Testing something in order to ensure that it will be
usable by your intended
public is taxing, if only because the process could be so consuming as to delay a
launch ad infinitum. That is where this new tool comes in.
Named Usabilla, it lets developers collect feedback on any website, mockup or sketch that they are working on, and it lets them do so in a very supple way – a visual one.
The way it all works is quite ingenious if you think about it, as developers can create tests and add the prototypical questions such as "What's important for you on this page?", "What do you like?", or "Where would you click for information about X?". The cool bit is that users answer these questions by putting points and notes directly on top of a screenshot, mockup, sketch or image.
In this way, the results of the test are displayed pictorially and the feel of the site or design can be accurately (and timely) gauged.
At the end of the day, Usabilla empowers any
developer or
designer to involve his users in the creative process without having to spend on endless (and expensive) tests that actually slow everything down. And Usabilla can be used in any stage of the
design process, too.