This article was originally published in the May 2008 issue (Vol 13, No. 3)

STC UUX Community Newsletter
Usability Interface

Why Successful Product Maintenance Requires Usability Testing

By Sherri Martin, Assistant Editor

Few would argue that a successful product release requires usability testing. It follows then, that successful product maintenance also requires usability testing, a process which doesn't happen often enough.

I have been working with a client to document the re-design of a project tracking system. The current system has become cumbersome in certain areas and follows some obsolete processes. The goal is to build a new system that satisfies new processes and is scalable for the future.

Through my discussions with the client, I realized how many usability issues exist now that didn't exist when the system was first built. As the client continued to make changes to the code to fix and update various issues, the changes affected usability.

Don't get me wrong, the client's system is not in complete disarray, nor is it unusable. This experience serves as an important reminder to continue to periodically test for usability, even after the product has launched. As you do so, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is the product useful? Notice I said useful, not usable. Does the product help users accomplish what they need to accomplish? If the product was developed to track projects at a high level, but users have a need to track the tasks that make up that project, the product may not be useful or valuable to the users. Is your product still filling the users' needs?
2. Have you tested for indirect effects of a modification? As functionality has been added, deleted, or modified, you probably tested the usability of that new behavior. You may also have tested components you know are directly affected. Have you also tested to make sure there weren't any adverse indirect effects? For example, adding a field to a database may affect another database that you did not know was linked, or it may result in an inconsistent user experience as the data is carried through to different screens.
3. Have processes or policies changed? When you built the system, a particular manager's approval may have been required to move from one step to the next. One year later, approval is no longer required if the request is for routine maintenance. Now your users must override the approval step for each maintenance request, so what once was user-friendly automation has become an irritating extra step. Test for usability against the current processes and policies to see where inconsistencies might exist.

Post-launch usability testing doesn't need to be a big ordeal. Find a sample of users (particularly easy to do if they work under the same roof) and watch them perform their everyday tasks with your system. If you see them struggling, repeating the same obsolete action over and over, or resorting to a hand-written step, you may need to improve usability.

Investing your business in continued usability testing will come from framing the costs and benefits. Usability contributes to customer satisfaction, which improves customer retention and return business. It can also help you win new business. If, for example, the company were to tout the practice they may earn a reputation for increasing customer value over the life cycle of a product, rather than only when trying to sell a major update.

A product that does not adapt as processes evolve will become less and less utilized over time. That product will be abandoned eventually, and if that happens before an upgrade is available, the developer risks losing customers to a competitor. At its best such a product allows for a simple GUI to update and manage the user experience from an appearance and workflow perspective, making it easy to implement revisions resulting from your continued usability testing.

For a relatively small investment, continued usability testing keeps products relevant longer, helps retain existing customers and attract new business, and informs the design of upgrades and related products. Continued testing gives you lessons learned and best practices to work with on your current and future projects, increasing success and efficiency. With such significant benefits, it's a best practice process whose time has come.