UX Five-Second Rules (eBook)

Guidelines for User Experience Design's Simplest Testing Technique

Paul Doncaster (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF | EPUB

2014 | 1. Auflage
140 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-12-800661-0 (ISBN)

Infos

The five-second test is one of the most convenient rapid UX testing methods available, although its value can be compromised by ignoring the restrictions of the method. The Five-Second Rules uses detailed examples from a collection of more than 300 tests to describe the strengths and weaknesses of this rapid testing method. Readers will learn about the 'five-second rules' for getting useful data, and will explore what types of design issues can be resolved by using the method. A five-second test (also known as 'timeout test' and 'exposure test') involves displaying a visual or informational design for five seconds, removing it from view, then asking what aspects were recalled most easily or vividly. The goal is to understand what stands out most about a design or product, and the impact on the viewer's perception of it. - Describes the origins of the method and its usefulness in modern UX design research and testing - Conveys the need to structure tests carefully so that time, effort, and money are not wasted, and compiled data is not misleading - Fosters an appreciation for the method's outcomes and how they can contribute to the success or failure of a proposed design

Paul Doncaster graduated from Bentley University's Human Factors in Information Design master's degree program in 2007, and has since worked on highly-complex UX projects within the domains of course technology, legal and intellectual property. He has written and spoken on many UX topics, including designing for emotional response, online readability, and designing for tablet users in the legal domain.

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The five-second test is one of the most convenient rapid UX testing methods available, although its value can be compromised by ignoring the restrictions of the method. The Five-Second Rules uses detailed examples from a collection of more than 300 tests to describe the strengths and weaknesses of this rapid testing method. Readers will learn about the "e;five-second rules"e; for getting useful data, and will explore what types of design issues can be resolved by using the method. A five-second test (also known as "e;timeout test"e; and "e;exposure test"e;) involves displaying a visual or informational design for five seconds, removing it from view, then asking what aspects were recalled most easily or vividly. The goal is to understand what stands out most about a design or product, and the impact on the viewer's perception of it. - Describes the origins of the method and its usefulness in modern UX design research and testing- Conveys the need to structure tests carefully so that time, effort, and money are not wasted, and compiled data is not misleading- Fosters an appreciation for the method's outcomes and how they can contribute to the success or failure of a proposed design

Textauszug

Chapter 2

The UX Five-Second Rules

The five-second rules are a set of guidelines designed to assist researchers who wish to use the method to test their designs. They are written with an emphasis on the opportunities and limitations afforded by the providers of online tools but are also applicable for moderated test sessions. The guidelines address the viability of the method for specific types of research inquiries, as well as how to properly design, structure, and execute different test formats. Specific strategies are provided for creating the different test components, including the instructions given to participants, images that are shown, and questions that participants are asked to answer.

Keywords

Test format; guidelines; survey methods; writing; instructions; image optimization; writing questions; question order; open-ended feedback

This set of guidelines offers recommendations on how to effectively construct and conduct online five-second tests, using the tools currently available. They are intended to help the researcher:

• Determine when it is the correct method to use

• Design a test according to the type of data that needs to be collected

• Increase the likelihood of getting useful data sets

While all of the tools reviewed for this book accommodate the basic characteristics and components of the original method (see Chapter 1), each has its own unique set of features, technical capabilities, and limitations. The goal of these guidelines is to provide design research strategies that the researcher can implement regardless of which specific tool is chosen.

The Five-Second Rules

1. Don’t use a five-second test when a different research method will produce better results for you (Section 2.1).

2. Focus on the specific design aspect(s) you want to test and employ the appropriate test format (Section 2.2).

3. Don’t give participants any excuse to say “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember” (Section 2.3).

4. Devote time to crafting proper instructions (Section 2.4).

5. Optimize the test image so that scrolling is eliminated (Section 2.5).

6. There is no “magic number” for how many questions to ask, but fewer is usually better (Section 2.6).

7. Order the questions optimally (Section 2.7).

8. Pay careful attention to how the questions are worded (Section 2.8).

9. Ask the “most prominent element” question with discretion (Section 2.9).

10. Open-ended feedback requests carry a high risk of nonresponses and low-information answers (Section 2.10).

2.1 Proper Use of the Method

A classic advertising slogan stressed the importance of always having “the right tool for the right job.” UX and design researchers inherently understand the importance of this concept; while budget and resources will always loom large in decisions on research, generally speaking the method employed will depend on the goals of the researcher. Unfortunately, another old saying goes: “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” As noted in Chapter 1, in many cases, the five-second test has become a victim of its own perceived simplicity and relative cost-effectiveness. Whether it’s due to a lack of resources, laziness, or a misunderstanding of what the method is good for, many researchers are opting to use the five-second test as a quick-and-dirty substitute for other types of research that require either longer exposure times or formal interaction with an actual working system or prototype.

