Blog

User experience is a powerful tool. Interview with Torbjörn Ryber

Torbjörn was chairman of SAST Stockholm for three years and is now chairman of a local chapter of SAST. He has written the book Essential Software Test Design as well as many blog posts and an e-book on visualisation. He believes in lifelong learning, visualization and team power and is currently studying UX.
30 October 2014
Interviews
Usability testing
The article by a1qa
a1qa

Torbjörn was chairman of SAST Stockholm for three years and is now chairman of a local chapter of SAST. He has written the book Essential Software Test Design as well as many blog posts and an e-book on visualisation. He believes in lifelong learning, visualization and team power and is currently studying UX.

a1qaTorbjörn, can you please explain how mapping user experience improves software development?

Torbjörn Ryber: If we want to solve the real user problem, we really need to understand how users think, feel and act. I believe that we are far too eager to find solutions before we have understood enough and thereby not solving the real problem or at least solving it in sub-optimal way.

a1qaSince you do UX consulting you must have a personal viewpoint that this is essential to persuade developers to think of usability? In other words, what are the most effective ways of making people care of usability?

Torbjörn Ryber: I do believe that systems are built in order to solve people’s problems. And in order to solve the problem with the user in mind we must have solutions that are effective, efficient and satisfying. Much research shows that using IT-systems makes people sick – I do not think that is OK. I do not want to be known as someone that builds things that make people break down and cry because they have to spend hours every day trying to find out what they are supposed to do in that stupid system. I talk about this constantly not only to developers but to everyone involved in the process.

The fact is that not even the customers understand the importance of user experience and are not willing to pay. The Swedish site has a lot of excellent material that I think helps people understand the importance of usability.

a1qa: Usability testing can be performed applying different methods. Which method you think is the most efficient?

Torbjörn Ryber: I have done testing for a large part of my 20 years in the IT-business and one of the major reasons I have started with UX is that usability testing used to come really late in a project, it was like the last thing you did before production. Guess how eager the developers were to make last minute changes based on the results of those tests. So I really like the agile approach of testing early and testing often.

As for method I have had most success with think aloud sessions when real users try to solve real problems. I try to keep it easy, short and to the point. Three users per function area will give you a pretty good idea of what the major problems are. The goal is that the test actually takes place and that we do something about the problems we find. I like to have developers and designers watch the sessions live or recorded – that is a really learning experience.

Most important of all – we cannot test quality into the product, we need to work hard in the beginning to understand the users and design accordingly. We will fail repeatedly so it is much better to fail early and often when it is cheap. Steve Krug has written a wonderful little book on how to get started called Rocket Surgery Made Easy. His method is a great start. Here is a picture of a session inspired by Krug.

a1qa:Where do you think usability testing brings QA in several years? Maybe, it might entirely change the approach to development?

Torbjörn Ryber: I really do hope that UX – User experience – will be understood as the powerful and important tool it is. It is much more than just usability. A central value that testers bring is to validate that we have built the right system. We have been far too focused on verifying single functions and complicated rules. That is only a part of what we should do. I see the tester role being more specialized – some will be working with UX, others with automation.

The important thing is that we bring value to our work. It is a bit absurd how much focus many spend on regurgitating old testing folklore about testing phases, stages, templates and roles instead of trying to keep up with the multitude of new brilliant ideas there are today. The certifications for tester and requirement analysts seem to have forgotten the progress of the last twenty years or so. Take instead for example the power of visualization. That is a key part of my own work regardless if I am doing Interaction design, requirement analysis or test design.

Books like Dan Roam’s Back of the Napkin and Mike Rohde’s The Sketchnote handbook are great places to start, not to forget my own piece of work Essential Software Test Design which has a strong focus on visually modelling the problems. If you are interested to read more about this I keep a blog. There so much more to say that do not fit into this rather short interview.

Torbjörn thanks a lot for the interview and the viewpoint you shared. We hope to talk to you again.

More Posts

debated technologies
30 May 2023,
by a1qa
3 min read
a1qa tech voice: Managing director at a1qa, North America, discusses pros and cons of much-debated technologies
Nadya Knysh, Managing director at a1qa, North America, puts a spotlight on 6 current technologies, discussing their positives and negatives.
General
Interviews
Test automation
6-march-2023-1
21 March 2023,
by a1qa
4 min read
The ultimate QA guide for smoothly migrating to Web 3.0
Find out how businesses can seamlessly migrate to Web 3.0 by relying on quality assurance.
Cybersecurity testing
General
Performance testing
Usability testing
Mobile app testing
15 February 2023,
by a1qa
4 min read
Mobile app testing guide: win the race with five-star software
Which aspects of mobile apps to test first to produce a really high-quality product? Find the answer to this and other questions related to mobile app testing in the article.
Cybersecurity testing
Functional testing
Mobile app testing
Performance testing
Test automation
Usability testing
black-friday
29 July 2022,
by a1qa
4 min read
Get ready for Black-Friday-to-Cyber-Monday shopping: 5 testing types to include in your QA strategy
What’s your nightmare during Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping? If it’s a loss of sales, read about the ways to prevent this in the article.
Cybersecurity testing
Functional testing
Localization testing
Performance testing
Usability testing
19 April 2022,
by a1qa
5 min read
What prevents companies from boosting eCommerce customer experience: 4 common mistakes
Dreaming of a flawless online shopping journey for your users? Explore 4 widespread situations that hamper achieving this goal.
Cybersecurity testing
Performance testing
Test automation
Usability testing
streaming services
30 November 2021,
by a1qa
4 min read
Ho ho ho! QA to enable crash-proof streaming platforms for Holidays season
Isn’t it high time to forget about the Christmas rush and truly enjoy the pre-holidays season? Read the article about how to put peak-load anxiety behind by applying rigorous testing of your streaming solution.
Cybersecurity testing
Functional testing
Performance testing
Usability testing
13 November 2020,
by a1qa
5 min read
QA for media and entertainment
Read the article to explore why QA is a must for the media and entertainment sector and how to perform software testing effectively.
Functional testing
Mobile app testing
Performance testing
Test automation
Usability testing
10 March 2020,
by a1qa
6 min read
Dedicated team model in QA: all you should know about it
Check on everything you should know about when to apply, how to run and pay for a dedicated team in QA.
Interviews
QA consulting
Quality assurance
29 November 2019,
by a1qa
3 min read
4 cases when you may think you need usability testing but you don’t
Is user experience testing always the one your software product needs? Read our blog post to figure it out. 
Localization testing
Performance testing
Software lifecycle QA
Usability testing

Get in touch

Please fill in the required field.
Email address seems invalid.
Please fill in the required field.
We use cookies on our website to improve its functionality and to enhance your user experience. We also use cookies for analytics. If you continue to browse this website, we will assume you agree that we can place cookies on your device. For more details, please read our Privacy and Cookies Policy.