Prototype Acceptance Testing: Financial Document Queue
In my current position as the User Researcher at BlueMatrix, a project I recently completed involved validating a new feature in client banks’ research approval process.
Purpose:
I stepped into this project after the initial wireframes and complete prototype were completed. I met with three client groups to validate the design prototype with a contextual inquiry-style interview to convey feedback themes back to the Product Manager and UX Designer.
Process:
I conducted three 30-minute interviews that combined elements from user interviews and contextual inquiries.
Contextual Inquiry:
I started off the interview by presenting the prototype to users and asking them to perform a task with minimal intervention from me.
User Interview:
In this portion, I asked the clients more qualitative questions about the experience of using the prototype: how easy was it to find the initial button? How did you know when your task was over? Can you envision any frustrations this will present to your team right the bat?
Outcomes:
Through the themes presented in the interviews, I was able to tell a story about how banks’ compliance personnel may experience this new approving feature.
I relayed one key recommendation: make the feature in question prominent at all times and not hidden behind an initiating button. I supported this recommendation with time-to-click and task completion statistics, as well as quotations from 2 interviewees. These outcomes were relayed in a formal research report and as annotations on the Adobe XD file.
Lessons Learned:
My main takeaway from this project was unexpected: users may enjoy being involved in enhancing products, but they may also expect something in return.
I met with three client groups for user interviews, and they all conveyed through their account managers later on that they were expecting the new designs immediately.This was despite my best efforts to set expectations. My lesson for future sessions involving complete prototypes is to be extremely clear about designs vs. development and release timelines.