Why is working on the developer portal cumbersome?
Without proof, we cannot be sure that an idea will result in the expected outcome, as in many cases, assumptions might lead to the wrong conclusions. Seamless user experience is a benchmark, and to achieve that, one needs to know their users’ behavior and pain points. Just to mention a few:
Navigation issues: is it hard to find information or functions?
Comprehension issues: is the purpose and usage of various features clear?
Task completion issues: can the intended activities be completed without obstacles?
Efficiency issues: is it possible to accomplish activities in a reasonable amount of time without unnecessary steps?
Learnability issues: can new users learn easily to use the interface?
User satisfaction concerns: how are users' overall satisfaction and emotional responses to the portal?
Consistency problems: are there any inconsistencies across the interface?
Performance issues: are there any technical issues that affect the user experience?
Minimize unnecessary investments
A solution is validation and discovery through usability testing. Usability testing is an evaluative research method that identifies issues at any stage of the development’s lifecycle. The main benefits are:
mitigating risk of investing in unnecessary development,
gaining certainty on what feature implementation or improvement to invest in next.
If one already has a developer portal, it can highlight obstacles and show those areas where there is room for improvement. The ultimate goal is a frictionless user journey.
How could a usability test be helpful?
As a natural human trait, we often have difficulties verbally voicing what features or functions we need, exactly like traditional requirements gathering. By watching how users do certain activities, we can stumble upon struggles in their experiences, such as:
they don't know how to do something / they need help,
they spend too much time with a certain activity,
something is not straightforward.
A slight change in the plan can lead to significant results: usability tests highlight all of the issues one faces when interacting with a particular system. If these stumble blocks are known from early on, there is an opportunity to:
make modifications,
avoid unnecessary developments and investments,
discover elements that truly matter to the users.
Even when the challenge is designing something completely new, it’s extremely valuable to observe and understand what the intended users do now, that the future portal will replace.
Usability testing in practice
This inward-looking research requires a prototype or the product, specific tasks, and a patient facilitator with experience and good communication skills. Repeating the test occasionally is recommended to ensure the changes didn’t evoke other unforeseen issues.
We can help you with:
UX researchers with expertise in human behavior analysis. They will
design the activities focusing on the scope,
asking the right follow-up questions to explore the users’ experience and expectations,
translate signs of confusion, misunderstanding, hesitation to direction.
UX workshop with internal and / or external participants,
a detailed report of the findings, and
recommendations for improvements.
"As humans, we often find it challenging to clearly articulate what we need. By observing users interacting with features and reflecting on their experiences in real time, we can uncover improvement areas in a practical and experimental way."
- Mónika Mikházi, UX Researcher at Pronovix
Do you want to test a solution or product? Want to learn more about your users’ behavior and how they think about a specific problem? We can help you.
Business managers from all industries use the 80-20 rule to help narrow their focus and identify those issues that cause the most problems in their departments and organizations.
As regards usability testing, the pareto-principle means: provided that we do iterations of usability testing, testing with 5 participants reveals approx. 80% of the problems.
Are you experiencing any uncertainties or encountering challenges with the planning?
Pronovix's team of UX Researchers and UX Designers possess the expertise and experience to support you throughout your journey and recommend the optimal solution for your needs.
