Montreal Tech Watch

A tester tries to use Tribair’s voip android app.

Last tuesday, web-savvy users tested 6 different products. A few were already launched, with solid products. That’s the case of Shwowp, a service which helps you track your purchases,  Tribair, a mobile application for iPhone and Android offering free or cheap international calls, or TrainingMobs (see post here). Many were still in the design stage though, such as MatchFwd, Canvious or orgnz.it

The goal of Usability Fix is to get 5 to 10 usability sessions throughout the evening. I found it a valuable event since product owners were frequently surprised to discover how a user viewed their products or accomplished a task, pointing out deficiencies. If you are wondering why you don’t get enough users signing up or if you still have low conversion rates, an usability session is the best to pinpoint UI problems. You will see users getting lost, clicking on the wrong buttons, or thinking aloud that they don’t have a clue about your service. It’s surely a humbling experience, but a valuable one, worth more than a massive Google Adword campaign or trying to be at the year’s hottest tech conference.

The Usability Fix sessions are run by Bolidea (@bolidea), a technology incubator (highlighted recently with Artfox getting investment), and are organized by Alex Dao (@alexdao)

Thanks Bolidea and Alex!

Gregory Whiteside (@paisible) testing canvious’s concept

Robin Ahn (@robin_ahn) goes through Shwowp