How I tested a prototype of a new visual editor for MyOnlineStore
Organisation
MyOnlineStore B.V.
Project
Usability testing
Challenge
MyOnlineStore aimed to launch a new visual editor. The goal was to create an editor that was both powerful and accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. I created a prototype and was eager to test it with our customers.
My role
UX / UI Designer
Duration
1.5 months
I used paper prototyping to create a intuitive and user-friendly visual editor that allowed our users to easily create and customize their store.
To fully test the design I ran usability testing sessions with 18 customers.
I set-up a test lab in our office. The lab consisted of a computer (incl. mouse and keyboard), with two screens, a mic and a camera. On the right screen I provided instructions on what I wanted the participants to do in our prototype. On the center screen I had the prototype ready to go. I sent out an open invitation to join us at our office for user tests.
In total I conducted 12 user tests. The participants were welcomed at our office and were asked to follow the instructions for the test and to speak out loud what they were thinking. A camera and microphone recorded them along with a screen recording of their actions. Holding these sessions was a very fun experience. I was able to directly see what people were doing and thinking and there was room to ask for their motivations. This provided major insights into the pains and gains of the prototype.
The usability tests provided valuable insights into the pains and gains of the prototype. The overall consensus was that it was a very pleasant way of testing and it was nice to meet the creators of their mission critical software. The participants were overwhelmingly positive about the prototype but also gave us various insights to focus on. For example: Some of the icons or abstract images we used were not immediately clear to them. After running these successful sessions we were able to focus on removing these pain-points or smoothing the speedbumps for an overall massively improved user experience. And we met some great people along the way.
