Usability testing

Usability testing is a tool for learning where people interacting with a design – such as a ballot – encounter frustration, and translating what you see and hear to make a better design that will eliminate those frustrations.

At its essence, usability testing is a simple technique: Watch and listen to people who are like your voters as they use a design as they normally would. And then use those insights to improve your design.

It helps us:

  • learn about our users 
  • observe where users struggle in a task
  • learn what works and what doesn’t in our design
  • make a better design that meets users’ needs
  • make quick decisions

Testing can be done at many points in the design process including:

  • Before you start redesigning something 
  • While you’re still working on a draft
  • When a significant event happens that may cause changes or require staff or volunteers to be retrained
  • When something about the voting situation has changed since the last election

When you conduct a usability test, you’re looking for both what worked (successes) and what didn’t work (failures). 

For example:

  • Any errors or mistakes – even if the participant corrects them
  • Failure to complete or submit
  • Places where the participant didn’t follow instructions
  • Any signs that the participant doesn’t understand the information or actions needed
  • Any errors specific to the material being tested

Getting started with usability testing

Additional things to consider when usability testing

Examples of how CCD does usability testing