I’m just a guy with a
hammer
Steve Krug
City University London
3 October 2011
Public Service Announcement:
Do not
shake hands
with this guy >
Who is he, anyway?
 Steve Krug (steev kroog)
(noun) 1. Son, husband,
father 2. Resident of
Brookline, MA
3. Usability consultant
 Advanced Common Sense
 Me and a few well-placed mirrors
 Corporate motto: “It’s not rocket surgery™”
 Nice clients
 Lexus.com
 Bloomberg.com
 Technology Review
© 2001 Steve Krug
So, it’s 2011, right?
 Why usability?
 We’ve learned our lesson
© 2001 Steve Krug
Even when I’m just minding my own business
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Things yell at me
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Assert their dominance over me
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And treat me badly when I comply
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If Don Norman was writing it today
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It wouldn’t be elevators and doors
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?
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Show of hands
 Help me calibrate
 Have read Don’t Make Me Think?
 Wondering when I’ll write another book?
© 2001 Steve Krug
Surprise!
© 2001 Steve Krug
Let’s go back eleven years
 I was trying to figure out what advice to
give
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“My ideal home page,” as told by…
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“My ideal home page,” as told by…
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My solution? Usability testing
 Best thing I know of for quieting
arguments
Based on watching users, not personal
biases
Creates a shared experience
Aha moment: Our users are not like us
You’re too close to realize how little they
know
See it through their eyes
 It just works
© 2001 Steve Krug
What is a usability test?
 Watching people try to use what you
create while thinking out loud
 NOT a focus group
Focus groups are about opinions
Usability tests are about watching use
© 2001 Steve Krug
I believe anyone can do it
 ...if they keep it simple enough
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Most sites don’t get tested
 $$$
 Time
 Even if there was enough money, there
aren’t enough professionals
© 2001 Steve Krug
Traditional usability testing
 Lab
 Experienced professional
 8 users, minimum
 Big honkin’ report
 Weeks of work, usually by an outsider
 $5k - $10k
 Happens rarely
© 2001 Steve Krug
Do-it-yourself usability testing
 Three users per round
Three should be plenty
You’ll be doing it again next month
You’ll find more problems than you can fix
 No lab or mirrors
Set up a monitor in another room so the
development team can watch
 No elaborate recruiting
“Recruit loosely and grade on a curve”
© 2001 Steve Krug
Do-it-yourself usability testing
 Record with Camtasia or Morae
(Techsmith.com) or CamStudio
 No stats, no exit questions, no faux
validity
 No big report
Debrief over lunch
© 2001 Steve Krug
And now, a demo test
 The smallest demo test in recorded
history
© 2001 Steve Krug
We need a volunteer
 Qualifying criteria:
Have used a Web browser
English-speaking adult
Doesn’t work for AT&T Wireless
 It’s painless!
 You’ll get a big round of applause when
we’re done
© 2001 Steve Krug
RSME: The fifteen minute version
 Six maxims
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A morning a month,
that’s all we ask.
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When this happens:
You’re not absolutely sure you know what
the user is thinking (see below).
Something happens that seems to surprise
them. For instance, they click on a link and
go “Oh” when the new page appears.
Say this:
“What are you thinking?”
“What are you looking at?” (for variety)
“What are you doing now?” (e.g., if you
think they’re being silent because they’re
reading)
“Is that what you expected to happen?”
They’re trying to get you to give them a
clue. (“Should I use the ___?”)
“What would you do if you were at home?”
The participant makes a comment, and
you’re not sure what triggered it.
The participant suggests concern that he’s
not giving you what you need.
“Was there something in particular that
made you think that?”
“No, this is very helpful.”
The participant asks you to explain how
something is supposed to work. (“Do these
support requests get answered right
away?”)
“I can’t answer that right now, because we
need to know what you would do when you
don’t have somebody around to answer
questions for you. But if you still want to
know when we’re done, I’ll be glad to
answer it then.”
The participant seems to have wandered
away from the task.
“What are you trying to do now?”
“What would you do if I wasn't here?”
“This is exactly what we need.”
© 2001 Steve Krug
Start earlier than
you think makes
sense.
© 2001 Steve Krug
Incorrect thinking
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Correct thinking
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Recruit loosely and
grade on a curve.
© 2001 Steve Krug
Naturally, we need to
test people who are
just like our target
audience.
Representative
users!
… people who
actually use our
site.
Real
users!
… people who
are a lot like
our users.
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Make it a
spectator sport.
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Focus ruthlessly on
a small number of
the most important
problems.
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One problem: testing works too well
 If you’ve done any testing, you know
uncovers lots of problems quickly
 This is part of the problem:
 It takes far less resources to find
problems than to fix them
 You can find more in a day than you can
fix in a month
© 2001 Steve Krug
Problems you
can find with
just a few test
participants
Problems
you have the
resources to fix
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When fixing problems,
always do the
least you can do™.
© 2001 Steve Krug
Your motto should be…
 What’s the smallest change we can make
that we think might solve the observed
problem?
 Tweak, don’t redesign
 Often the best solution is removing
something, not adding something
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Run, do not walk, to Amazon.com
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And the companion volume…
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Thanks for all the fish
 Send any questions, feedback, gripes to
[email protected]
@skrug on the Twitter
 And come visit
www.sensible.com
© 2001 Steve Krug
Questions, anyone?
© 2001 Steve Krug
© 2011 Steve Krug