BEP 321 - Project Management 6: Launching User Testing

Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Edwin, and I’ll be your
host for today’s lesson on launching user testing for a software project.

At the heart of every software project is the user. If the user finds the software
confusing, or if it doesn’t do what the user needs it to do, what’s the point? For this
reason, user testing is an essential part of the development process.

User testing can involve a range of activities. You might watch how users interact
with the software. You might track or monitor how they use it. And you might ask
them for their opinions. In this way, you collect information and feedback that helps
you create the best user experience possible. And just as the software itself needs
to be user friendly, so does user testing. If people don’t have a clear idea of what
they’re supposed to do during testing, you’ll be wasting an opportunity.

So when you launch testing, it’s important to outline what you’re going to be doing,
and what kind of feedback you’re interested in. Because the software is new to the
test users, you’ll need to give them clear instructions on how to use it and give
them an overview of the main features. You might also find yourself emphasizing
key points along the way. After all, it’s much easier to make sure everyone
understands upfront than to deal with confused users during testing.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Jill, a developer with a software company called
OptiTech. They’ve been developing software for a logistics company, and now they
are ready to launch the first round of user testing. We’ll also hear Liam, the IT
manager for the client, and Carla, one of the test users.

As you listen to the dialog, try to answer the following questions:

1. What does Jill say will be the final step in this test?
2. What three aspects of the software does this test focus on?
3. What does Jill emphasize is absolutely necessary for the drivers to do?

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Vocabulary

Good to go: ready to begin; “Sure I can help you Dan… I just need to finish up a
couple things and I’ll be good to go.”

New faces: people new to a situation or place; “As we grow our operations you can
expect to see some new faces around here.”

To run through: to explain or summarize quickly or in brief; “Okay, before we get

into new business here, can we just run through the decisions we’ve made so far?”

To have a good feel for: to have knowledge, understanding or comfort with

something; “I know this payroll system seems confusing now, but after a few
weeks I’m sure you’ll have a good feel for it.”

Fleet: a group of vehicles, airplanes, or boats owned by a company; “Tiger Taxi has
replaced a dozen older cars in its fleet with brand new Toyota Corollas.”

Route: a way or path of travel; “I’m usually only in your neighborhood in the
morning, but maybe I can change my afternoon route to get you your order
quickly.”

To track: to monitor or follow how someone moves or something develops; “We ask
all employees working from home or remotely to track their time very carefully and
submit a weekly report.”

Usage: the using of something; “With this change in process, both our water and
electrical usage is going to go up, which will add significant costs.”

Feedback survey: a set of questions you ask to learn what people think about a
product or service; “The most recent customer feedback surveys show pretty
clearly that shoppers are unhappy with our new store layout.”

Interface: where people, things, or systems meet; a computer interface is how a

user communicates with the operating system; “With so many elderly users, we’ve
had to make everything on our app interface very easy to read and see.”

Navigation: moving around within a computer system or application to activate

functions or features; “Navigation on this government website is terrible… I can’t
figure out how to get back to the page I started at.”

Notifications: automatic messages from a computer system or application; “I love

how our new online project platform sends me a notification every time someone
uploads a new file.”

Status: the position or state of someone or something at a particular time; “Oh hi

Treena, I’m just calling about the status of our delivery… can we expect to see it
this afternoon?”

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Alert: a sound or message from a computer or application telling you something is
going to happen or has just happened; “I can’t believe this new phone doesn’t send
me an alert when my battery is getting low.”

To revise: to change or improve a process or piece of writing; “Charlie, do you think

you could have a look at my CV and just revise any of the wording that you think is
awkward?”

To tweak: to make small changes to something; “Yeah, I think the design works
really great. Maybe we can tweak the font size a bit, but nothing else really needs
work.”

To launch: to start a computer application; “If your information isn’t loading

correctly, just try closing the app and launching it again.”

Icon: a small image in a computer interface that you can select to perform a
function or start an application; “Okay, you should be able to find the Notebook
application in that row of icons along the bottom of your home screen.”

Check-in: reporting where you are or when you have arrived at a place; “This
project is getting so complex, how about we have a little check-in all together first
thing every morning?”

To resequence: to change the order of things; “Since we resequenced our assembly

process, it takes us ten minutes less to put each unit together.”

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Dialog

Liam: Looks like everyone’s here Jill, so… I think we’re good to go.

Jill: Super, and great to be here again. Some of you I’ve met before, and… I see
some new faces as well. Right, so I wanted to start off today by running through
how this all works, and make sure you have a good feel for things.

Liam: And this is just happening in our group, right? Not the whole fleet?

