Why is Testing Used?
Testing helps us get a final view of the validated product. It is the 6th step of the Design Thinking Process. In this stage, we put the prototypes created in the earlier step to test. We take a critical viewpoint to determine what needs to be improved before the final delivery of our product. We gather insights on what elements of the solution we are trying to improve. Here we can iterate the prototype and make improvements.
One of the important factors to consider here is that the team involved in testing should be different from the design team. The test team should not be attached to the product as attachment could hamper feedback due to the defensive nature of the concerned designer. As we are testing just the prototype here, the test team should be completely aware of what we are seeking the answers to. Killing the ideas (or sunsetting) or improvement should be the goal here. We have to ensure high-quality testing. These evaluations need to be iterated until we can be sure that our solutions work.
Breakdown of the process
For this step of the process, we need a good test team that can either be someone from the business team or be hired externally. Each member of the testing team is required to create 5-6 questions for each prototype feature. After the initial discussion, we summarize 2-3 questions for each prototype feature.
In order to get the answers to our questions for testing, we have a few proven methods:
- Observation method: We can observe the behavior of our customers while they use our prototype. Here the feedback can be very direct and harsh. This can be implemented for only high-fidelity prototypes as the user is not explained the features.
- Shadowing method: Here we test the solutions on the move. This is for the prototypes with multiple touchpoints. A person from the design team explains the features, so it doesn’t have to be a high fidelity prototype.
- Guerilla Interviews: These are generally paired with the observation method. Herein, we go to the customer and talk directly about the problem at hand. The whole idea is to keep such interviews concise and precise.
- Validation workshops: These take place in a controlled lab environment. Here our customers are explained our prototype and they play around with it in a storyboarding way. Then, we collect the feedback and note responses of the customers.
A good tool to go along with the process steps discussed above would be a Customer Experience Map. On the X-axis, we can have the prototypes with their individual features. On the Y-axis, we can have the ratings for each of these features on the basis of our customer feedback. We give a rating from 0(no impact) to 3(huge impact) to the individual features.
Through the above steps, we generate feedback and recommendations. We take the relevant decisions for our prototype features and their implementation. In this step, we should be prepared to repeat the prototyping and testing as many times as required.
Take away from Testing:
The testing stage should be fluid and flexible. We want to ensure that the features that are passed on to the delivery stage are validated and proven to work. In the final stage of the design thinking process, we take our final list of recommendations and guide the business through implementation and maintenance to ensure optimum delivery.