining focused and timeboxing her tasks.
• In her personal life, Mariam wants to manage her chores effectively and merge them into one place.

Frustrations

• Mariam feels she doesn’t have enough time to prepare for tasks or think outside the box due to the number of meetings she attends.
• She doesn’t enjoy writing and wishes a voice recorder or something similar could help her with note-taking.

Pains

• Mariam feels she doesn’t have enough time for tasks that require her attention or contribution.
• She struggles to manage her workload effectively due to the number of collaborations and meetings she has to attend.

Key Quotes

In Mariam’s own words, she describes her needs

• “I get very less time for tasks that needs my personal attention or contribution.”
• “I use sticky notes and OneNote…”
• “I wish there was a voice recorder…”

Reflection

As I said, it was my maiden attempt at interviewing, I goofed up on the first attempt. I started interviewing the participant without realizing I had not turned on the recording! Embarrassed at my lapse, I apologized to the participant and started the interview again – making sure to record it properly this time.

During the interview with a busy professional, I gained valuable insights into their unique challenges and requirements regarding managing tasks and staying organized in a fast-paced work environment.

I could empathize with Mariam as she balanced her priorities between personal and professional life. Empathy is crucial for designing user-centric solutions that effectively resonate with the target audience and address their underlying needs. Mariam raised a few thought-provoking suggestions, like the need for a responsive and user-friendly mobile interface that allows quick task entry using audio to make a list rather than typing it. She also emphasized that the feature of deleting the chores as you finish the task would help streamline her list.

These insights will guide the design and development of the Todo App, ensuring that it effectively addresses users’ challenges in managing their busy schedules and maximizing productivity.

Citation

[1] Interview transcribed by https://otter.ai

Introduction

To create a successful website or product, understanding your users is crucial. Personas are a powerful tool to help you achieve this understanding. Personas are fictional characters representing the different user types interacting with your website or product. They are based on research and analysis of your users’ behaviors, needs, and goals. I will discuss two primary approaches to creating personas, qualitative and quantitative [1], and we will use the Quantitative approach for creating the personas from the previous ToDo application. 

Qualitative Personas

Qualitative personas are based on qualitative user research methods. Qualitative research is about discovering new things with a small sample size. User interviews and usability testing are examples of qualitative research methods [1]. With qualitative personas, you develop a deep understanding of your users’ behaviors, needs, and goals by talking to a few users. Qualitative personas are created by analyzing the data collected from qualitative research methods. This data is used to identify user behavior patterns and develop a set of characteristics that define each user type. These characteristics are then used to create fictional characters representing each user type. Qualitative personas are useful for identifying user needs and goals, as well as for developing design ideas and testing usability. They are also useful for communicating user needs and goals to stakeholders.

Quantitative Personas

Quantitative personas are based on quantitative user research methods. Quantitative research is about testing or proving something with a large sample size. Surveys and site traffic analysis are examples of quantitative research methods [1]. With quantitative personas, you develop a broad understanding of your users’ behaviors, needs, and goals by analyzing data collected from many users. Quantitative personas are created by analyzing the data collected from quantitative research methods. This data is used to identify user behavior patterns and develop a set of characteristics that define each user type. These characteristics are then used to create fictional characters representing each user type. Quantitative personas are useful for identifying trends in user behavior, as well as for validating design decisions. They are also useful for communicating user needs and goals to stakeholders.

Creating Personas 

When creating a persona, there are some factors that need to be taken into consideration. These factors are listed as follows [2]:

