Deceptive Opinion on Usability Testing

by Nataliia Vasylyna | August 11, 2015 8:55 am

Sometimes employees of the software testing company are faced with incomprehensible, illogical applications, many functions and uses of which are often not obvious.

In order to make the application popular, it is not enough to implement functional testing[1] or user interface testing[2] – it needs to be user friendly too. The intuitive applications save the users’ nerves and the employer’s costs on training. And that means they are more competitive. Therefore, usability testing is an integral part of any testing of mass products.

Usability testing[3] is a testing method for establishing the degree of ease of use, learning, understandability and attractiveness to users of the product developed in the context of the specified conditions.

2 the Most Common Misconceptions Regarding to Usability Testing:

  1. Testing the user interface = Usability testing

Usability testing has nothing in common with testing the user interface functionality it is only performed on the user interface as well as many other possible components of the product. Herewith the type of testing and test cases will be very different, because speech can go about the convenience of using non-visual components (if there are any), or about the administrative process, such as a distributed client-server product, etc.

  1. Usability testing can be performed without the participation of the expert

Not always a person who is a novice in the software product testing, or a tester who is not versed in the subject area, is able to perform it by his own. Imagine that a tester wants to test the usability of a strategic bomber. He will have to check the basic functions: the convenience of warfare, navigation, piloting, maintenance, ground transportation, etc. It is clear that without the involvement of an expert it will be very difficult, and probably even impossible.

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Endnotes:
  1. functional testing: https://qatestlab.com/services/We-Are-Professionals-in/functional-testing/
  2. user interface testing: https://qatestlab.com/services/We-Are-Professionals-in/User-Interface-Testing/
  3. Usability testing: https://qatestlab.com/services/We-Are-Professionals-in/usability-testing/
  4. 10 Basic Usability Testing Principles: https://blog.qatestlab.com/2016/10/07/usability-testing-principles/
  5. How to Make Usability Testing More Effective?: https://blog.qatestlab.com/2016/09/15/usability-testing-effective/
  6. Usability of Web and Mobile Apps: Simple Principles to Go By: https://blog.qatestlab.com/2016/04/27/checking-usability-principles/

Source URL: https://blog.qatestlab.com/2015/08/11/deceptive-usability-testing/