Learn how to start a usability program at your organization, through a process that multiplies your current resources and can cost you little or nothing.

1. Get Your Train On:
Building Your UX Team Through
Practical Usability Testing
GSA First Fridays Usability Program
Jonathan Rubin
Angela Hooker
October 2012

2. Hi!
Jonathan Rubin
@jonathan_rubin
Angela Hooker
@AccessForAll
2

3. (Photograph of a desert)
3

4. Usability tests
+
Usability
education
=
More trained
UX staff!
4

5. In this 30 minutes
1. What is First Fridays?
2. How to create an educational
program
3. Stories from “graduates”
5

6. 1. What is First Fridays?
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7.  Education
 Demonstration Tests
 Awareness
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8. Best: Two rooms to test
Observation room Testing room
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9. First Fridays “discount” testing
8:30 – 11:30 AM = 3 testers, 1 hour
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10. First Fridays “discount” testing
8:30 – 11:30 AM = 3 testers, 1 hour
11:30 – Noon = Lunch and accessibility
10

11. First Fridays “discount” testing
8:30 – 11:30 AM = 3 testers, 1 hour
11:30 – Noon = Lunch and accessibility
Noon – 12:45 PM = Collect problems
11

12. First Fridays “discount” testing
8:30 – 11:30 AM = 3 testers, 1 hour
11:30 – Noon = Lunch and accessibility
Noon – 12:45 PM = Collect problems
12:45 – 1:30 PM = Offer solutions
12

13. First Fridays “discount” testing
8:30 – 11:30 AM = 3 testers, 1 hour
11:30 – Noon = Lunch and accessibility
Noon – 12:45 PM = Collect problems
12:45 – 1:30 PM = Offer solutions
1:30 PM = Adjourn
13

14. First Fridays “discount” testing
 DOT  State
 Interior  FCC
 IRS  USAJobs
 Army  Census
 NASA  NSF
 OMB  And 35 others
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15. Free @ HowTo.gov/firstfridays
 Usability testing  Project
scripts management
 Email templates  Before and after
 Best practices screenshots
 Final report  Videos
examples  Etc.
15

16. Hallway test
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17. Teach ‘em to fish …
17

18. In this 30 minutes
1. What is First Fridays?
2. How to create an educational
program
18

19. Behind the curtain
19

20. Team sport
20

21. Each test is
a training
opportunity
21

22. Matrixed approach to staffing
 Part-time
volunteers!
 Borrow from other
departments
 You are “providing
skill building
opportunities”
 Flexible needs: 1
-20 hours a month
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23. Many roles to choose from
• Observe
• Room Manager
• Greeter
• Data Collector
• Backup
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24. Grow your
own facilitator
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25. Get it: Rocket Surgery Made Easy
 Commit to monthly
product testing
 Same time each
month
 More observers +
more testing =
more buy-in
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26. 4-step process
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27. Make a big deal
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28. Make a syllabus for trainees
1. Summary
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29. Make a syllabus for trainees
1. Summary
2. Cost + duration
29

30. Make a syllabus for trainees
1. Summary
2. Cost + duration
3. Program goals
30

31. Make a syllabus for trainees
1. Summary
2. Cost + duration
3. Program goals
4. Schedule and timeline
31

32. Make a syllabus for trainees
1. Summary
2. Cost + duration
3. Program goals
4. Schedule and timeline
5. Optional reading
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33. Manage it
33

34. In this 30 minutes
1. What is First Fridays?
2. How to create an educational
program
3. Stories from “graduates”
34

35. Graduate 1: internal
David Kaufmann
Federal Information
Specialist
david.kaufmann@gsa.gov
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36. Graduate 1: internal
• Needed UX work
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37. Graduate 1: internal
• Needed UX work
• Four months training with us
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38. Graduate 1: internal
• Needed UX work
• Four months training with us
• Comparison test – 2 designs, 30
users
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39. Graduate 1: internal
• Needed UX work
• Four months training with us
• Comparison test – 2 designs, 30
users
• Informed content of 100s of pages
39

40. Graduate 1: internal
• Needed UX work
• Four months training with us
• Comparison test – 2 designs, 30
users
• Informed content of 100s of pages
• Speaks publicly about usability
40

41. Graduate 1: internal
• Needed UX work
• Four months training with us
• Comparison test – 2 designs, 30
users
• Informed content of 100s of pages
• Speaks publicly about usability
• Tests on Call Center
41

42. Graduate 2: external
 Couldn’t persuade agency to test, so
volunteered
42

43. Graduate 2: external
 Couldn’t persuade agency to test, so
volunteered
 Four months training with us
43

44. Graduate 2: external
 Couldn’t persuade agency to test, so
volunteered
 Four months training with us
 Made 8 personas (tested 4)
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45. Graduate 2: external
 Couldn’t persuade agency to test, so
volunteered
 Four months training with us
 Made 8 personas (tested 4)
 UX test and marketed it
45

46. In conclusion …
 You can do it
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47. In conclusion …
 You can do it
 No cost – and money saving
47

48. In conclusion …
 You can do it
 No cost – and money saving
 Employee multiplier
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49. Thanks!
Jonathan Rubin
@jonathan_rubin
jonathan.rubin@gsa.gov
Angela Hooker
@AccessForAll
angela.hooker@gsa.gov
49