Checklist for Web Application Usability Testing
The main target of usability testing is to ensure that the customer will have the best experience while working with the application. During the usability testing process, we will design and execute the tests from the user's point of view and based on a few main factors that can affect the user experience.
There are three major factors that we need to validate during the “Usability” testing process:
The site efficiency - Remember that users want to accomplish their goals without executing numerous complex steps; therefore, the application should allow them to perform any complex task in a few basic and simplified steps.
The site effectiveness– To determine the site's effectiveness, we need to ask the simple but crucial question of "Is the site meets the user expectations?"
The user experience – what will be the user experience when using the site? A good experience and the user will return to use the site. Otherwise, he will most likely refuse to use it again.
Checklist
Site Design
Validate that when the user closes a child window, he returns to the parent window.
Validate that the site content does not contain grammatical or spelling errors?
Ensure that the site's "Homepage" will create a positive first impression.
Validate that the site contains the company logo and contact information.
All buttons should be at the same standard (Size, shape, format, etc.).
Validate that there is a predefined selection of a radio button object.
Do the web pages on the site have the correct “Look and Feel”?
Is all field syntax (headers, Information, etc.) spelled correctly?
Validate that there is enough space among the site objects.
Validate that each web page on the site has a valid title.
Validate that the site text/fields are properly aligned.
When clicking a “Text” field, the mouse arrow should be changed to a cursor that appears in the text field.
Are all the site objects (Buttons, text boxes, command buttons) grouped clearly and logically?
Validate that the user cannot edit the parent window if a child window is opened.
Validate that “Disabled” fields are grayed out when needed so the user cannot use/add focus on them.
Are all fonts in the correct size (not too small/large) as described in the requirements docs?
SMTP Tests
Validate that the application supports the main E-mail clients (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
Validate that your mail template corresponds with the basic CSS standards.
Validate that you have a specific template for each mail that is sent.
Validate that the mail is sent from the correct SMTP server.
Validate that you have can see the user default signature.
Validate that E-mail contains the company Privacy policy.
Validate that the E-mail contains the company Logo.
Validate that you support “Plain text” e-mails.
Validate the support in E-mail attachments.
Validate that you support “HTML” e-mails.
Try to send an E-mail to multiple users.
Validate that you record the emails sent from the application (Security and confidentiality reasons).
Validate that the user cannot send the email before validating the recipient's E-mail address.
Validate that the Email “subject” field contains the appropriate syntax (cannot remain empty!).
Validate that the Email “Sender” field contains the appropriate syntax (cannot remain empty!).
Localization/Globalization/internalization
Validate that amount values are displayed with the relevant currency symbols.
Numeric values should be aligned (Usually to the right) page text to the left (depends on the localization environment).
Validate that the user can change the site language to support his localization attributes.
File mechanism (import/Export)
Validate the upload of large files (Time to upload, how it transferred to the server, etc.).
Validate that the user specifies a name before starting the uploading process.
Validate that the file size is displayed with the original file dimensions.
Validate that you cannot import files without extensions.
Validate that the user can “Cancel” the upload process.
Try to use file names that contain special characters.
Validate that the user cannot upload files that he changed the File extension (Example: text File that was changed manually to “JPEG”).
Try to upload multiple files.
In any case of error, validate that the user received a notification explaining the failure's cause.
Validate that the user can upload only the file extensions supported by the server.
Validate that the image quality displayed after the upload is matched to the original file.
Validate that the exported data are the same as defined in the application.
The file should be exported with the relevant extension.
The file should be exported with the relevant name.
If the file is exported to an Excel file, validate the appropriate values (Column names, Timestamp, Currency values, etc.).
Export files with massive content (MAX File size).
If the file name already exists in the system, the user should get a notification confirming the export process.
If supported, validate that the user can export the file to multiple extensions (PDF, CSV, Excel, etc.).
Site Multimedia/Graphics
Do not add unnecessary multimedia to the site that will affect the user experience.
Validate that the site multimedia will not affect the page loading time.
Validate that the site multimedia will not reduce the download time.
Validate that each graphical object has meaningful to the user.
Validate that you use only the relevant media objects.
Introduce the site animation to the user.
Search options
Display a search results notification if the search query returns ‘0’ hits.
Validate that the user receives the most relevant results in the top search results.
Provide search advice if the search query returns ‘0’ hits.
Provide the ability to search on a single page or the entire site.
Allow the user to search based on “Case Sensitive” terms.
The results count should be available in the results grid.
Validate that the site contains a search option per page.
Validate the Navigation between the results page.
