PQI 6030

IoT FOR EDUCATION

SEMESTER 2, SESI 2021/2022

USABILITY TESTING

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PREPARED FOR:

DR. NORHARYANTI BINTI MOHSIN

PREPARED BY:

NAMA PENUH NO. MATRIK

NARMATHA DORAISAMY S2005190

CONTENTS

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………1

The Importance of Testing………………………………………………………………………..1

What is Usability Testing?....................................................................................................2

Importance of Usability Testing…………………………………………………………………..2

Process of Usability Testing………………………………………………………………………3

Features of Usability Testing……………………………………………………………………..4

Advantage of Usability Testing…………………………………………………………………..5

Disadvantage of Usability Testing……………………………………………………………….5

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….6
INTRODUCTION

What is Testing?

In general, testing is the process of determining how well something performs. In the case
of humans, testing determines the level of knowledge or skill attained. Testing is
performed at important checkpoints in the overall process to assess whether objectives
are being fulfilled in computer hardware and software development. Product objectives
are sometimes tested by product user representatives in software development, for
example. After the design is finalized, the code is tested at the unit or module level by
each programmer, at the component level by the group of programmers engaged, and at
the system level when all components are merged. A product or service may be tested for
usability at any point of development, whether early or late.

The Importance of Testing in IoT

Why is testing necessary? Because we all will make mistakes, that's why testing is
necessary. Some of these mistakes are minor, but some are costly or even life-
threatening. We must test everything we generate since things might go wrong at any
time, and humans can make mistakes.
The need for thorough testing and accompanying documentation during the
software development life cycle emerges for some reasons. The first one is, to identify the
problems, reduce weaknesses in the component or system and improve the system's
overall quality. Testing is vital because it discovers defects or bugs before the software is
delivered to the client, which ensures the software's quality. The significance of testing for
a reliable and easy to use software product is to improve the software's dependability and
ease of use. Then, the software that has been thoroughly tested ensures that it is both
reliable and high-performing.
Testing is important in IoT. Devices, communications, and computing are the three
main components of the Internet of Things. Because the Internet of Things is a real-time
network, any performance or security flaws in one portion of it might have a negative
impact on the remainder of the network. A cyberattack on one node can cause harm to
others. As a result, you must identify all flaws in the product before it reaches consumers.
That's why IoT testing is important to verify functionality, performance, and security, in all
devices, regardless of shape, size, location or participation. IoT testing type have 12, that
is IoT Functional Testing, IoT Compatibility Testing, IoT Usability Testing, IoT Database
Testing, IoT Security Testing, IoT Performance Testing, IoT Pilot Testing, IoT Regulatory
Testing, IoT Upgrade Testing, IoT Network Testing, IoT Reliability Testing and IoT
Scalability Testing.

What is Usability Testing?

Usability testing is a method of determining how easy something is to use by putting it to

the test with real people. Users are asked to complete activities while being monitored by
a researcher in order to see where they have issues or become confused. If additional
people have similar concerns, suggestions will be made on how to solve these usability
issues.
Usability testing determines whether an IoT device app provides the best possible
user experience. Usability testing tackles a variety of questions about a user's experience,
such as the design of an IoT device app, how easy its functions are to use, and whether
the material on the IoT device app is clear. IoT software interfaces must be
comprehensible and informative because users receive data from IoT devices in real time.
Usability testing ensures that the end-user receives intuitive and simple software that
represents all graphical aspects harmoniously.
These are techniques for observing and assessing user behavior to determine
what works and what doesn't. Users are given specified tasks to do, and while at work,
observers monitor their body language, facial expressions, and emotions, encouraging
them to "think aloud," that is, speak out about anything that comes to mind while using the
device. We can gather qualitative and quantitative data and identify usability concerns
with a product by completing this experiment.

Importance of Usability Testing

Usability testing is carried out by real-life users, who are more likely to uncover difficulties
that people who are already familiar with a website are unaware of in-depth knowledge
can often blind designers, marketers, and product owners to a website's usability flaws.
Bringing in fresh users to test the site and watching how they use it are both good
strategies to see if they:
 ● Don't become 'lost' or puzzled on the site because they understand how it works.
● They're able to complete the key tasks they've set out for themselves.
● Won't run across any problems with usability or bugs.
● Have a pleasant and productive experience.

