Usability Testing Toolkit

Testing in the office to get quick usability feedback from colleagues. If you’re in the early stages of designing your materials, this approach is a fast way to get a second opinion.

Of the 5 approaches, it requires the least time and resources and usually works best in the early stages of designing new materials or updating old ones. It’s also good exercise if you’re new to usability testing.

Who to test with

Bring together 2-4 colleagues – but make sure they’re people who know nothing about the material you’re testing. Although your colleagues need not represent your target audience, you can ask them to use personas to think about a user’s perspective.

If you’d like some tips on how to use personas, check out this article about different ways to approach a form.

What you’ll need

• A moderator
• A rough draft (even a sketch) of the new material you’re developing
• Test materials (see above)

Where to do it

Since it’s informal, you can do this test at your desk, a participant’s desk, or in a conference room.

How to do it

1. Recruiting – Walk down the hall or to the next department to find someone who’s not familiar with the material. Ask the person if they have 15 minutes to spare to do a quick review of the material with you.
2. Setting up – If they agree, find a quiet spot to conduct the test. Take out your moderator’s guide as well as the materials to be tested. Using just a notepad or the note taking guide provided, jot down observations and comments.
3. Testing – Hand them the sketch or draft design and ask them to use it as a typical user might. Pay attention as they work their way through the material, jotting down any usability issues that come to the surface during the testing.
4. After the test – Thank them for their time. Then, begin the usability test. Pay attention as each participant works their way through the material. Observe their behavior and make note of their comments as they go. When they’re finished, ask them to tell you 2 good things about the materials and 2 things that could be improved.  End by recording any demographics or information about their voting experience.
5. Reporting – There’s no need to formalize your findings; just use your rough notes on usability issues to revise the materials or start developing a prototype.

Use this approach if you’re looking for quick input on prototypes that people can try out. This test is more structured than testing in the office, but it’s quicker and easier than the testing in the conference room approach.

Who to test with

Your participants should come from the public, so they’re more like your real users (than your colleagues usually are). For example, if you’re testing something for voters, you can ask people if they’re registered to vote and go from there.

Depending on the time you have available for each session, you can work with anywhere between 4 and 8 participants for this test. You don’t need to pay your participants, but you might consider giving a small token of appreciation — like a promotional item provided by your election office.

What you’ll need

• A moderator
• A prototype/early version of the new material you’re developing
• Name badges
• Test materials (see above)

Where to do it

The idea for this test is to leave your office and go to a public place. That might be the foyer in your municipal or county building, a public library, or a community center.

If you have some flexibility with location, find a place where you’re likely to find people who are like your real users.

How to do it

1. Setting up – Set up a table at the location. Be sure to use signs and badges to tell people what you’re doing (“Help us improve our election materials!”).
2. Recruiting – Wearing your badge and a smile, walk up to someone and ask if they could give you a few minutes to help voters in the community. Ideally, you want to find participants who would typically use the materials you’re testing.
3. Testing – When they’ve agreed to help you out, have each participant complete the consent form. Then, begin the usability test. Pay attention as each participant works their way through the material. Observe their behavior and make note of their comments as they go. When they’re finished, ask them to tell you 2 good things about the materials and 2 things that could be improved.
4. After the test – Review your notes and make sure you haven’t missed anything you wanted to observe or follow up on. Thank your participant for their time and give them a copy of the “thank you” card.
5. Reporting – Depending on your situation, you can use your findings to compile a short report or simply use your notes to iterate your design further.

Use this approach if you want to conduct a more structured test with participants who are your actual users — not just colleagues or people on the street. A full usability test can happen at any stage in the process, from testing the original version, testing drafts, or testing the almost-final version. This approach may or may not result in a formal report.

Who to test with

For this test, select participants who represent the intended audience for the material being tested. Screen them through phone conversations and schedule their sessions.

You should test with at least 4 participants per user group who will interact with your materials (e.g., 4 regular voters, 4 new voters, etc.). Full usability tests can be conducted with anywhere between 8 and 100 participants. Most of these usability tests include 8-20 participants in individual sessions that last between 30 and 90 minutes.

Depending on your resources, you may choose to compensate participants for their time, especially if each test is a long session of 30 minutes or more.

What you’ll need

• A moderator
• A helper/note taker
• A complete copy of the material to be tested
• Name badges
• Test materials (see above)

In some instances, additional observers may also be included in the testing room. Or, you can use a webcam to have stakeholders observe from another room.

Where to do it

Find a quiet place for testing (like a conference room) that will allow you to have substantial, uninterrupted conversations with each participant. If your test includes observers, make sure there’s room for everyone. Alternatively, you can also schedule sessions in a usability lab (two rooms divided by a glass panel to keep participants and observers separate).

How to do it

1. Recruiting – Recruit your participants in advance. Schedule each session for between 30 and 45 minutes to give you enough time to conduct the test, jot down notes, and get ready for the next participant. We recommend having at least a half hour break between sessions.
2. Setting up – Get to your testing location early to set up. Using the test materials, you’ll have a number of different forms to keep track of. Having them laid out prior to testing will ensure a smooth session. Make sure to use the moderator’s guide and note taking guide provided so that questions and answers can be systematically recorded.
3. Testing – First, have each participant complete the consent form. You can have them fill out the demographic questionnaire before or after the test. Following your moderator’s guide, carefully observe how each participant interacts with the testing material as well as any comments/gestures they make during the process.
4. After the test – Thank them for their time and give them a copy of the “thank you” card on the way out.
5. Reporting – Using the report template provided, compile your results into a report, highlighting all stages of the usability test — i.e., participant data, testing locations, material tested, findings, and recommendations.

