My First Usability Test

I’ve long read about usability tests. I’ve long intended to use usability tests in developing software. But you know, it was just a little too complicated to arrange.

A few days ago I finally performed a usability test on Poker Copilot. An online poker-playing who lives nearby was kind enough to accept my offer of a free copy of Poker Copilot in return for his participation. The basic gist of the test was to give the participant some tasks to perform, such as “Find the Poker Copilot website”, “Download and install Poker Copilot” or “Find out player XYZ’s ‘Went to showdown %'”. While he did this, I sat back and silently watch, taking notes on any difficulties I notice.

It was revealing. And surprising. I use Poker Copilot without any problems, because I designed it and coded it. Someone without that background (that is, the whole population of the earth minus me) may find it somewhat harder.

As a result, I’ll be tweaking some aspects of the UI in the weeks ahead.

If you also create software, I recommend giving usability testing a try.