Experimentation

First Click Testing

First Click Testing examines what a test participant would click on first on an interface in order to complete their intended task.  It can be performed on a functioning website, a prototype or a wireframe. Click testing is an ideal tool to evaluate and iterate concepts with users at an early stage, allowing research and design to run concurrently, saving you both time and money throughout the product/service lifecycle.

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Format Method/ICTTimeframe 1-2 hoursGroup Size 1-50Facilitation Level BeginnerRequired Materials PC, Internet connection, Papers

Steps

  • When creating tasks, focus on providing the participants with a problem to solve; “You are interested in finding out how much…how many…where to…” to foster a more natural interaction with the site.
  • Make sure you know and have documented the correct path to compete each task, both for yourself and for your observers. This will simplify note taking and transcription.
  • Track each click.
  • Time how long it takes the user to make this click. Taking a long time to make that first click may indicate an issue with navigation that will need to be monitored or address.
  • After each task, assess whether the participants feel they were able to find the correct information using a satisfaction or confidence scale.
  • Next assess the ease or difficulty of completing each task. Using response scales here will aid analysis as well, but consider free response options as well to provide additional context.

Benefits

  • Visualising exactly where people are clicking gives great insight into the design. Clicks that occur in unexpected places can highlight confusing parts of an interface and are useful for informing future design choices.
  • First click testing gives you information about user expectations, particularly for common interface elements such as menus, buttons, and form elements.
  • Measuring the time taken to click can help you determine how easily users are able to find the correct place to click and provides a useful benchmark for comparing the usability of design alternatives.
  • When running first click tests on a new design, it’s essential to also test the original design. This not only gives you an idea of which elements you could improve but also gives you a benchmark so you can measure and verify improvements in the new design.

Tips

  • It is best to assure that your participants are drawn from the target audiences for your site.
  • Thoroughly pilot prior to testing to assure that note takers/data loggers are comfortable with both the optimal path and documenting click by click navigation.
  • It would be best not to tell the participant they are taking part in First-click testing. This may seem obvious, but it may be worth mentioning.
  • Consider starting each task from the home or base screen for this test – thus limiting the number of possible wrong turns the participant might make on subsequent tasks.
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