Usability Testing Training
A key element of healthy design cultures is gathering robust feedback from end users & customers throughout product development. Usability testing is one solid testing procedure that gives deep and repeatable insights that have stopped many bad design ideas from reaching the marketplace. Learn to apply this in your organisation.
What You Will Learn
In this course, participants will gain up-to-date knowledge and skills to:
- Create an effective test plan
- Identify and recruit appropriate user test participants
- Facilitate test sessions
- Analyze test data
- Make pragmatic design recommendations to improve the designs that you test
Hands-on exercises will be used and participants will practice how to conduct a usability test.
Advanced Usability Testing Course Outline
Introduction
- Why test for usability?
- Research methods: from ethnographic research to product analytics
- Types of usability testing: moderated lab, remote testing, retrospective testing, automated testing
- Fitting usability testing into the design process
Preparing Usability Testing Sessions
- Recruiting participants
- Writing a test plan
- Identifying test tasks and scenarios
- Usability testing with paper prototypes, early mock-ups
- Formative versus summative testing
- Usability testing with early production prototypes, hardware products, websites, web applications and GUI applications
Conducting Test Sessions
- Facilitating test sessions: skills and techniques
- Capture test session data: observations, rating scales, screen captures, mouse and keystroke analysis
- Remote usability testing versus lab-based testing
- Retrospective testing versus automated testing
Analysis & Reporting
- Analyzing the data: business metrics and statistical analysis
- Turning testing results into design recommendations
- Usability standards: the ANSI CIF Standard for reporting usability testing projects
Course duration
2 days, 9:00am – 4:30pm full day sessions with a one-hour lunch break.
Who should attend
Business analysts, market research analysts, web designers, GUI designers, interaction designers, user experience designers, graphic designers, visual designers, product designers.
Who participated in our courses
Autodesk, Microsoft, Foresters, Ecobee, Rogers, Sage, WorkSafeBC, Ontario Securities Commission, Industry Canada, Ryerson University, Human Resources & Skills Development Canada, Service Canada, Canada Post, Export Development Canada, Conference Board of Canada, and others.
Course fee
$1190/person
(ask us about reduced rates for three or more participants from the same organization).
Email us at training@akendi.com to confirm dates.
Cancellation Policy
Training cost is per person as stated with a minimum 4 participants per course. Akendi reserves the right to cancel a scheduled training session up to 5 business days prior to the training if a minimum class size of 4 participants has not been attained. Akendi is not responsible for any travel or other costs incurred as result of a cancellation.
Cancellation fee is 15% if you cancel more than 4 weeks prior to training start date. We provide a 50% refund between 4 and 2 weeks before a course. No refunds when cancelling within 2 weeks of course start date.
Instructors
Cindy Beggs brings a passion for understanding user needs and having those reflected in product and service excellence to Akendi. With 23 years of experience, underpinned by an honours degree in Psychology and Masters in Library Science, Cindy brings both a theoretical and practical understanding to the design and execution of user research and analysis.
Along with her expertise in library and information science, Cindy has conducted usability testing and applied the methods of user centered design to persona development, needs assessment and the articulation of business strategy and user goals.
A lifelong learner herself, Cindy has taught Akendi training courses, library programming and promotions at Seneca College, Toronto, facilitated focus groups and created training modules on electronic and web based information products.
Dominira Saul believes that behind every well-designed product or service there is a thorough understanding of the actual users and their needs.
Having presented many influential research and design outcomes to clients at all levels of the private and public sector Dominira is very adept at putting his belief into practice. Dom remains focused on ensuring clear transfer of design recommendations and most 
importantly, rationale to our clients. Dom is committed to working closely with clients to ensure their success.
Dominira is a fluently bilingual communicator who has lectured at the university level, and delivered many usability training courses.
Dom has an MSc. in User Interface Design from London Guildhall University, a BA in Psychology from Carleton University and over 10 years of usability research and interaction design experience in the UK and Canada.
Let's Talk!
Please email Shaun Illingworth at training@akendi.com or 1.866.585.1660 x0 for questions and more information about our User Experience Training courses & UX Certification program.