• Gather Data: Collect data from various sources such as user interviews, surveys, market research, customer support interactions, and analytics data. This data should provide insights into your users, their goals and pain points, and how they interact with your product or service.
• Segment Users: Analyze the collected data to identify common patterns and characteristics among your user base. Segment users based on demographic information (age, gender, location), psychographic factors (lifestyle, interests, values), and behavioral traits (usage frequency, preferences).
• Define Persona Attributes: Based on the identified segments, create detailed persona profiles that represent distinct user archetypes. Each persona should include attributes such as:
  • Name: Give each persona a fictional name to humanize them.
  • Demographics: Age, gender, location, occupation, education level, etc.
  • Goals and Objectives: What are their primary goals and objectives related to your product or service?
  • Pain Points: What challenges or frustrations do they encounter in achieving their goals?
  • Motivations: What motivates them to use your product or service?
  • Behaviors: How do they typically interact with your product or service? What features do they use most frequently?
  • Preferences: What are their preferences in terms of user experience, communication channels, pricing, etc.
  • Influences: What factors influence their decision-making process, such as recommendations from friends or online reviews?
• Validate Personas: Once you’ve created persona profiles, validate them with real user data and feedback. Conduct user interviews or surveys to gather input from representative users and ensure that the personas accurately reflect their needs and behaviors.
• Prioritize Personas: Prioritize personas based on factors such as their impact on business goals, size of the user segment, and alignment with the product’s strategic objectives. Focus on personas that represent the most significant opportunities or pose the greatest challenges for your product.
• Use Personas for Decision-Making: Incorporate personas into your development process to guide decision-making across all stages, from ideation and design to development and marketing.
• Iterate and Update: Regularly revisit and update personas based on new data, user behavior changes, or market trend shifts. Keep personas dynamic and reflective of evolving user needs to ensure ongoing relevance and effectiveness in guiding product decisions.

Sample Personas

For the Todo App, I used Open AI ChatGpt and Microsoft Copilot to fill in details [3][4] and create the images [5][6] for the Busy Professional and Student Quantitative personas.

Busy Professional

Name: Sarah Johnson

Demographics: Sarah is a 32-year-old female living in a busy urban area. She has a master’s degree in marketing and works as a marketing manager for a tech company.

Goals and Objectives: Sarah’s primary goal is to manage her work and personal tasks effectively in a busy environment. She wants to be able to prioritize tasks and stay on top of deadlines to maintain a work-life balance.

Pain Points: Sarah often feels overwhelmed with her workload and struggles to manage her tasks effectively. She finds it challenging to prioritize tasks and often ends up missing deadlines, leading to stress and anxiety.

Motivations: Sarah is motivated to use a to-do app that can help her stay organized, prioritize tasks, and achieve a sense of accomplishment. She wants to feel in control of her tasks and reduce her stress levels.

Behaviors: Sarah interacts with the to-do app frequently throughout the day, accessing it on her laptop and mobile phone. She uses the app’s features to categorize tasks by project, set reminders, and track her progress. She finds the app’s notification feature helpful in keeping her on track with her tasks.

Preferences: Sarah prefers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. She values a to-do app that integrates well with her existing tools, such as her calendar and email. She is willing to pay for a premium version of the app if it offers additional features such as team collaboration and data analysis.

Influences: Sarah is influenced by online reviews and recommendations from her colleagues and friends. She values a to-do app with a good security and privacy reputation. She is also influenced by the app’s customer service and responsiveness to user feedback.

Student 

Name: Alex Rodriguez

Demographics: Alex is a 20-year-old male pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He lives on campus in a college town.

Goals and Objectives: Alex’s primary goal is to stay organized and manage his coursework effectively. He wants to stay on top of his assignments, deadlines, and project timelines to maintain a good GPA.

Pain Points: Alex often struggles to manage his time effectively and prioritize his tasks. He finds it challenging to keep track of all his assignments, readings, and projects. He also experiences anxiety related to upcoming exams and deadlines.

Motivations: Alex is motivated to use a to-do app that can help him stay organized, focused, and productive. He wants to feel in control of his coursework and reduce his stress levels.

Behaviors: Alex interacts with the to-do app frequently throughout the day, accessing it on his laptop and mobile phone. He uses the app’s features to categorize tasks by class, set reminders, and track his progress. He finds the app’s notification feature helpful in keeping him on track with his tasks.

Preferences: Alex prefers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. He values a to-do app that integrates well with his existing tools, such as his calendar and email. He is willing to pay for a premium version of the app if it offers additional features such as team collaboration and data analysis. Alex also prefers a to-do app that offers a gamified experience, where he can earn rewards or points for completing tasks.

Influences: Alex is influenced by online reviews and recommendations from his classmates and professors. He values a to-do app with a good reputation for reliability and efficiency. He is also influenced by the app’s customer service and responsiveness to user feedback.

