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usability_testing_on_the_cheap.md

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+# usability testing on the cheap
+
+* good usability can make small things feel big
+* can also make big things feel manageable (e.g. Heroku)
+* usability is expensive, whether outsourced or in-house -- $100/hr. for contractors
+
+# caveat
+
+* presenter isn't a UX person; she's a self-taught dev with a psych degree
+* if you can afford a UX person, get one
+
+## when?
+
+* when you get the idea
+* before you design
+* before you code
+* while you're coding
+* after 1.0
+
+## testing
+
+* when testing code, test usability at the same time
+
+### when you have an idea
+
+* talk to your customers
+    * where are they?
+    * DON'T ASK "would you use this?" -- loaded question; people are polite
+    * "do you use something like this?"
+        * a way to find competitors
+        * what doesn't it do? (the competing app)
+    * face to face
+    * outcomes
+        * is it unique?
+        * is it desirable?
+        * who is your competition?
+        * where are your users and how do you interactive with/communicate to them?
+
+### where does everything go?
+
+* cards
+    * about 30
+    * on each card goes an action
+    * ask them to sort cards into piles
+    * handwritten, so you can add more cards
+    * watch them as they're uncertain, changing their mind, etc.
+    * outcomes
+        * what is the structure of the site?
+        * what content is hard to categorize?
+
+### make it pretty
+
+* face to face
+* have a neutral party present it
+* questions
+    * initial thoughts?
+    * does it remind you of anything?
+    * how would you...?  ( do this task, find this piece of information)
+        * see if they can find x in the IA
+* screen AND paper
+* watch faces!
+* outcomes
+    * are you sending the right message?
+    * can people guess what your content is intelligently, without using a search box?  ("i bet that would be there")
+    * more the design appealing
+
+### coding
+
+* very small iterations, then go back and "what do you think now?"
+* mock up new ideas first
+* outcomes
+    * are you on the right track?
+    * did your users have a better idea?
+
+### out of beta
+
+* you're not done talking to your users
+    * interview them again
+    * are there any pain points to our system?
+    * what do you like?
+    * how do you...?
+        * don't fight your users, make it easy for them to use it in the weird way that they do
+    * outcomes
+        * do your users still want your product?
+        * what should you drop?
+        * what should you promote?
+        * is it time for 2.0?
+            * are they getting bored with the site?
+
+### accessibility
+
+* don't do it at the end
+* speaker wrote a book about it
+* Penn State accessibility site
+* accessibility suites ---> NO
+
+### questions
+
+* look at competition before developing your product?  really?
+    * yes. look deeply, and you'll see where the market opportunities (weaknesses) are.
+    * you need to know how to make a case for your product with users of competition.
+* how do you know if the less-used features are critical for a few?
+    * analytics, talking to people
+    * if this is the case, promote the feature
+* how do you find the testers before you build?
+    * join local user groups, bulletin boards, meetup groups
+    * start with Reddit
+* how to get more feedback from the community once you've found them?
+    * SurveyMonkey
+        * look over those questions very carefully
+        * get a psych person to look over them, if possible
+    * email
+    * face to face == best feedback, even from a much smaller pool