The Usability Testing of Mobile Application - Report Example

The usability testing of mobile application Student’s Name Course: Instructor Institution Submission Date Introduction The idea of usability testing for the mobile applications is very important because it enables launching of quality application into the market. The process of usability testing is always carried out to ensure smooth running of the application. In addition, it helps the designers to understand the practical use of the application by identifying their errors during the usability testing process. The mobile application designed in the University of Murdoch was a good idea of facilitating the learning process of the firs rear students in the University. Through the mobile application, they will be able to access their GPS, lecture rooms, reminding them of their assignment, and facilitate their movement in the University premises. Therefore, the usability testing of the mobile application will be carried out among the first year students to identify its effectiveness. After all the design and building work, when the application was ready there was need to carry the testing to identify the compatibility of the application with its intended purpose. In most cases various devices render differently depending on their applications. The fact that mobile devices have different formats and limitations, the process of usability test was necessary to identify whether it could effectively help the first year students to access library resources, GPS, and get reminded about their assignments. During the testing process, five participants among the first year students were used to carry out different usability test for the mobile application. Some of the usability test conducted includes multiple device testing, alignment and fitment, UL look and feel, adaptability and device usability. Through the effective cooperation and participation of students, the usability test was successful and managed to attain its objectives. The purpose of usability testing The purpose of usability testing was mainly to find and identify the compatibility of the mobile application to various devices that will be used by first year students. Due to difference in formats among the devices, there was need to usability testing. Different phone devices have different screen layout, a factor that may cause a problem during the use of mobile application. In addition, some errors or design issues were to be identified because during the design many problems were encountered. The test also needed to find the user flow while using the mobile application to access resources in the University. Therefore, the purpose of the usability test was to get the feedback of students concerning the effectiveness of the mobile application in their mobile devices. This information was important for the design of the mobile application because it identifies errors and creates opportunity for adjusting and enhancing the performance of the application. The design team had some questions that were to guide them during the usability testing process. The guideline provided by the questions enhanced the quality of the test because the design managed to effectively carry out the test and got the feedback that will help improve the performance of the mobile application. Most importantly, the test was to identify the flow of the user while using the application in her or his phone device. Secondly, the test intended to identify the compatibility of the application with the format installed in different mobile phones of the first year students. Thirdly, the test needed to know or observe whether the application will be helpful to the students, hence achieving its design purpose. Finally, the test wanted to find out whether first year students have the knowledge required to facilitate and enable them operate the mobile application effectively. Indeed the questions structured by the design team were good to facilitate the attainment of the test objective. Pathways of usability testing UI Look and feel The test of feel and look or appearance of the mobile application in different devices needed to be verified during the usability test. This was necessary because GUI changes depending on the device or handsets that are being used by the students. In addition, the differences in methods of input were another major factor in the test. For example, due to variety of mobile phone devices, some methods such as keypads touch screen or both touch screen and keypads can be used to inter inputs. Most of the mobile phones with keypads input methods have different browsers compared to those mobile phones with touch screen method of input. Therefore, due to these differences the students were expected to respond differently depending on the kind of mobile phones they were using. For the case of hybrid and native applications, the UI was tested for the different screen sizes that were available. This test reveals what the students feels and thought about the appearance of the mobile application depending on the kind of mobile phone they were using. Fitment and alignment testing The test of fitment and alignment was done with respect to different types of devices available, different screen sizes, different operating system and browsers used by the first year students. On the other hand, the accessibility of the library resources, GPS, assignment reminder, and movement in the University needed to be identified while using peripheral or accessories. This test enabled the design team to verify the response and behavior of the application when using the keypad phones and touch screen phones. The verification process was important because the design team had to ensure that all the icons, input boxes and labels are in the required places. Multiple device testing It is always recommended for the mobile application to be tested in multiple browsers or platforms and multiple devices. Some of the platforms and devices where testing was can be easily done nowadays include webs, Blackberry, iOS, Android and many others. The test had quirks and limitations present for the participants to use the firmware