Use this approach to get feedback from people who can’t physically be in a room with the moderator and note taker. This approach limits participants to people who have technology to access a video call, but can be a good way to reach people in a wider geographical area or who might not come to an in-person test.

Who to test with

For this test, select participants who represent the intended audience for the material being tested. Screen them through phone conversations and schedule their sessions. Prior to the test, agree on the videoconferencing platform that can be accessed by all test participants.

You should test with at least four participants per user group who will interact with your materials (e.g., four immigration applicants, four travelers by plane, etc.). Since these users are remote, their sessions will be conducted individually. Full usability tests can be conducted with anywhere between eight and 100 participants. Most of these usability tests include 8-20 participants in individual sessions that last between 30 and 90 minutes. Most will be about an hour long.

Depending on your resources, you may choose to incentivize participation (e.g., stickers or other promotional items), especially if each test is a long session of 30 minutes or more.

What you’ll need

• A moderator
• A helper/note taker
• An email with the material to be tested provided through links or attachments
• Test materials (see above)
• A laptop with a web camera and microphone
• A reliable internet connection

Before the testing, ensure the following is provided to the remote participants:

• Calendar invitation with a link to the digital meeting room
• A reminder to test the link and ensure it is working prior to joining the session
• A reminder to join 10 minutes early to allow for video, audio, and internet connection troubleshooting

If you have additional people observing the test, be sure to go over their role, so they know what to expect. Ask them to keep their video and audio off so they are not distracting. You may also want them to identify themselves with their organization or role, rather than by name.

Where to do it

Find a quiet place for testing (like a conference room) that will allow you to have substantial, uninterrupted conversations with each participant. If your test includes observers, make sure there’s room for everyone.

How to do it

1. Recruiting – Recruit your participants in advance. Schedule each session for between 30 and 45 minutes to give you enough time to conduct the test, jot down notes, and get ready for the next participant. We recommend having at least a half-hour break between sessions.
2. Setting up – Get to your testing location early to set up. Using the test materials, you’ll have a number of different forms to keep track of. Having them laid out prior to testing will ensure a smooth session. Make sure to use the moderator’s guide and note taking guide provided so that questions and answers can be systematically recorded.
3. Testing – First, have each participant complete the consent form. You can have them fill out the demographic questionnaire before or after the test. Following your moderator’s guide, carefully observe how each participant interacts with the testing material as well as any comments/gestures they make during the process.
4. After the test – Thank them for their time and email them a copy of the “Thank You” card.
5. Reporting – Using the report template provided, compile your results into a report, highlighting all stages of the usability test (i.e., participant data, testing locations, material tested, findings, and recommendations).

A note on remote presenting for testing forms – It is best to display the material on your screen using the screen sharing function, pass control to the user, and then allow the user to digitally fill out the information through the screen sharing functionality.

Use this approach if you have an opportunity to get feedback during a public event where you demo elections systems for voter education or as part of a community review. Like the testing out of the office approach, it is another way to collect feedback from people. In this approach, you would be adding some structured usability questions to get more information after they have tried something out for themselves.

This is a way to be sure you learn about the usability of the materials from the people who come to the event. Your focus might be a specific system or you might also include voter information, instructions, or forms.

Who to test with

You will test with anyone who comes to the demo day. This is a good opportunity to invite people from different communities. You might ask local voting advocacy groups to urge “regular voters” to attend, so you get input from all kinds of voters.

What you’ll need

• One or more moderators
• Any systems and copies of other materials you are testing
• Clipboard for each moderator
• Test materials (see above)

Where to do it

You will work at the demonstration location. You will need an area outside of the traffic flow where you can talk to people after they try out the system or other election materials. 

• If you aren’t one of the organizers, get there early to look at the space and find a place to greet people and then talk to them that doesn’t disrupt.
• If you are able to help set up the space, you can build this in. Any alcove or a table that people see as they exit will work.

How to do it

1. Setting up – Check the space set up for the demonstrations and decide where you will approach people to ask them to talk to you and where you will work with them. Set up any table or chairs. Be sure to use signs and badges to tell people what you are doing. If there is a check-in table, you may want to have someone at that table (or a sign) that lets people know about the testing.
2. Recruiting – Wait until people have finished trying the system or other materials. Then, wearing your badge and a smile, walk up to someone and ask if they could give you a few minutes to give you feedback.
3. Testing – When they have agreed to participate, walk to the area where you will talk to them. Start by asking where they are from and why they came to the demo day, so you have some context for their feedback. Then begin the usability test. Use a copy or print-out of the election materials to help them explain what worked and what was confusing in any way when they tried the system out on their own, so they can point out details. You should have some specific questions about any aspect of the materials you want more feedback on. When they’re finished, ask them to tell you 2 good things about the materials and 2 things that could be improved.
4. After the test – Review your notes and make sure you haven’t missed anything you wanted to observe or follow up on. End by recording any demographics or information about their voting experience. Thank your participant for their time and give them a copy of the “thank you” card.
5. Reporting – Depending on your situation, you can use your findings to compile a short report or simply share your notes with the team to use in improving the products.