Citations

[1] Steve Mulder and Ziv Yaar. 2006. The user is always right: a practical guide to creating and using personas for the web (First. ed.). New Riders Publishing, USA.

[2] OpenAI. “ChatGPT Prompt: As a UX Researcher, how would you create personas?.” ChatGPT 3.5, https://www.openai.com/chatgpt. 

[3] OpenAI. “ChatGPT Prompt: Create a Quantitative persona of a Busy professional for a ToDo application.” ChatGPT 3.5, https://www.openai.com/chatgpt. 

[4] OpenAI. “ChatGPT Prompt: Create a Quantitative persona of a Student for a ToDo application.” ChatGPT 3.5, https://www.openai.com/chatgpt.

[5] Microsoft. “Microsoft Copilot Prompt: Create a real image of “Sarah, a 32-year-old female living in a busy urban area. She has a master’s degree in marketing and works as a marketing manager for a tech company.” Microsoft Copilot, https://copilot.microsoft.com/

[6] Microsoft. “Microsoft Copilot Prompt: Create a real image of “Alex, a 20-year-old male pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He lives on campus in a college town.” Microsoft Copilot, https://copilot.microsoft.com/

Introduction

As someone who has never designed a questionnaire before, I was and still am very apprehensive about designing one. I spent some time thinking and researching the right type of questions to be put forth to the participants to elicit the right answers.
So, for this week’s assignment, I developed questionnaires for the ToDo application from the previous assignment. The questionnaires were designed to gather feedback from two different types of users – business professionals and students. I did so because this would help me with my final project. I used these personas with the Todo App in mind, which I will use as my final project. I divided the process into two stages – user research and usability testing. 

UX Research

As a UX researcher aiming to identify user needs and understand their problems, it’s crucial to frame questions that delve deep into users’ experiences, pain points, and challenges.

• Start with Open-ended Questions: Begin the interview or survey with broad, open-ended questions to encourage participants to share their experiences freely.
• Explore Specific Pain Points: Once the conversation flows, dig deeper into specific areas where users encounter difficulties or frustrations.
• Probe for Context and Details: Follow up on users’ responses with probing questions to gather more context and detail about their problems. This helps you understand the underlying reasons behind their challenges.
• Ask About Workarounds or Solutions: Inquire about any workarounds users have developed to cope with the identified problems. This can provide insights into potential solutions or improvements.
• Probe for Unmet Needs: Explore areas where users feel their needs need to be adequately addressed by the current product or service. This can uncover opportunities for innovation and improvement.
• Encourage Stories and Examples: Invite participants to share anecdotes or real-life examples that illustrate their challenges and frustrations. This provides a richer context and helps you empathize with their experiences.

In the Context of the ToDo App, some of the questions are shown below:

Usability

The questions may vary depending on the type of usability testing being carried out.

5-second test

• First Impression: These questions capture participants’ initial reactions and perceptions of the product or interface within the first few seconds of exposure.
• Clarity and Memorability: These questions assess how well participants remember and understand key information presented in the interface.

Walk-around and Exploration Tests

• Exploration Behavior: These questions aim to understand how participants navigate through the product or interface and which features they explore.
• Discoverability: These questions assess how easily participants can find specific features or information within the product.

Essential Tasks Test

• Task Completion: These questions evaluate participants’ success in completing essential tasks within the product.
• Efficiency and Effectiveness: These questions assess participants’ efficiency in completing tasks and overall satisfaction with the process.

Surveys/Questionnaires

• Demographic and Background: These questions gather information about participants’ demographics, experience, and usage patterns.
• Experience and Satisfaction: These questions assess participants’ overall experience with the product and their satisfaction level.
• Feedback and Suggestions: These questions invite participants to provide feedback and suggestions for improving the product.

