Case study: Engaging stakeholders through user testing sessions
The challenge
I worked alongside another UX designer to develop and test a prototype of key elements of the customer online purchase journey for a large retailer. The client had rarely conducted this type of testing before and was skeptical about the value of the investment, so one of the key challenges was to showcase the value that user testing could bring to the wider project.
Our approach
We identified key customer journeys and created sketches/wireframes of elements to be prototyped, then I set up the research plan and materials while the other UX prototyped the journeys in Axure.
Example page from an expert review which helped us to identify key journeys to focus on for the testing.
We took turns alternating between facilitating the think-aloud sessions and acting as active observers in the next room, recording findings whilst engaging client stakeholders at all levels of the organisation. I wrote up and presented the learnings, revising key designs based on the output of the sessions to clearly articulate the valuable insights that had been generated.
Example page from the research report outlining the findings.
Example of a page redesigned based on insights from the testing, complete with rationale.
Outcome
All the clients who had joined us in observing the sessions were convinced of their value, and advocated the value of testing to the rest of their teams. Buy-in to testing was successfully achieved and an ongoing programme of user testing throughout the lifecycle of the wider project was agreed.