Information from Software Testing Service Providers: Myths About Usability Testing

Information from Software Testing Service Providers: Myths About Usability Testing

Actually, software testing service providers help many businesses develop better quality IT products by testing them throughout the entire life cycle.  

They know almost everything about all types of testing and now it is time to explode the myths about usability testing.

Myth 1: Usability is the GUI

Many testers recognize mutually exclusive testing types:

• functional testing ( checks whether a given functionality works or not)
• GUI testing (aims to examine the correctness of the screen layout, specifically buttons, fonts, colors, captions, text formatting…)

Due to such difference between the types, a functional testing seems to be more important, and GUI testing just complements it, doesn’t it? It is an auxiliary process, simple and not very important. And just this testing is often referred to as usability testing..

Well, let’s agree: GUI testing and usability testing are different processes. Usability is the degree to which the program can be exploited by its customers to achieve desirable goals with efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction in a certain context of use.

But the graphical interface is nothing more than one of the usability features.

For example, mobile testing companies check if a mobile app is user friendly and if it can work on different devices and platforms.

Software usability is determined by a set of factors:

• The availability of the required user functionality and its workability
• The product’s ease of use and the speed and ease of learning
• The number of mistakes made by users due to misunderstanding

So, to achieve a high level of usability, it is not enough to change the color of the buttons, and the ease of use ( usability) includes a functional component, the GUI, a certificate and even a customer support.

Myth 2: Usability testing is a simple process

Certainly not! Be sure that it is those who believe in the simplicity of usability testing and conduct it without using the required techniques, discredit the notion of usability testing as such.

Successful usability testing requires quite a lot of knowledge and skills:

• Understanding the principles of usability and interface design
• Huge experience with using similar products on the platforms
• Understanding the product business component: Why is it needed? What kinds problems does it solve?
• Getting acquainted with the user: Who is he? Under which conditions does he work with the product? How he does it?

At the same time, one can not simply apply this knowledge and say, that here you need to change this thing and there you should change that thing. Any guesses and presuppositions associated with usability testing should be tested on the users. On real users!
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