and hardware to give effective responses. Although the process of testing the mobile application in different devices is expensive, the usability testing must be carried out to get efficient and reliable feedback from the students. When handling the handsets, many challenges are encountered because it has a limited storage and processing power that can allow software on-board diagnostic process. Moreover, it becomes impossible recording the protocols inside the handset devices. Most importantly, the adaptability of the mobile application to various phone devices was to be identified while carrying out the test using the different phones of first year students. Despite the many research and design iteration, the mobile application must have missed some ideas or something that was critical for its functioning. This means that some unknown design issues may be in a designed application, which cannot be identified unless the usability test is carried out. During the testing, the internal design review and self-critique provide a high level of evaluation due to familiarity of the mobile application. Based on the usability testing carried out by the mobile application designers, due to the cooperation of participants and their effective communication, the team managed to get enough feedback that helped them realize some errors they have committed during the design stage. On the other hand, realized some of the factors they will incorporate to improve the general performance of the mobile application. Therefore, it was evidenced that the mobile application had the powers to facilitate and enhance the learning process of first year student in the University. In a situation where the client or customer is resistant to the designed mobile application, the platform of usability testing provides an opportunity for the design to prove the effectiveness of the design. Moreover, it gives them a chance to demonstrate to stakeholders and clients about the design and unique features that facilitate effective performance. This approach can only be used in a situation where some external forces like politics and others are interfering with the project. For example, some of the University council members or political leaders may be against the idea of launching the mobile application in the University. Methods used The design them had planned to use various pathways during the usability testing process depending on the kind of respondents they will meet in the field. One of the methods the design team used was traditional usability testing, where the user is observed while using the mobile application until he or she is complete with a certain specific tasks. In this method, the participant is always encouraged to be loud in her or his thinking to facilitate the understanding of the researcher. This method is best and suitable for the test because it helps the researcher to directly observe the errors that associated with the design of the mobile application. In addition, the students also get an opportunity of inquiring or asking some application or steps that they don’t understand. From the research that was carried out, about 60 percent of the respondents preferred this method because it was suitable and effective for the. On the other hand, it provided more information to users because students were more interactive to the researcher and the mobile application. The method of rite was another path way used during the usability testing to gather information concerning the mobile application design. This method was designed by researchers at Microsoft to facilitate evaluation and rapid iterative testing. Although it is similar to traditional method, the rite method emphasizes more on verification and rapid changes. This path is considered to the best because it encourages improving the mobile application after each participant makes her or his responses. The method of rite has rules that help in handling issues because every issue takes different amount of time when dealing with it. This way, all issue at the end of usability testing gets enough time and effective attention, hence addressing errors effectively. For example, those issues that seems to be obvious takes less time when handling them, a factor that creates time for more complicated problems. For example some issue like rewording overlay text, relabeling buttons, and text changes need less time. The analysis of the usability test enhances the performance of the designers through the understanding of the mobile application and making necessary changes that will improve user flow and adaptability. For those issue that appear to be involving by taking an obvious cause requires more time because new features need to be introduced and substantial changes in codification. Most of the mobile applications require the usability test that analyzes the context of the mobile application. When the mobile application is analyzed effectively, it is more likely to change or affect the usage of the application. According to the research conducted, the best way of testing application usability is doing it in the field. For example, the mobile application in Murdoch University was conducted among the first year students who are the potential or prospect users of the application. Based on the research study, the best decision in the design work is made when effective approaches or methods have been used to perform the usability test. However, the method or path way used also depend on some factors such as the interaction of the application with the environment, the kind of respondents expected, and many other factors. Summary of usability test analysis After the design and build of the mobile application prototype, the researchers need to select the appropriate respondents who are the targeted user of the application. For example, for the case of a mobile application in Murdoch University the targeted users are first year students who are likely to encounter challenges in their first days in the University. Therefore, the mobile application was designed to make it easy for them to learn. Next, the researchers need to plan and organize the necessary materials for