{"id":20447,"date":"2023-03-23T10:22:46","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T14:22:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/?p=20447"},"modified":"2023-03-23T10:22:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T14:22:48","slug":"designer-diy-ux-testing-playbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceros.com\/inspire\/originals\/designer-diy-ux-testing-playbook\/","title":{"rendered":"The Designer’s DIY UX Testing Playbook"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Though we may be past the blog\u2019s golden age, publishing a design portfolio<\/a> offers up a prime way to put the focus where it matters: on you. But with all the power in your hands, it takes some refining to make sure visitors\u2014from casual observers to potential clients\u2014don\u2019t get tripped up by a bad user experience. You\u2019ll need to perform your own UX testing, and if you\u2019ve never done that before, your portfolio is a great project to practice on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to handle a UX test that\u2019ll take your portfolio to new heights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set your goals: What part of the UX are you testing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Start with the basics and focus the test you\u2019re conducting. All elements of usability, functionality, and visibility are connected. You can choose to focus your test on one of these design aspects, but ultimately, there are two things you want to figure out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Does your portfolio do what you<\/em> need it to do?<\/li>
  • Does your portfolio do what your user<\/em> needs it to do?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    In an ideal scenario, those goals are one and the same. Read on to see how. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Figure out who\u2019s watching\u2014then make your site work for them <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Though it\u2019s your personal portfolio, don\u2019t fall into the trap of designing only for yourself; your site should serve the user\u2019s needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    UX design is all about knowing and understanding your audience. That\u2019s why the field relies so heavily on personas, or archetypical users<\/a> whose goals represent a wider group. For an earnest UX audit, you\u2019ll want to create a user persona by identifying your user, empathizing with them, and understanding their needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Developing a persona comes from thorough research collecting qualitative and quantitative data<\/a>, and most importantly, time spent speaking with users. If you\u2019re not sure how to gather data on current users, you can try using a program like Hotjar<\/a>. A service like that will help you understand how users behave on your site through a variety of tools like heatmaps<\/a>. Hotjar depicts data values in different colors, so that you can easily visualize how users are interacting with your site, where they\u2019re clicking, and where they\u2019re dropping off.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n