Jill: That’s right. You’re the test group for the Route Builder features. We’ll be
tracking your usage so we can see how you’re working with the software. And we’ll
have some questions about specific aspects of the software. Then, once the testing is
finished, we’ll have you complete a feedback survey. Sound good so far?

Liam: Yeah, I think everyone’s clear on that. I talked a bit about the process with
them earlier.

Jill: Great. Now I’m going to get you to log in soon, but I just want everyone to
remember that at this stage, we’re focused on the interface, navigation, and
notifications. For drivers, it’s all about how you’re updating your status along
your route and receiving alerts. Office folks, it’s about building and revising route
plans and getting information to drivers. We want that to be as clean, fast, and
easy as possible.

Liam: And this is the final stage, right?

Jill: That’s right. Everything else is built, tested, tweaked, and set. So, now, for
this test, you all have user accounts already, so just launch the program from your
desktop… for those of you on computers… and just tap the icon if you’re on a
mobile or a tablet… and then sign in.

Jill: Let’s start with the office folks. Across the top, you’ll see menus for current
routes, new routes, driver info, and customers. And right at the bottom you should
see a map, with your HQ right in the middle there… [Fade out]

Jill: [Fade in] All right drivers, is everyone clear on how to update your status?

Liam: Looks like everyone’s good.

Jill: Great. Now the really important thing here is that you do your check-in at
every route stop. That means updating your status, and checking general alerts.
The office folks need your updates to do their work.

Carla: Right. But just to be clear. If we do any resequencing of routes, the drivers
get alerted immediately, right? I mean, they don’t have to check for that
information.

Jill: Yeah, exactly. They’ll get an instant notification. And this is part of what we’re
testing here - whether all the information is flowing smoothly to the right people.
So at this point is everyone with me?

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Debrief

Now let’s go through the dialog again and look at the language and techniques Jill
uses as she launches the user testing.

Liam: Looks like everyone’s here Jill, so… I think we’re good to go.

Jill: Super, and great to be here again. Some of you I’ve met before, and… I see
some new faces as well. Okay, right, so I wanted to start off today by running
through how this all works, and make sure you have a good feel for things.

As you can hear, Jill is focused right away on making sure everyone understands what
testing involves. She also wants to ensure that they are comfortable with the software,
or as she says, that they “have a good feel” for it. So what does testing involve?

Liam: And this is just happening in our group, right? Not the whole fleet?

Jill: That’s right. You’re the test group for the Route Builder features. We’ll be
tracking your usage so we can see how you’re working with the software. And we’ll
have some questions about specific aspects of the software. Then, once the testing is
finished, we’ll have you complete a feedback survey. Sound good so far?

Jill is outlining exactly what is going to happen during testing. First, they’re going to
“track” or monitor how people use it. Then they’ll ask some specific questions. And
finally, users will complete a survey.

It’s very important that people understand the entire process before you start. This
will help them see how they are expected to provide their input. And that means
the feedback will be more useful.

Let’s practice some more ways of outlining testing procedures.

§ As you use the app, we’ll track what you do then ask you a set of questions.
§ Everyone’s going to be assigned a work station and a task list.
§ In the first stage of the test, we want you to work through the account set-up process.
§ We’re going to give you a quick lesson, then you’ll have a chance to use the
software yourself.

What should you do after making sure everyone understands the process? Let’s listen.

Liam: Yeah, I think everyone’s clear on that. I talked a bit about the process with
them earlier.

Jill: Great, now I’m going to get you to log in soon, but I just want everyone to remember
that at this stage, we’re focused on the interface, navigation, and notifications.

A good user test is focused. That is, you’re collecting feedback on just a few aspects
of the software. And you need to make sure everyone knows what those aspects
are. Jill emphasizes very clearly that they’re looking at the “interface,” or how the

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user interacts with the software, the “navigation,” or how the user moves around
within the software, and “notifications,” or how the user receives updates.

Users might want to comment on other aspects of the software, but part of Jill’s job
is to bring them back to the intended focus of the testing.

Let’s run through a few more ways of outlining the focus of testing.

§ This test is all about how you find, access, and share information.
§ In this round of testing, we want to see how well the app integrates with your
current system.
§ We’re going to ask you specifically about the game play and rewards system.
§ Our focus is going to be on any errors or other problems you notice.

Jill has outlined the basic focus of the testing. Now let’s hear her explain a bit more
specifically what this means for the two test groups: drivers and office workers.

Jill: For drivers, it’s all about how you’re updating your status along your route and
receiving alerts. Office folks, it’s about building and revising route plans and getting
information to drivers. We want that to be as clean, fast, and easy as possible.

Liam: And this is the final stage, right?

Jill: That’s right. Everything else is built, tested, tweaked, and set.

