Post by lizaseo11 on Nov 9, 2024 4:51:42 GMT
When working on a design or a new product feature, there comes a time when you need to show the solution to the audience. This is necessary to make sure that users perceive the design as you intended. To do this, you do not necessarily have to engage in full-fledged development and release a ready-made solution. You can even do without an MVP (minimum version of the product). It is enough to “go out into the hallway” and conduct a short test.
What is corridor testing?
Hallway testing is a quick way to check how user-friendly and understandable the interface is on the first people you meet.
This type of testing has several advantages:
speed - one interview will take up to 15 minutes;
no need to waste resources on development - you will receive feedback and identify problems before release;
there is no need to prepare and develop additional questionnaires;
no need to search for respondents for a long time - for the purity of the results, anyone who does not use the product will do. 5-15 people are enough.
When to Use Corridor Testing
Hallway ux testing will help when you need:
see user behavior and find the interface barriers they encounter;
check the usability and understanding of the interface;
quickly test a scenario or check a small hypothesis.
Corridor testing is not suitable when:
the purpose of testing is to find out which version of the title or button color is better. In this case, an A/B test would be more effective;
need to test a large and complex scenario.
How to Prepare for Hallway Testing
Create a mockup or prototype
You will conduct testing on it.
Formulate a scenario
A scenario is a path that a user takes to shopify website design
achieve a result. At each stage, he may encounter barriers that the researcher needs to find.
If a business has introduced a new type of loan or updated a product page, the scenario will be the steps from entering the site to selecting this product and the user's application.
It will help the respondent to immerse himself in the context. Without a legend, he may not understand what to do and start fantasizing. In this case, the research results will not be accurate.
The legend might be: "Imagine that you have a small business and you need a loan to renovate a warehouse. You go to the site to find a suitable loan."
Prepare questions
They should be open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no.
How to write questions for corridor testing. Example
Find respondents
The advantage of corridor research is that it is not necessary to look for a target audience. Respondents can be colleagues from neighboring departments, friends or relatives. They can easily find problems that real users of the product may face.
How to conduct a corridor test
How to Conduct a Corridor Test. Example
Tell the legend
And immerse the person in the context so that he understands what he needs to do and what problem to solve.
Voice the timing
A short hallway test ideally takes up to 15 minutes. Strict timing is needed so that the hallway does not turn into a long interview.
Show a mockup or prototype
There may be two options here:
the respondent goes through the scenario himself;
The interviewer shows the screen and presses where the respondent says.
Ask questions
Depending on the task, they can be set immediately or for individual parts of the script.
Ask the respondent to think out loud. This will help you understand what he pays attention to, what makes him think. If the person is silent, then a good plan is to ask him questions: "What do you see in front of you?", "What do you want to do by pressing this button?"
Don't prompt. Don't tell where to look, what to pay attention to, and don't ask leading questions like, "Is it clear that I need to click 'Checkout'?"
Don't answer questions. If the respondent has a question at some point, try not to explain how the product works. Just ask what they expected to see and make a note of it.
During the interview, you want to find out as many details as possible about the respondent's expectations and wishes. Questions like "What would you change on the page?" or "Would it be clearer to you if we removed this information?" can provoke fantasies and answers that, in his opinion, are expected of him. Try to find out what problems the respondent wants to solve with the features he talked about.
It is a mistake to defend the solution and product if the respondent starts to speak unflatteringly about it during the corridor research. Try to accept criticism as a way to improve the product, not as an attack.
Record the test being performed
Audio recordings and notes will not convey user behavior that is important to keep in mind. So a good plan is to turn on a camera or screen recording. Another option is to conduct hallway testing with a colleague who can monitor the respondent's nonverbal reactions.
Analyze the results
Don't rush to conclusions after the first corridor. Researcher Jakob Nielsen found that 5 respondents are enough to detect about 85% of interface problems.
If 5 out of 5 respondents make mistakes and encounter problems, it is a reason to improve the interface and conduct a new study. Without it, it will be difficult to know how understandable the new version is.
