Five testing myths higher ed buys into (and how to fix them)

Testing gives you a voice. Without provable data, your design is subject to the opinions of any idiot who wanders in off the street.

I know this from experience. I’ve worked in higher ed offices where we felt more like Burger King cooks than higher ed creatives – we took orders from anyone and everyone.

Then we started to measure what we were doing and the game changed.

Testing is especially essential and doable for your design program if you work in higher ed.

The biggest advantage higher ed designers have is immediate access to a test audience. You just have to know what you’re testing and how you test it.

But university design offices don’t test because they buy into these myths. 

MYTH #1: WE’RE TOO BUSY

Solution: Be strategic

I get it. University designers are so misused it’s not even funny: Overworked and undermanaged, or overmanaged and underworked, it seems like higher ed will take advice from anyone – except their creative staff. 

But you are too busy not to test. Limited time requires strategic use of resources.

As college designers, you have something almost no other designer has – even on the Internet. You have immediate, face-to-face contact with you audience and their networks. Use it. 

MYTH #2: TESTING IS TOO EXPENSIVE

Solution: Do your research

If you have ever peered over to the digital side of the design aisle, you’ve noticed a heavy arsenal of expensive testing programs – online click tracking and heat mapping, for instance. 

That stuff is great, but you don’t need it for effective, actionable tests. Steve Krug’s classic Don’t Make Me Think Revisited is a great guide that can be ported over to the communications side as well. 

It’s amazing what a little reading can do. Professional books are sprinkled with testing methods, exercises and other measurable ideas that help you move the needle. And they are so cheap you can get them at the library.

MYTH #3: ONLY PROFESSORS TEST

Solution: Keep it simple. 

Start reviewing the projects you do – do they support the goals you read in the organization, or are they off-base? Focus in on the worthwhile projects – what result are they trying to achieve? How is that result measured? This helps you focus in on your test. 

Even simple tests can save your department rework time and budget. Start with simple tests – think of canvassing, focus grouping or even simple surveys. Look for simple, specific problems and keep questions simple and uncomplicated.

MYTH #4: IT DIDN’T WORK LAST TIME 

Solution: Do it anyway.

Testing systems are repeatable and subject to refinement. To give up is to have never tested at all. Use some simple testing models and formalize it. Write it down, type it up and commit it to print.

MYTH 5: IT’S NOT WORTH IT 

Solution: Report

Focus on what matters and don’t overcomplicate it. Create some simple ground rules – have a team member review your tests and follow simple models. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel – just focus on what moves the needle.

Invite people to audit your test. Design your own report. This is how you develop respect for design – focus on the end-user results.

Want to learn more about your testing program? Join Darren for “Lean User Testing for Stressed Out Designers” at the UCDA Design Conference in Portland, Ore. Oct. 15.