Chapter 1 also discussed the emphasis on the perceptual cues and the human capacities in short-term memory that are inherent in five-second tests. These limitations immediately disqualify the method as a means of testing many aspects of UX and visual design. In perhaps the most obvious example, positioning a five-second test around the usability of a page or web site is doomed from the start. Usability speaks to the ability to successfully complete tasks within the context of realistic scenarios; by definition, this requires some degree of meaningful interaction with a working site or a prototype. In a five-second test, a question such as “How would you get information about the highlighted product?” limits the user’s options to only what’s perceptible in a screenshot, when the task may in fact be easily completed after hovering over the highlighted product and initiating a contextual help box.

In short, five-second testing can test many things, but not everything. As a planning strategy, the rule of thumb should be obvious: The five-second test is the wrong choice for anything requiring more than five seconds’ worth of exposure in order to provide a meaningful answer. While application of this rule should be fairly straightforward, there are a number of instances in which appropriateness of the method should be called into question, and alternative approaches should be considered.

Reading Text

Always remember that five-second testing is designed to gauge what the viewer can perceive and recall within a very short amount of time. With a time restriction understood at the outset, the participant’s cognitive systems will instinctively race to take in as much of the overall design as possible—perceiving colors and sizes of elements, establishing visual patterns, filling the short-term memory with whatever small amounts of information can be retained—before the visual is taken away. When text is included within the context of an entire web page design, only the text which receives special formatting (extra large fonts, bold or italicized styling, complimentary use of white space, etc.) has a chance of being noticed in a span of 5 s. All other text will undoubtedly be ignored.

Consider the example of a test for the landing page for a skill-sharing service (Figure 2.1). The test instructions noted only that “This is a sign-up page for a new web application.” After posing three questions related to the service offered and the background image, the test asked: “Do you have any suggestions on the copy?” The “copy” in this case refers to 46 words in the middle of the page, promoting the service and explaining its general benefit. With all of the other elements competing for attention within the limited amount of exposure time, it is extremely unlikely that any respondent will have enough time to even notice this text, much less internalize, comprehend, and consider it fully enough to render a meaningful opinion (especially when memory capacity has been already been spent answering other questions).

Figure 2.1 Skill-sharing web site landing page.

Reading involves additional, higher level cognitive processes that are better tested by other methods that are not subject to a time limit. However, it could be argued that there are ways to ask about “copy” or “content” without requiring actual reading. Some tests have taken the approach of asking “Does this web site make you want to read on?” or “Would you like to read it further if you had the chance?” However, these questions imply a greater interest in the overall design of the site or page (i.e., “Is the design appealing enough to make you want to explore it further?”). Focusing on whether the “copy” is interesting or engaging would require some level of meaningful attention, which cannot be accomplished within a five-second test.

There is one viable use of the method in cases involving reading: the testing of slogans or taglines for marketing or public relations purposes. Short sentences or phrases of no more than 10–12 words can be read and internalized adequately within a five-second time frame, giving respondents ample opportunity to provide their interpretation of, opinion about, and/or reaction to them. This approach requires that the test be fairly precise in approach and execution. To illustrate, consider the case of a business wanting to test a slogan for a new product:

• The test instructions should specify that the participant will be required to read as part of the test: “You are about to view a slogan proposed for a specific business. Read it carefully in the time provided.” This sets the proper expectation and helps ensure that the participant is focused on the task.

• The test image containing the slogan should be removed entirely from the design context. Simple black text on a white background, in large letters and using a common font style like Helvetica or Times New Roman, will help ensure that the slogan is as easy to read as possible, and that the participant isn’t biased by a like or dislike of the font style or color.

• Questions should be limited to those measuring interpretation of, opinion about, or reaction to the slogan; for example: “What type of product or service comes to mind when you see this slogan?,” “How catchy would you say the slogan is?,” or “What does the slogan mean to you?” To test whether the slogan is memorable, you could also ask respondents to recreate the slogan as best they can. (This approach is most effective when the question is...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 21.3.2014
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Informatik ► Software Entwicklung ► User Interfaces (HCI)
• ISBN-10: 0-12-800661-7 / 0128006617
• ISBN-13: 978-0-12-800661-0 / 9780128006610