Corridor testing is a way to quickly find out how clear the solution has been. To conduct it, you need to: formulate a scenario, come up with a legend, prepare questions and find respondents. It is important to remember that this is a simple research method, during which users can talk about problems that lie on the surface. Sometimes this may not be enough and more complex research will be required.
Discuss the project
What is corridor testing?
Hallway testing is a quick way to check how user-friendly and understandable the interface is on the first people you meet.
This type of testing has several advantages:
speed - one interview will take up to 15 minutes;
no need to waste resources on development - you will receive feedback and identify problems before release;
there is no need to prepare and develop additional questionnaires;
no need to search for respondents for a long time - for the purity of the results, anyone who does not use the product will do. 5-15 people are enough.
When to Use Corridor Testing
Hallway ux testing will help when you need:
see user behavior and find the interface barriers they encounter;
check the usability and understanding of the interface;
quickly test a scenario or check a small hypothesis.
Corridor testing is not suitable when:
the purpose of testing is to find out which version of the title or button color is better. In this case, an A/B test would be more effective;
need to test a large and complex scenario.
How to Prepare for Hallway Testing
Create a mockup or prototype
You will conduct testing on it.
Formulate a scenario
A scenario is a path that a user takes to shopify website design
achieve a result. At each stage, he may encounter barriers that the researcher needs to find.
If a business has introduced a new type of loan or updated a product page, the scenario will be the steps from entering the site to selecting this product and the user's application.
It will help the respondent to immerse himself in the context. Without a legend, he may not understand what to do and start fantasizing. In this case, the research results will not be accurate.
The legend might be: "Imagine that you have a small business and you need a loan to renovate a warehouse. You go to the site to find a suitable loan."
Prepare questions
They should be open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no.
How to write questions for corridor testing. Example
Find respondents
The advantage of corridor research is that it is not necessary to look for a target audience. Respondents can be colleagues from neighboring departments, friends or relatives. They can easily find problems that real users of the product may face.
How to conduct a corridor test
How to Conduct a Corridor Test. Example
Tell the legend
And immerse the person in the context so that he understands what he needs to do and what problem to solve.
Voice the timing
A short hallway test ideally takes up to 15 minutes. Strict timing is needed so that the hallway does not turn into a long interview.
Show a mockup or prototype
There may be two options here:
the respondent goes through the scenario himself;
The interviewer shows the screen and presses where the respondent says.
Ask questions
Depending on the task, they can be set immediately or for individual parts of the script.
Ask the respondent to think out loud. This will help you understand what he pays attention to, what makes him think. If the person is silent, then a good plan is to ask him questions: "What do you see in front of you?", "What do you want to do by pressing this button?"
Don't prompt. Don't tell where to look, what to pay attention to, and don't ask leading questions like, "Is it clear that I need to click 'Checkout'?"
Don't answer questions. If the respondent has a question at some point, try not to explain how the product works. Just ask what they expected to see and make a note of it.
During the interview, you want to find out as many details as possible about the respondent's expectations and wishes. Questions like "What would you change on the page?" or "Would it be clearer to you if we removed this information?" can provoke fantasies and answers that, in his opinion, are expected of him. Try to find out what problems the respondent wants to solve with the features he talked about.
It is a mistake to defend the solution and product if the respondent starts to speak unflatteringly about it during the corridor research. Try to accept criticism as a way to improve the product, not as an attack.
Record the test being performed
Audio recordings and notes will not convey user behavior that is important to keep in mind. So a good plan is to turn on a camera or screen recording. Another option is to conduct hallway testing with a colleague who can monitor the respondent's nonverbal reactions.
Analyze the results
Don't rush to conclusions after the first corridor. Researcher Jakob Nielsen found that 5 respondents are enough to detect about 85% of interface problems.
If 5 out of 5 respondents make mistakes and encounter problems, it is a reason to improve the interface and conduct a new study. Without it, it will be difficult to know how understandable the new version is.
Corridor testing is a way to quickly find out how clear the solution has been. To conduct it, you need to: formulate a scenario, come up with a legend, prepare questions and find respondents. It is important to remember that this is a simple research method, during which users can talk about problems that lie on the surface. Sometimes this may not be enough and more complex research will be required.
Discuss the project
