Note from Karine: This year, I’ve asked all the eduWeb speakers working in universities/colleges to share in 140 words or less the biggest take-away from their presentation or table talk. If you’ve attended this session, feel free to weigh in by posting a comment, a question or a suggestion.
Ask most people who’ve launched a major web project how they did their user testing and you’ll likely get a blank stare, followed by a hastily constructed and somewhat “improvised” answer.
Why would otherwise bright forward-thinking folks ignore one of the most proven and important processes of a website redesign?
- fear of what they’ll find out
- fear of cost
- fear of losing time – getting off schedule
- fear of not knowing what to do with the results
Fear figures large – and with good reason.
Few have the intestinal integrity to take an objective critique of their “perfect” web product. But get on that Kevlar jacket and start asking! It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive; user testing can be as simple as a survey, or as involved as a large-scale test with eye tracking.
The key is that you DO user testing before, during and after implementation. There’s a method for every budget and time frame.