In the Context of the ToDo App, some of the questions are shown below:

Conclusion

In my learning journey as a UX researcher, I realized that questionnaires are valuable tools for gathering systematic user feedback, which can inform the design, development, and optimization of user experiences. The questions should be clear, unbiased, relevant, and suitable for the participants.
As a UX researcher, does this blog help you with insights in drafting your questionnaires?
( I hope I am learning to frame some questions here 🙂 )

References 

Pervaiz, Muhammad Ahsan. “UX Design Process Simplified from User Research to Usability.” Packt Publishing, January 2020, https://learning.oreilly.com/course/ux-design-process/9781800208797/.

ChapGPT 3.5 prompt. (February 2024).

• For user research and usability testing, what would be the criteria for asking good questions in one-on-one interviews, group discussions, and surveys?
• As a UX researcher conducting research to identify user needs, how would I ask questions to understand user problems for a busy professional and a student persona for a ToDo app?
• As a UX researcher conducting usability testing and conducting – 5-second tests, walk-around and exploration tests, essential tasks tests, and surveys/questionnaires, how would I ask questions for a specific to busy professional and a student persona for the Todo app, elaborate more?

Introduction

This usability testing is intended to assess the user experience of a mock-up of a Todo application. The testing aims to pinpoint any possible usability issues and gather feedback on the overall usability of the application. The ToDo app being tested is a mockup of a task management application that allows users to create and organize their tasks intuitively. The application provides task creation, removal, priority adjustment, and task completion tracking options. The testing involved participants to complete predefined tasks using the application. Their feedback was collected to improve the usability of the application further.

Methodology

As part of the usability testing for the ToDo app, I have created a methodology that outlines the process we will use to conduct the testing. To begin with, I have created a mock-up of the app as part of the previous assignment, which I will use during the testing. The mock-up includes all of the app’s essential features and is designed to replicate the actual app as closely as possible.

Our methodology involves using the think-aloud technique during the testing. This technique requires participants to verbalize their thoughts and actions as they navigate the app. I will also be capturing audio and video of the testing using Screen-pal to analyze the user’s behavior, which will help us identify areas of the app that need improvement. Before the usability testing, the author has taken verbal consent from the participants. The usability testing consent and instructions script are in the appendix section.

To test the app’s usability, I selected the following two participants with varying levels of experience:
Participant 1
Age: 13
Gender: Female
Occupation: Middle schooler
Experience with ToDo Apps: Beginner
Frequency of ToDo App Usage: Rarely
Preferred Platform: Web
Additional Notes: Participant 1 rarely uses ToDo apps and relies mainly on the paper version of a Todo task organizer.

Participant 2
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Occupation: College student
Experience with ToDo Apps: Intermediate
Frequency of ToDo App Usage: Daily
Preferred Platform: Web/Mobile
Additional Notes: Participant 2 uses ToDo apps daily and relies mainly on Google Keep to organize day-to-day work.

During the testing, I will monitor the participants’ performance and collect data on how long it takes them to complete each task, what difficulties they encounter, and how they feel about the app’s overall usability. This data will help the author identify the areas of the app that need improvement and make the necessary changes to enhance the app’s usability.

Observations

Usability Testing

Post-Usability testing feedback

Observations	Participant 1	Participant 2
Rating (1-10 scale)	8	8.5
Improvements	Instead of the Edit button, clicking on the task should allow you to edit the task The background should be more colorful Make the size of the up and down buttons smaller, or use arrows that can be used instead	Was easy to use and good for younger kids The app was basic, without a background or colors/pictures to make it more appealing Sorting by day and time would be useful
Screenshots

Recommendations

Based on the identified improvement, here are some actionable recommendations/feedback to improve the application’s usability, functionality, and user experience:

1. Add a theme or background: To make the application more appealing, consider adding a theme or background that aligns with the genre of the participant. This will make the application more visually engaging and help users feel more connected to the platform.
2. Improve the edit functionality: Rather than relying on an edit button, the edit functionality can be improved by allowing users to click on the task to edit it. This will save users time and streamline the editing process.
3. Prioritize functionality improvement: The prioritization functionality is useful but can be further improved by adding up/down arrows instead of buttons. Additionally, consider adding the ability to add a day/time for prioritization as another means for users to sort and manage their tasks effectively.

Learnings

I personally interacted with the participants during my testing process to help them record their experiences using Screen Pal. This involved setting up a face-to-face meeting to ensure the participant’s experience was accurately captured. However, if one wishes to use Screen Pal offline and still work with the participant, one must use a video application such as Zoom or Teams.