the testing process. For instance, some research questions need to be formulated to guide the process of usability testing in the field. Before starting the usability testing, it is important for the research team to do introduction for the respondents to understand the process and their role in the usability test. The research team will therefore introduce themselves and stating their mission in the field. After describing their operation mission, they need to explain and make the respondents understand the use of the mobile application and how to use it or operate using the mobile phone. Next, the research team will conduct short interview questions that will cover web and application usage, which are not necessarily in the test. The platform gives the researcher an opportunity of understanding the participant and knows knowledge concerning mobile application and web. This action is necessary because it helps the researcher to know some of the approaches and pathways he or she will use to carry out the usability testing process. The researcher should engage all the participants to be able to understand them, a factor that will facilitate the testing process. When conducting the usability test, the researcher is required to use the scrip beforehand to test the compatibility, adaptability, the flow of the mobile application and other factors depending of the objective purpose of the usability test. The researcher is allowed to make refinement of the scrip depending on the kind of respondent he or she encountered. During the usability testing process, the researcher is required to listen, observe, watch and take necessary notes that will facilitate adjustment and modification of the mobile application. On the other hand, if the researcher wants to record the session, he can do so while internalizing on the feedback of the respondent. For the testing process to be reliable and effective, the researcher needs to remind the participant to be verbal while responding to research questions. It is important for the researcher to be neutral during the research process and only participate by acknowledging without leading the process. In addition, he or she can use facial expression to acknowledge like nodding or smiling because this ensures that the information and results obtained are accurate and reliable. On the other hand, he or she needs to watch the body language because it is able to communicate effectively without uttering words. The understanding of the participant’s feedback back is important because a researcher is expected to paraphrase it and later respond to the person. Therefore, when the research process or the usability testing is carried out in an effective way, the feedback of the respondents will give and generate ideas that will help in improving the performance of the mobile application. In addition, the reliable and accurate information obtained during the usability test helps in identify errors that were made during the design stage, hence making necessary changes and adjustment that will help the application to serve the first year students well. Through the research questions, the participant will facilitate the testing process by indicating what she or he went through during the testing and based on the reaction, the research will be able to know whether she was satisfied with the mobile application or not. Further, some research questions like “would you use the application?” will help the research team know and predict the performance of the application in the University environment. Recommendation Based on the performance of the research study, I recommend the research team to prepare for the usability test effectively, a factor that will generate more ideas and identify errors made during the design stage. In addition, they need to encourage the participant to be loud in their thinking to facilitate the understanding of the researcher. Moreover, the research team need to use the best path ways or methods that facilitate and ensure effective collection of information from the participants. The method that engages the entire participant during the testing process is the best method and most suitable for the test because it helps the researcher to directly observe the errors that associated with the design of the mobile application. When the usability testing process is carried effectively, it enables the research team to produce the quality application in the University to solve the problems that they are likely to face when joining. Thus, when best approaches and methods of usability test are used, they give the students an opportunity of inquiring or asking some application or steps that they don’t understand, hence improving the effectiveness of the test. Summary of testing paths The research team had used various testing path way in the testing process such as the rite method where adjustment are made to the application after every participant’s feedback. The traditional method entail maximum engagement with the participant to maximize on the information received from him or her. Another method entails use of script to facilitate the testing process by referring to the research questions. Finally, the usability testing process may use its own browser and devices to test the usability of the application. The mobile application can be tested using various pathways such as multiple devices, adaptability and usability, UI look and feel, and fitment and alignment testing. For multiple device testing, different and multiple browsers or platforms and multiple devices are used in the testing process. Some of the platforms and devices where testing was can be easily done nowadays include webs, Blackberry, Android and many others. For the test of feel and look or appearance of the mobile application, different devices needed to be verified during the usability test. On the other hand, the test of fitment and alignment is done with respect to different types of devices available, different screen sizes, different operating system and browsers. Finally, the adaptability pathway entails flexibility of the application with different devices used during the test. Read More