Now that everyone’s clear on the process and focus, what does Jill do next?

Jill: So, now, for this test, you all have user accounts already, so just launch the
program from your desktop… for those of you on computers… and just tap the icon
if you’re on a mobile or a tablet… and then sign in.

At this point, it’s time for Jill to start explaining exactly what to do. She needs to
give clear and specific instructions to the users. Notice that she’s very direct, telling
people to “just launch the program” or “tap the icon.” You might use the word
“please” in your instructions, just to be a bit more polite, but you still want to be
very clear and direct.

Let’s try a bit of practice on giving clear and direct instructions.

§ You should start by selecting the online mode from the home screen.
§ Please just type something into the search bar and hit enter.
§ Now you can try entering your debits and credits in the correct column.
§ Once you’re finished, please save your work.

After everyone has launched, or started, the software, Jill wants to explain what they see.

Jill: Let’s start with the office folks. Across the top, you’ll see menus for current
routes, new routes, driver info, and customers. And right at the bottom you should
see a map, with your HQ right in the middle there…

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Jill is giving an overview of features in the software. She wants everyone to
understand what they’re looking at and where to find everything. This will help
them when it comes time to use the different tools. If users start off confused, or if
it takes them a long time to learn how to use it, you won’t get as much good
information from the testing process.

How else can we give an overview of features? Let’s run through a few more examples.

§ After you login, you need to select either “new workspace” or “edit workspace.”
§ All your colour choices are on the left, and the different drawing tools are at the right.
§ Right there on the home screen you’ll find accounts, transfers and deposits.
§ In the menu, you’ll see options for scans, results, and reports.

Now let’s skip ahead in the meeting. After introducing the process and giving an
overview of the software, Jill is explaining things in greater detail.

Jill: All right drivers, is everyone clear on how to update your status?

Liam: Looks like everyone’s good.

Jill: Great. Now the really important thing here is that you do your check-in at
every route stop. That means updating your status, and checking general alerts.
The office folks need your updates to do their work.

When you ask people to use a new piece of software, there’s a lot for them to learn and
remember. And there are probably a few key points that are essential to effective
testing. In this case, Jill wants to make sure the drivers do their “check-ins.” That means
they need to connect with the software and update their status. She highlights this key
point by saying “the really important thing.” That tells everyone to pay attention.

There are many other ways to emphasize a really important idea. Let’s practice
some of these ways.

§ One thing you have to remember is that your account will only be active for
three days.
§ Please don’t forget to log out when you’ve finished your session.
§ It’s really important that you complete the survey as soon as you are done.
§ Remember everyone, this is not about the design – we’re just looking at how
the app functions.

Let’s get back to the dialog to hear how this part of the launch finishes.

Carla: Right. But just to be clear. If we do any resequencing of routes, the drivers
get alerted immediately, right? I mean, they don’t have to check for that information.

Jill: Yeah, exactly. They’ll get an instant notification. And this is part of what we’re
testing here - whether all the information is flowing smoothly to the right people.
So at this point is everyone with me?

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If you’re doing a good job of introducing the test process, then people should feel
comfortable asking questions. This is your big chance to make sure everyone
understands exactly how it works and what they have to do. And Jill has shown us
how to take advantage of this opportunity and launch user testing effectively.

Now let’s practice some of the language we learned in today’s lesson. Imagine you
work for a company that builds custom accounting software. You are launching user
testing at a client’s office with a group of users. I’ll give you suggestions for what
you can say. We’ll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an
example answer for each response.

Ready? Let’s give it a go.

Start off by welcoming everyone and saying you will have them complete some tasks
and answer some questions.
Answer:

Next, tell everyone that this test will focus on how easy it is to track expenses.
Answer:

Now, instruct everyone to start by logging in with the account info you’ve given them.
Answer:

Now give people an overview by saying that after logging in they’ll see sales,
expenses, and reports.
Answer:

Finally, remind people that they are only going to be working with the expenses
function today.
Answer:

Answer 1: All right, welcome everyone. Today I’ll have you complete some tasks
and answer some questions.
Answer 2: And the focus of this test is on how easy it is to track expenses.
Answer 3: Now to start, I want you to log in with the account info I’ve given you.
Answer 4: So, after logging in you’ll see sales, expenses, and reports.
Answer 5: And just to remind you again, today we’re just working with the
expenses function.

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Now let’s practice some of the vocabulary we’ve covered in this lesson. In a
moment, you’ll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep. Repeat
each sentence, including the missing word.

For example, if you hear:

Example Cue: Just tap on the red button to <beep> the software.

You can say:

Example Answer: Just tap on the red button to launch the software.

After each response, we’ll provide the correct answer. Let’s begin.

