Motivation
Human Experience Testing (HX) broadens testing by including physical, digital, and emotional aspects. It goes beyond UX and usability testing, offering a holistic view of user interactions. For software testers, HX ensures products provide seamless, intuitive, and meaningful experiences across all touchpoints.
Definition and Purpose of HX
Human Experience Testing (HX) focuses on the End-to-End user journey, which involves interactions with various digital, physical, and experiential touchpoints within or outside the client's ecosystem.
Human Experience Testing aims to understand and evaluate how people perceive and interact with a product, service, or environment, taking into account their emotion and satisfaction level throughout the entire experience.
Purpose:
To evaluate how well a product/service/experience meets user needs across all touchpoints.
To identify pain points in physical, digital and experiential interactions.
To measure emotional responses, such as frustration, delight, or confusion, and use these insights for improvement.
To test if the product meets customers' expectations.
Key Terms and Concepts
Digital, Physical, Experiential Touchpoints
Digital Touchpoints
Digital touchpoints are online platforms and services where users interact with a product or service. They play a key role in shaping the user experience and require thorough testing for usability, accessibility, and effectiveness. Key focus areas include:
Software (Desktop, Mobile, Web Applications)
Testing ensures interfaces function properly, are accessible to all users, and work seamlessly across devices and browsers. The goal is to enable smooth navigation, easy information retrieval, and efficient task completion.
Online Support
This includes testing chatbots, ticket systems, and live chat for functionality and user satisfaction. The aim is to provide timely, accurate, and helpful assistance to maintain trust.
Payment Services
For transactional products, testing ensures the payment process is secure, simple, and transparent, with clear communication at every step.
Physical Touchpoints
Physical touchpoints cover tangible interactions, either in person or through physical devices, aiming to enhance the user experience and exceed expectations.
Hardware Interaction
Testing IoT devices and electronics focuses on connectivity, responsiveness, interface usability, and build quality to ensure a seamless blend of digital and physical experiences.
Environmental Experience
Evaluating physical spaces (e.g., buildings or public areas) ensures they are functional, accessible, and welcoming, creating a positive atmosphere for all users.
Experiential Touchpoints
Experiential touchpoints involve broader interactions that shape the user’s overall relationship with the service, focusing on engagement and coherence.
Customer Service
Testing ensures customer service across all channels is empathetic, efficient, and effective, fostering trust and satisfaction.
Event Experience
Evaluating events focuses on creativity, coordination, and execution to deliver memorable and engaging experiences.
Out of Scope
HX Testing does not typically include unrelated third-party platforms, products, or integrations outside the organization’s control.
Example: Testing a wearable fitness tracker involves evaluating the physical touchpoint (comfort and design of the device) and the digital touchpoint (ease of use of the companion app).
User Journeys
HX testing involves mapping the user journey — the series of steps a user takes to interact with a product or service.
Example: A user journey for an e-commerce platform might include browsing products, adding items to a cart, completing payment, and receiving the product. HX testing ensures each step is smooth and intuitive.
Emotional Impact and Experience Measurement
HX testing places a strong emphasis on the emotional impact of a product or service. It seeks to understand how users feel during their interactions — whether they are frustrated, delighted, or indifferent — and uses this data to improve the experience.
Example: If users feel overwhelmed by too many options in an app, HX testing can suggest simplifying the interface to create a more positive emotional response.
HX Testing and other testing types
HX Testing is a broad category that focuses on evaluating a product's real-user interaction, emotional impact, usability, and how it performs across different stages of a real user journey. This testing approach often includes a combination of test types that assess various aspects of the user experience.
Here are the test types typically included in Human Experience Testing:
1. Usability Testing
Focus: Evaluating how easy and intuitive the product is to use.
Example: Testing whether users can easily complete tasks like finding a product on an e-commerce site or setting up a profile in a mobile app.
2. Accessibility Testing
Focus: Ensuring that the product is usable by people with disabilities or different needs, adhering to accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
Example: Evaluating whether visually impaired users can effectively interact with a ticket booking application.
3. User Journey Testing (End-to-End Testing)
Focus: Assessing the complete user workflow, from the beginning of an interaction to the end.
Example: Running a test to evaluate the experience of ordering food using an app, tracking the process from placing an order to delivery.
4. Emotional Engagement Testing
Focus: Understanding how users feel when interacting with the product (e.g., frustration, satisfaction, trust).
Example: Gauging how enjoyable a gaming app feels or whether a banking platform inspires trust.
5. Real-World Context Testing
Focus: Testing the product in the actual environment users will use it (beyond the lab or controlled conditions).
Example: Testing a navigation app in real traffic conditions or testing a fitness tracking app during an actual run.
6. UX Design Testing
Focus: Evaluating the product’s design, layout, and visual appeal.
Example: Reviewing the placement of buttons and fields on an app’s homepage to ensure they align with user expectations.
7. Payment Testing
Focus: Assessing the functionality, security, and ease of payment systems during the user journey.
Example: Testing credit card, PayPal, or other payment options in a checkout flow during tickets purchase to ensure efficient functionality.
8. Localization Testing
Focus: Ensuring the product is culturally and linguistically appropriate for different regions and that localized features work as expected.
Example: Testing an app to ensure it presents regional holidays correctly or adapts to the currency of the user’s country.
9. Cross-Platform Compatibility Testing
Focus: Validating the product’s performance on various devices, browsers, and platforms.
Example: Ensuring an application offers the same seamless experience on Android, iOS, and desktop browsers.
10. Behavioral Testing
Focus: Understanding user intention and behavior and how they align with the product's design.
Example: Testing a login process to determine if users intuitively understand what to do when encountering an error message.
While Human Experience Testing often prioritizes Usability, User Journey, Emotional Engagement, and Accessibility Testing, it can also encompass aspects like Payment Testing or Localization Testing, depending on the application and its goals.
Does HX testing the same as UX and Usability testing?
The short answer is 'no'.
HX, UX, and Usability testing are interconnected, but they focus on different aspects of the user experience:
Usability Testing: Focuses on efficiency and ease of task completion (e.g., "Can users log in successfully?").
UX Testing: Evaluates the overall user experience, including satisfaction and engagement (e.g., "Do users enjoy using the app?").
HX Testing: Takes a broader approach, assessing physical, digital, and emotional factors to create a holistic experience (e.g., "Does the wearable device feel comfortable, and does the app motivate users to stay active?").
Example Scenario of HX Testing
Scenario: Coffee shop User Journey: Mobile Order and In-Store Pick-Up
Experience Step 1: Account creation and log in: create an account and log into the coffee shop’s mobile app. This step evaluates the ease of registration, clarity of instructions, and whether the login process is smooth or frustrating.
Experience Step 2: Store Locating: search for the nearest coffee shop using the app’s store locator feature. This step assesses the accuracy of location information, ease of navigation, and whether the map or list view is intuitive.
Experience Step 3: Order process: select items from the menu, customizes their order (e.g., size, add-ons), and add it to the cart. This step evaluates menu clarity, customization options, responsiveness, and overall usability.
Experience Step 4: Order Confirmation and Check Out: review the order, confirm details, and complete payment via the app. This step tests the clarity of the confirmation process, payment options, and whether users feel confident their order has been placed successfully.
Experience Step 5: Order pick up - in store: arrive at the coffee shop and pick up the order. This step assesses the physical touchpoints, such as signage directing users to the pick-up area, staff interaction, and whether the order is ready on time.
Experience Step 6: Post-Purchase Experience: verify that the app reflects the latest information post-purchase, such as updated balance, earned stars, and receipt availability.