Usability testing may seem simple, but it requires a lot of practice to develop open-ended questions that don’t bias the participant towards specific app features. I made a conscious effort to avoid using app-specific terms such as “button” or “tab” in some places, but in other cases, I had to use these terms to ensure that the participant understood what was being referred to.

In a more realistic usability testing scenario, I would select participants based on the persona for the application. This would involve ensuring that the participants are representative of the target audience for the application and have the relevant characteristics that would make them the ideal users of the app.

Overall, usability testing requires attention to detail and precision to ensure that the results are accurate and reliable.

Appendix

Usability Testing Consent and Instructions 

Introduction and Purpose

Hello! Thank you for joining me today. My name is Afshan Naaz, and I am in my role as a UX Researcher from Georgia State University. Today, I’m here to learn more about how people use an app to track or record their daily tasks and chores.

Voluntary Participation

Before proceeding, I want to emphasize that your participation in this usability test is voluntary. You are not obligated to continue if you feel uncomfortable or decide it’s not for you. Your decision to participate or withdraw will not have any consequences whatsoever. ScreenPal will record your interactions with the application throughout the test. ScreenPal captures both your screen activity and any audio commentary you provide. This allows us to closely analyze your interactions and better understand your thought process as you navigate the app.
Are you comfortable moving forward under these terms?

Overview of Procedures

My role here is to listen to your thoughts and experiences as you use the app. Your feedback will help me understand what works well and what could be improved. There are no right or wrong answers – we’re simply interested in your honest opinions. By no means is this test for you, but rather, it is for the app.

So, feel free to explore the app as you normally would, and don’t hesitate to share any thoughts or questions you have along the way. Your input is incredibly valuable and will directly influence how we shape the future of this app. As you use the app, please speak aloud so I can understand your thought process.

Next, I’ll present you with a series of tasks to complete using the application. These tasks are designed to simulate real-world scenarios and will help us understand how intuitive and user-friendly the application is. You’ll be asked to create a new task, set a reminder, and mark tasks as complete.
Please feel free to ask any questions or seek clarification at any point during the test. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve the usability of the application.

The app can be accessed using the following URL – https://afshannaaz-todo-app.w3spaces.com/todo.html

Confidentiality

I assure you that all information shared during this usability test will be kept confidential. Your privacy is of utmost importance to us. Any data collected, including your interactions with the application and feedback, will be used solely for research purposes and will not be shared with anyone outside our research team.

Instructions

Imagine you are a student or professional with a busy schedule, and you’ve decided to use an app to help you stay organized. Today, we’ll test this app to see how well it meets your needs.

• Task 1: How would you go about making a note of all the tasks or chores you need to perform:
• Task 2: If you have to make changes to the existing tasks or chores, how would you do about:
• Task 3: How would you keep track of completed tasks or chores:
• Task 4: How would you organize these tasks?
• Task 5: Can you search for a task or chore?
• Task 6: Does the app provide another way to record the tasks or chores?

Closing Questions

• Share your overall impression of the app’s interface and design.
• How would you rate this application on a scale of 1-10?
• Were you able to complete the tasks easily?
• Did you face any challenges?
• Is there anything specific you liked or disliked about the Todo app?

Introduction

Screen recording is a tool used to capture and record a user’s interactions with a digital interface, such as a website or mobile application. This tool provides valuable insights into user behaviors, preferences, and pain points. By recording user sessions, UX Researchers can analyze user behavior in real time and gain a better understanding of how users interact with their product. Participants can also use screen recording to share their feedback, concerns, and suggestions, which can help improve the overall user experience. Overall, screen recording is a highly valuable tool that provides deep and comprehensive insights into user interactions and behaviors.

Approach

For the software evaluation, I used the free version of Screencast-O-Matic as it was compatible with my Mac. I aimed to evaluate the software for two personas: the UX Researcher and the usability/UX research participant. I captured features that will be used by these two personas, as well as common features that will be useful.

