Interview: Amy Buckner on Mobile Usability
With mobile devices being used to perform an ever increasing number of functions and tasks, mobile Usability has never before been as critical as it is today. Jakob Nielson recently posted an article about mobile Usability and concluded that there is a lot of room for improvement.
Enter Amy Buckner, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of AnswerLab, a User Experience research company based out of San Francisco. I’ve worked closely with Amy on a couple of Usability tests and wanted to see how AnswerLab is approaching mobile Usability.
BRADLEY HEBDON: Last time we chatted you mentioned AnswerLab was focusing more on Usability testing for mobile. Is this still the case?
AMY BUCKNER: Yes, clients are devoting an increasing amount of resources to develop both mobile apps and WAP sites. There are 2x as many mobile devices in the world as there are TVs . . . and 4x more mobile devices than PCs. If your company doesn’t currently have a mobile strategy, it will – and very soon. At AnswerLab, we’ve been focused on exploring new research techniques to understand the User Experience with prototype and live mobile sites and apps.
BH: What sorts of systems/devices are you testing?
AB: Almost everything. To get a true picture of how your WAP prototype will perform, it’s critical to conduct Usability testing across a variety of devices – from Blackberry to iPhone, from touch screen to clamshell – each interface poses a series of User Experience challenges. What works on one device, might break on another. Clients who are serious about mobile web design, should have a comprehensive library of devices for both user testing and QA. It’s not easy, but it’s imperative to developing a good User Experience.
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