Pizza meets UX: The usability test dinner at Materna in Berlin

What is the Usability Test Dinner?

The Usability Test Dinner is part of the Professional Association of User Experience and Usability Professionals (German UPA) and – like Materna – has its origins in Dortmund. Today, it takes place regularly in several German cities and thrives on the commitment of local research enthusiasts who organise and run the events independently. 

Typically, five to six usability tests are carried out in the course of an evening. Each test station consists of a facilitator, who guides the test participant through the process, and a note-taker, who records feedback, observations and key findings.

The idea behind it is that, according to studies by the Nielsen Norman Group, most usability problems can be identified with as few as five test participants. 

How the Usability Test Dinner works

After a brief welcome from the Usability Test Dinner team, we were given the opportunity to introduce ourselves as the hosts. This was followed by a short introduction to the ‘thinking aloud’ method, which is used in usability tests. Then a gong sounded and the test rounds could begin.

Seven test participants visited the seven test stations, which were spread across the office space. Between test rounds, there was pizza and drinks from a Dortmund brewery. After six rounds, all test stations shared their research highlights, and the evening ended with active feedback from all participants.

 

This is why Materna supports the usability test dinner 

In the past, people had to adapt to technology. Today, we expect technology to be adapted to us. As UX experts, we therefore seek to understand, through research, the needs and barriers in human–technology interaction and to take these into account when designing digital products and services. However, even well-founded assumptions remain just that – assumptions – at first. This is where usability testing helps to verify them in a targeted manner.

We bring real users on board at an early stage. This ensures that solutions not only work technically, but actually meet the needs of the target group, and that potential hurdles are identified and resolved early on.

However, regular usability testing is time-consuming – particularly when it forms part of an iterative, almost participatory design process. The Usability Test Dinner therefore offers an ideal complement: testing early, frequently and cost-effectively. 

Materna therefore supports the Usability Test Dinner in Dortmund and Berlin.

 

Find out more
– You can find more information about the Usability Test Dinner in Berlin here.
– Information on the Usability Test Dinner in Dortmund is available here.
– Find out more about Materna Digital Interaction.