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic has changed its name to ScreenPal. Screencast-O-Matic is a screen capture tool. This tool records a designated area of your screen as well as audio and webcam input. You can use this tool to record narrated presentations or demonstrations and produce the recordings as videos for your courses. The software offers a variety of features, including the ability to record full-screen or specific regions of the screen, add annotations and effects, and export videos in a variety of formats. Screencast-O-Matic also has a built-in video editor that allows users to trim, cut, and merge videos. Screencast-O-Matic doesn’t have a watermark when you download it for free. But it limits you to 15 minutes of video time only. Users can increase the time limit by buying the full/premium version of the software. A limited video editor is another limitation of Screencast-O-Matic’s free version.

This is the screen shot of my screen’s recording. I was able to record specific sections of my screen as well as capture full-screen recordings. It records anything that is within the white and black dotted frame. 

Also, I was easily able to cut and remove parts from anywhere in the videos. 

Additionally, features like blurring the video, highlighting the text, etc, can be used. 

Also, I was able to make the content more engaging and entertaining by using different sound effects from Screen-O-Matic’s sound library.

Findings

The following feature table can be used to compare other screen and voice recording products and make informed decisions based on their features and capabilities. I also used ChatGPT to get the list of important features used by UX Researchers, Usability/Research participants, and common to both.

Common Features

Features	Review	Comments
OS accessibility		Available on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iOS, and Android; and Browsers like Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox
Free		Limited features are available in the freemium version, also offered in three different versions: Deluxe, Premier, and Max.
One Button launch		Has the capability to launch a recorder or take screenshots
Export and Sharing option with lightweight output		Available to be downloaded in various formats like MP4, AVI, FLV, and GIF formats in different resolutions
Help and support		Only available through email
Tutorials		How-to’s, training, and tutorials are available to get started
Positive industry reputation		Overall, the rating of the app was 4.3-4.5 out of 5

UX researcher

Features	Review	Comments
Annotation and Marking Features or Tagable Output		Basic annotation features may be available, allowing researchers to add text and shapes during editing
Playback and Editing Capabilities		Provides the capability to basic editing capabilities like cut and copy
Collaboration Features		Couldn’t find the capability to collaborate with multiple researchers, allowing team members to share insights and observations seamlessly

Usability/Research participant

Features	Review	Comments
Minimal Disturbance		Minimal impact on the participant’s experience during recording
Remote Testing Friendliness		Suitable for basic remote testing scenarios where participants record their screen interactions.

Conclusion

Although the recording tool is helpful, its freemium version offers limited functionality. A comparison of feature tables of various recording tools can provide better insights and help in making the right choice.

Field Notes

Field notes are new to me. They are typically used by professionals such as engineers and scientists to track important information as they work. In the context of user research, field notes can be used to note observations and collect data during a project. During the Usability Testing class for the Todo mock, I compiled the following field notes for various activities we did in the class:

Five-second test

Observations

We asked 12 class participants to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple Todo mock. Their first thoughts about the usage were as follows:

• It is probably something for adding tasks
• Used for an organized list of tasks
• Making a note of todo items

Several aspects of the mock were liked, and specific features were highlighted, including:

• Simple to use
• Minimalist (too minimalistic)

Some of the recommendations for improvements included:

• A title describing the functionality would be useful
• The light color complete button confusing
• A check box for completed tasks would be nice

Inference

The 5-second test gave us the effectiveness of the Todo app, its messaging and overall appeal. Based on the initial feedback, the UX researcher can look at improvements.

Heuristics

Definition – A heuristic analysis aims to identify usability problems and issues that may affect the user experience and hinder the overall usability before carrying out the usability testing.

The following guidelines are known as heuristics and were first introduced by Jakob Nielsen:

• Visibility of system status
• Match between the system and the real world
• User control and freedom
• Consistency and standards
• Error prevention
• Recognition rather than recall
• Flexibility and efficiency of use
• Aesthetic and minimalist design
• Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
• Help and documentation

The survey results showed mixed bags of yes and no responses for various criteria for the Todo mock. 

These are the findings of my Heuristic survey done in class.

Reflection

Pre-Test: I use a to-do list very often. I use it every week to add my to-do things. This helps me stay organized and gives me a sense of accomplishment when I check off the items on my list. 