With new products or design upgrades, this form of user research is especially important
because without it, team members will understand the process but target users do not
understand. This is why usability testing is important.
Other than this, for websites this usability testing method is used to evaluate how
easy the website can be used. The tests are conducted with real users to determine how
a website is 'usable' or 'intuitive,' and how easy it is for users to achieve their objectives.
Usability testing has two types of testing that is comparative usability testing and
explorative usability testing. Comparative usability testing is used to compare the usability
of one website with another website. Comparative tests are typically used to compare a
website to peer or competitor sites, but they may also be used to determine which design
gives the best user experience. Exploratory usability testing can determine what content
and features a new product should include to suit the needs of its users before it is
released. Users try out a variety of services and are given realistic situations to complete,
which helps to identify any market gaps that may be exploited and where design effort
should be focused.
Usability testing done correctly, at the appropriate time, with the right people
reduces the chance of developing the wrong product, saving time, money, and other
valuable resources. In other words, if done early on, when the product is still in the paper
prototyping stage, it detects issues when they are simple and inexpensive to solve. And,
when performed on a mature product, it aids in determining a user's success rate and time
spent completing a task. There have been hundreds of thousands of instances where
usability testing has shown to be a worthwhile investment.
In addition, usability testing is important because it is easy to check if a product
meets user’s expectations, matches business decisions to real-world use, removes flaws
in the product, allows to see how successful users are with their tasks and useful for
getting user reactions and feedback about the product.

Process of Usability Testing

Usability testing has a specific set of processes that help to test the software product from
user point of view in real time. The process of usability testing is:
1. Planning
2. Team Recruiting
3. Test Execution
4. Test Result Documentation
5. Data Analysis
6. Reporting
This process should be initiated during the early stages of software development and
designing phases. Then should recruit appropriate and knowledgeable users for the test
and also be aware of the target audience.

Features of Usability Testing

Features of usability testing help enhance the user experience of an application or

website. It will be conducted during the system and acceptance testing level and offer
more visibility on the expectation of the end users. Example features of usability testing for
websites are navigation usability, user interface, content and graphic, image and video,
headline, fast-loading web pages, form and product information.
We should understand that bad navigation is the primary reason why users
bounce back from the website. It's critical that visitors have a smooth and enjoyable
experience while navigating your website. They shouldn't have to deal with broken links or
alternative complicated selection. The appearance and feel of the website have a
significant impact on the customer experience. The user interface of your website should
be tailored to the target audience for the products. Additionally, must verify that website
design works well on a variety of devices.
The graphics and content on a website must be balanced. The products offered on
the website should be easily visible, and the content should be organised in a logical
manner. The human mind is drawn to visuals. Users are more likely to engage with a
website if it contains videos and photos. Even little web design components can have a
huge impact on the usability of a website. This is why testers should make sure that their
official website and social media use the same header image. The theme of the brand
should be reflected in headlines and general web design. Even small details like this can
contribute to a better client experience.
 When purchasing things online, no one wants to wait. Users are happier when a
website is fast and responsive, according to numerous studies. This is why Google
accounts have loading speed when showing the result of a product that searches for a
user. Forms are a means to interact with users via the internet. Maintaining a constant line
of leads can be as simple as keeping them basic and straightforward to use. This is why a
crucial aspect of online usability testing is determining how usable your forms are.
Creating clear and effective product descriptions, like headlines, can help to improve the
performance of a website. It's critical to look at how well we put product descriptions and
pricing on websites to ensure usability.

Advantage of Usability Testing

Advantage of usability testing is:

1. We can improve on the product's problems, if any are discovered, and remedy
them before the product's debut by conducting a usability test. As a result,
conducting testing will aid in improving product quality.
2. Issues and potential problems are highlighted before the product is launched.
3. Internal discussions frequently devolve into disagreements that can be resolved by
usability testing, which aids in a better knowledge of the user experience.
4. It's not uncommon for the development team to miss a few minor flaws that can be
discovered through usability testing.
5. Feedback direct from the target audience to focus the project team, it is
advantageous for the company to enhance the product in accordance with the
target audience.

Disadvantage of Usability Testing

Disadvantage of usability testing is;

1. One of the most significant disadvantages is the cost of recruiting and managing
resources for usability testing.
2. Testing may not always reflect the real-life situation.
3. Usability testing is primarily qualitative, it cannot provide the vast samples of
feedback that a questionnaire can be, but the feedback can be significantly more
accurate and informative.
 4. Difficult to find volunteers willing to work as testers.

Conclusion

Usability testing has a big impact on a website's performance and success. Good usability
encourages visitors to interact with the products and aids in the growth of websites.
However, finding key usability issues with a website is difficult. Resolving fundamental
usability issues might be difficult unless we have the right training and knowledge.
Usability testing is necessary for enterprises all around the world. Testing IoT
systems is not an easy task, and competence in this area matters. Usability testing is one
of the most important software testing methodologies in IoT, as it aids software testers
and developers in maintaining the software's usability, accuracy, dependability,
functionality, and other features. As a result, by incorporating usability testing during the
early stages of software development, we can ensure that the apps are simple to use and
provide exceptional customer satisfaction.