Provide the option to sort the search results.
Provide predefined search queries.
Allow search filters.
User Experience
Do not ask the user to perform a complex operation to use a simple functionality.
Can the simple user use the system without older experience?
Allow users to use profiles that will help them keep their work.
Validate the keyboard shortcuts that are working on the site.
Validate that the site content is organized clearly.
Validate that the site content is up to date.
Avoid opening any unnecessary windows.
The user should identify the Mandatory site fields make sure that they are marked by an asterisk symbol (*).
Site Performance
Identify the site configuration that provides the best performance.
Identify the site recovery mechanism in any case of system failure.
Inform users when the requested operations will take a long time.
The site loading time should be reasonable to the user's requests.
Identify the application behavior after a long period.
Warn the user when the site has any “Timeouts” states.
Test the site functionality with a high load.
When the application is entered into processing/Busy mode, validate a corresponding progress bar/Hourglass.
Reduce download times.
Identify the site bottlenecks.
Site Functionality
The User should have the option to select only a single value in a “Drop-Down” object.
Validate that the user can ‘Cancel’ operation before the update process.
Validate that the user receives a ‘confirmation’ notification after each functional operation.
Ensure that the user will have the option to ‘Reset’ the changes he made.
Validate that each delete operation will raise a confirmation notification.
Validate that the site “Minimize” and “Maximize” time has no delay.
Validate that “drop-down” values are defined invalid sort order.
Validate that all input fields are tested with the boundary values.
Validate that you have a “Tooltip” for every field that needs it.
Validate numeric input fields with negative inputs.
Validate input fields with special characters.
Validate input fields with spaces.
Allow the user to use the Select/Deselect in the case of multiple selectable object values.
Help
Does the system provide clear and informative “Help” menus?
Validate that the “Help” menu is opened when the user press ‘F1’.
Printing
Validate that the site text/fields are properly aligned to be printed properly.
Provide the option to print in different formats.
Do pages are printed without cutting the text?
Provide a printing option.
Navigation
The user should have the option to return to the “Home” page from every page.
The user should have the option to navigate between the site levels.
Validate that the “Tab” / “Shift + Tab” sequence works correctly.
Validate that the user receives a “Scrollbar” when the text is not fitting into the text field or when there are too many options in a “Drop-Down” object.
The user should get an indicator regarding his current location.
Validate that the user can navigate the site with Keyboard.
Is the site terminology understandable for the site users?
Major functionalities should be available on the homage.
Make sure that you supply a navigation option per page.
Validate that you use the relevant menu types.
Compatibility
Validate the site with different network environments and architectures.
Validate that your site can work with different browser security profiles.
Validate the site against different versions of the same browser.
Validate the site behavior won different screen resolutions.
Design your site compatible with common browsers (Internet Explorer, Edge, Google Chrome, safari Firefox).
Validate that all site images, JavaScript code fonts, and strings are displayed correctly in different environments.
Validate the application compatibility with different hardware devices (Mac, Phones, Tablets, etc.).
Design your site to be compatible with common operating systems (Windows, Android, UNIX, etc.).
Error handling
Validate that the error notification is displayed at the correct position.
In case of an error, validate that the relevant fields are highlighted.
Validate that all error messages are correct and informative.
Links/URL test scenarios
Email links - a link used to open a default email application (Client-Side) should be open with the relevant sending address (TO Site Address).
Internal Links - a link used to point to an internal site pages/forms (Help, Navigation Links, Home Page, Legend, About, Contact, etc.).
Broken Links – Links are not linked to any page (Internal/External), usually caused by spellcheck issues or a referenced location that is no longer available.
External links – Links were pointing to external websites unrelated to the site under test.
Validate that the baseline site is available after the user uses a hyperlink.
Ensure that you validate both the “Internal” and “External” links.
Validate that every hyperlink is marked so the user can find it (Links should be differentiated from a regular text on the same form).
Validate that you can open the link in a new tab/New window.
Validate that the site is configured with appropriate links.
Validate that a hyperlink to an “E-mail” address will open a corresponding e-mail application (When supported).
Check whether you have broken links.
Validate that when a user uses a hyperlink, the referenced location is open under a reasonable timeframe.
Validate every part of the site “referenced” based on a corresponding hyperlink.
Validate that the site links are highlighted when a user places the mouse pointer on it.
Validate that your tests cover the “navigation” links between the website's different pages.
Validate that a site link takes you to the specified location described in the link name.
Validate that all the site download links point the user to the correct host location.
Validate that the user receives a valid notification when the link is broken.