Post-Test: The usability testing taught me how to add and sort the tasks. I use post-it to make my to-do list more often than using an app. After the usability class, I am inclined and confident about using it on my phone. 

The field notes came in very handy while reiterating the entire process. 

Design mockup Todo list 2.0

A set of recommended heuristics and improvements were identified during a five-second test. To implement them, a mockup was created with the help of Microsoft’s GitHub Co-pilot (similar to ChatGPT or Brad), a code completion tool. The following is a sample interaction with the co-pilot prompt for adding the strikethrough functionality for the Todo app. Unfortunately, the entire history cannot be exported from the browser.

The resulting application includes a range of features, such as displaying tasks as a list of checkboxes, indicating completed tasks with a strikethrough, and editing or deleting tasks as needed. Moreover, users can clear all tasks at once or search for specific tasks using a search bar. Additionally, users can change the order of tasks by moving them up or down on the list or adding new tasks through audio input.

https://afshannaaz-todo-app.w3spaces.com/todo.html

The mockup was designed using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS and is currently hosted on W3Schools. By providing users with a range of features that optimize task management and productivity, this application has the potential to enhance workplace performance and efficiency.

Design thinking is an approach to problem-solving that focuses on understanding the user’s needs and redefining problems to develop innovative solutions. It involves a series of steps to address complex challenges and create user-centric solutions, including product design, service design, and business strategy.

Proposed Case Study Outline

For the case study I plan to do, the outline will follow the ‘Design Thinking’ principles and comprise five stages, each with unique activities to achieve specific goals.

Empathize: In this stage, the focus is on understanding the needs, pain points, and motivations of the end-users. The goal is to put the user at the center of the design process and generate empathy towards their experiences. The activities in this stage include:

• User Research
• Interviews with users 
• Competitive Analysis

Define: Based on the insights gained from the previous stage, this stage’s goal is to define the problem or challenge clearly. The activities in this stage include:

• Articulate user needs, insights, and pain points
• Formulate the problem
• Create Personas
• Building Empathy Map

Ideate: This stage is about generating creative solutions to the defined problem. The focus is on generating as many ideas as possible and selecting the most suitable ones for further development. 

• Create solutions
• Come up with User Journeys
• Building the Information Architecture

Prototype: This stage involves developing tangible representations of the selected ideas. The primary goal is to test the ideas and gather feedback to improve the solutions. The activities in this stage include:

• Create Paper prototype
• Build Wireframes
• Recommend style guide
• Create final design

Test: In this stage, the emphasis is gathering user feedback on the prototypes developed in the previous stage. The goal is to refine and improve the solutions based on the feedback received. The activities in this stage include:

• Conduct usability testing
• Collect feedback
• Iterate on the design and make necessary adjustments.
• Implement the iterated design

The case studies that were assigned for review were all unique, but one particular case study that is aligned with my thinking is Muskan Attri’s Haven Self-Care Meditation App. It describes the process in the five similar steps above.

Interesting Case Study

In his case study, Arvind describes the problem and possible solutions for the users. The solution is explained step by step to make the user journey easy. Qualitative and Quantitative Research has been supplemented with interview questions, answers, and pie charts. It provides a robust foundation for user-centered problem-solving. The Competitive Analysis taken into account by Arvind helps to understand the product’s market positioning comprehensively and identify opportunities for refinement and innovation. 

In the ideate stage, the information architectures component helps create frameworks or mind maps that visualize relationships between concepts and potential solutions. This allows designers to determine how users will navigate through a system, thus ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience.

Next, the Wireframe feature is an interesting add-on that allows designers to establish the information hierarchy by indicating the placement and prioritization of different elements on the screen. The clean and simple home screen design is what the user wants so that they can easily locate the options and place an order without any hassle. The search page is simple yet very effective. It has features like Search History, trending searches, offers, and promotions to make the shopping experience easy and enjoyable. One feature that I found interesting was that the important details of the product are displayed along with user ratings. 

Arvind’s Case Study is a good example of a UX Case Study. It has offered pertinent information I think I will consider as I start to research and work on my UX Case Study.