Cue 1: We got a lot of useful comments from the feedback <beep>.

Answer:

Cue 2: Well, it’s nice to see a lot of new <beep> here today.
Answer:

Cue 3: There’s a change to our cost estimate, so we need to <beep> our proposal.
Answer:

Cue 4: Let’s have a look at the map to find the quickest <beep> to the warehouse.
Answer:

Answer 1: We got a lot of useful comments from the feedback surveys.

Answer 2: Well, it’s nice to see a lot of new faces here today.
Answer 3: There’s a change to our cost estimate, so we need to revise our proposal.
Answer 4: Let’s have a look at the map to find the quickest route to the warehouse.

We’ve reached the end of this lesson, the sixth in our series on project
management. Today we’ve focused on launching user testing. We’ve learned how to
outline test procedures and the focus of the testing. We’ve also looked at how to
give an overview of features, give instructions, and emphasize a key point. In our
next lesson, we’ll hear Jill debriefing the testing experience with Carla.

Thanks for listening and see you again soon!

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Language Review

A. Review Quiz

For each question, you must choose the sentence that best fulfills the given
language function or purpose.

1. How might you outline testing procedures?

a) Okay, I want to just go through the background to this project.

b) All right, we’ll start with a quick look at the app, then we’ll give you 30
minutes to use it before getting into groups to discuss.
c) So, can someone just start us off here with a question or comment?

2. Which of the following demonstrates outlining the scope of feedback?

a) All right, I’d like you just to start off by opening a new window on your
computer.
b) The really important thing here is that you don’t make any changes to the
settings.
c) So, today we’re just going to focus on the design and look of the app.

3. How could you give clear instructions during the launch of testing?

a) Okay, to begin, please press the Reports button and just wait for the next step.
b) Well, how would everyone feel about trying out the sorting features?
c) I’m thinking that we should have a closer look at using tables effectively.

4. How might you give an overview of features?

a) So, can anyone tell me what they see along the top of the home page?
b) There are individual menus for editing, formatting, and layout.
c) We’d like to know how many people think that the event creation tools are
useful.

5. What would be a good way to emphasize a key point?

a) There are a few things I’d like to go over before fielding questions.
b) At this point, I’d like to know if there’s anything especially confusing to you.
c) So, the really important thing here is that you link your work calendar to the app.

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B. Vocabulary and Idioms

Fill in the blanks with words from the box below. Be sure to put any verbs in the
right tense.

revise feel survey

run status go

1. You can go onto our website and enter the tracking number to find out the
current _____________ of the package you’ve sent.

2. If you don’t keep your feedback _____________ simple and short, then nobody
is going to do it.

3. I know you’re busy Madison, so I’m going to send the proposal to Jack so he can
_____________ those budget estimates.

4. Any more questions? If not, then I think we’re good to _____________, so let’s
dig into this next module.

5. HR wants to get everyone together next week and just _____________ through
some of the recent policy changes.

6. We normally ask employees to work closely with their mentor until they have a
good _____________ for the whole workflow.

Study Strategy

Effective testing depends heavily on people knowing exactly what they’re supposed
to be doing. And people understand what they’re supposed to do through clear
instructions and emphasis on key points. In fact, clear instructions and emphasis on
key points are important whenever you explain how to do something to another
person, whether you’re testing software or not.

Think about a process or method that is important in your work. If you can, choose
something that you often have to teach to other people. You’re going to practice
explaining this process or method with clear instructions and emphasis.

Start by writing down the basic steps in the process or method. Then go through
and underline the key points that people must not forget. Every step is important,
of course, but you can’t emphasize everything. So select just a few ideas that you
think are particularly important.

Now, with a colleague or friend, imagine you explaining this process or method. You
need to give clear, step-by-step instructions. You also need to emphasize key
points along the way. When you’re done, switch roles and let your partner try.

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Answers

Listening Questions

1. Jill says that the final step in the testing process is a feedback survey.
2. This test will focus on the application’s interface, navigation, and
notifications.
3. Jill emphasizes the importance of checking in at every route stop.

A. Review Quiz

1. b; 2. c; 3. a; 4. b; 5. c

B. Vocabulary and Idioms

1. You can go onto our website and enter the tracking number to find out the
current status of the package you’ve sent.

2. If you don’t keep your feedback survey simple and short, then nobody is
going to do it.

3. I know you’re busy Madison, so I’m going to send the proposal to Jack so he
can revise those budget estimates.

4. Any more questions? If not, then I think we’re good to go, so let’s dig into
this next module.

5. HR wants to get everyone together next week and just run through some of
the recent policy changes.

6. We normally ask employees to work closely with their mentor until they have
a good feel for the whole workflow.

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