I recently ran across this video again, and there is no clearer example of who you should really be thinking about when you are building a website or web-based software. Watch the video and we will catch-up after.

I know, right! Granted this is a Google Chrome advertisement, but it is a very real look at very real users. These people are not web designers, or developers. However, they are everyday people who use computers all the time and still have a hard time understanding the concept of a browser. When designing a product that is easy to use, you must make design decisions base on more of these types of users than any other kind. So keep these users in your mind, your heart, and keep this video around for inspiration in the future.

Now I need to find that big E to post this to the Internets through my AOL broadband…

As web power-users, things that often seem wildly obvious to us, can be just plain confusing to everyday users. Several years ago we made heavy use of Flash on a jewelry website redesign. We were quite careful to use Flash responsibly and created easy-to-see navigation on the page.

But after the site launched, we found that visitors thought they were looking at a dreaded Flash intro. Some even emailed the site owner asking where the “skip intro” button was. Inexplicably, very few people saw the rather large navigation buttons at the top of the page, which we so lovingly put in place.

Many got stuck.

Visitors fled.

Sales plummeted.

This behavior was the last thing we expected during design and development. But it was a valuable lesson learned: users rarely use a website or web application in the way we expect.

Usability testing for the cost of a pizza

That jewelry website lost a week of online sales before we fixed the problem with a simple, strategically placed “view jewelry” text link. I’ve always wondered how things would have gone had we employed some user testing before launching (or even building) the site.

What if we had simply ordered a pizza and had the pizza delivery boy browse the site? Maybe we would have seen the problem then.

What if we had invited our office neighbors over to devour the remaining slices? Maybe they would have uncovered this issue while trying to place an order.

Had we done either, we may have avoided a big headache for us, the jewelry website’s owners, and its users.

Here’s the take-away: if you have any say over your company’s next web project, be sure to do some usability testing before it’s released into the wild.

Some guidelines for home-grown user testing:

• Recruit a handful of coworkers, parents, spouses, neighbors, or anyone willing to help to be your test subjects.
• Assure each participant that they are not being tested; they are helping you test the website and make it better.
• Observe each participant individually as they complete various website tasks.
• Bite your tongue and keep to yourself inner monologue thoughts like “Click the BIG BUTTON…IT’S RIGHT THERE…HOW CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT??”
• Note the tasks that were completed with ease as well as those that were confusing and need rethinking.
• Refrain from beating yourself up over the things that are now obvious that a few moments ago were not.
• Rinse and repeat.

This is guerilla-style, but you will be surprised at the insight gleaned by watching someone with a fresh set of eyes wade through your website or your web application. Better to have test subjects find the flaws than would-be paying customers!

Are you about to take on a big website redesign? How about rebuilding that clunky-but-critical software application? Before you dive in, remember that the final arbiter of quality is not you, it’s your users. Here are a few steps to better understanding their needs and behaviors before you spend any precious programming dollars:

Do your user research

Start with any quantitative data, such as analytics, that you already have to see what your users are (or aren’t) doing. For additional insight, you can user-test the current site or software to see firsthand what delights and what frustrates your users. Talk with colleagues in sales or customer service to learn current and persistent user issues. Even if this research data already exists in a report somewhere, make the time to talk. The empathy engendered from an actual conversation with people “in the trenches” will naturally equip you to make more user-centered design and development decisions.

Build a prototype

Actually, make that “prototypes” (plural)— no one creates a perfect prototype on the first try. But that’s the idea: to fail as quickly, as cheaply, and as often as possible knowing that each iteration gets you closer to a solution worth building. Certainly you can build effective prototypes with HTML or Flash, but Acrobat, Powerpoint, and even paper and pencil are still excellent tools to get your ideas into a tangible format. In doing so, you can better communicate, evaluate, and test your ideas. Speaking of testing…

User testing

When some think of user testing, they imagine white lab coats and clipboards. Unfortunately, many also imagine delays and extra expenses. When forced to choose between this and no user testing at all, most choose the later. For shame! On smaller projects or those with a wicked-tight deadline, take the guerilla approach: find 6 to 10 coworkers, parents, spouses, neighbors (whoever is willing to help) and observe them individually as they complete one or two of the most important tasks on your prototype. This won’t give you all of the insight or fancy reports that formal usability testing provides, but testing even just one person is 100% better than testing no one. The results might surprise or even frustrate you, but better to know these things now than after the project is otherwise done.

The right design

It’s true that we human beings like shiny, pretty things. In technology, nicely designed interfaces are perceived as easier to use than non-designed ones. This doesn’t mean your project should be a beauty contest, however. For example, imagine if Google’s screen design utilized rich imagery and elaborate screen transitions. While this might be appealing in another setting, it would be a complete nuisance on a search screen. For Google, and indeed many others, the most “beautiful” screen design is often the simplest.

It’s worth it

We know very well the pressures on a new project to quickly “get to work” building something. It’s unfortunate when steps like user research, prototyping, and user testing are the first things to go when budgets and timelines tighten. The irony is that these will often save time and money in the long run, and ultimately keep you from unwittingly rebuilding a merely better-looking version of what doesn’t work.