Seems like there is an acronym for just about everything these days and I admit that I use them from time to time too. Especially in situations where there’s a need to quickly articulate the underlying concepts of a more complex topic in a memorable way. Over the last five years, I’ve been fortunate to be a regular speaker at many WMW and SES events. I always look forward to the conferences since they allow me to connect with old friends and visit intriguing places.

There are certainly a lot of different topics at these conferences, but I generally participate on sessions related to some form of research and/or analysis of web site behavior and/or marketing performance. As a small research and web site development firm we are often asked to perform pre-site research to formulate designs and navigation, as well as post-site analysis to document performance results.

At search conferences the majority of the attendees seem to be familiar with quantitative measurement such as those provided by web analytic and business intelligence applications, but a lesser number of people have actually conducted qualitative research such as usability testing. I’m ask to present the executive summary on the latter topic and many times I need to recount different cases studies based on audience participation.

To present an overview on the topic and the many different case studies, I devised the acronym GODS FUEL as a memorable way to present the executive summary of web site usability testing. There’s really no religious connotation here, just an easy way to remember several important elements of the process.

This reminded me of my years teaching piano at Washington Park Piano Studio since we used acronyms with the kids to associate a musical staff to the notes on a keyboard. Does anyone remember - Every Good Baby Does Fine or All Cars Eat Gas? It makes you wonder if the mind of an adolescent is actually similar to an executive, but I guess that is beside the point.

So here’s what to remember about GODS FUEL. The first word (GODS) is used before you conduct your analysis and the second word (FUEL) is used after your research is complete. Clearly, the participants of the research should match the profiles of the users that visit your web site.

G is for Goal: Your goal is what you are actually trying to accomplish. The more granular you are the more specific your tactics will become. EXAMPLE: Our Goal is to increase the number of leads coming from our web site.

O is for Overview: Present any background information on your company or division with any relevant strategic research. EXAMPLE: Acme is the 2nd largest real estate firm in Hometown, USA. We specialize in commercial properties and our research has shown that the web is a good way to acquire new leads.

D is for Description: Describe your usability research. EXAMPLE: Standard in-house lab session with 10 participants using a computer connected to the internet. The testing will be conducted in a single day and remote monitoring will be available using WebEx.

S is for Scenario: The collective tasks of the test are considered scenarios. Ask each participant to complete your scenarios, observe and document the results. EXAMPLE: Participants will find the least expensive 5,000 square foot office space near I25 and contact a broker using the web site. Secondarily, users will be asked to create a personal web page and save a property to it.

As you prepare and conduct your usability testing keep in mind the 2nd word of the Acronym (FUEL).

F is for Findings: Focus on several high level findings and aggregate the data into categories if possible. EXAMPLE: 75% of participants were able to find the identified property and contact a broker via eMail in less than 5 minutes. Only one participant thought it would be useful to save the property to a personalized web page customized just for them.

U is for Usability Issues: Document and categorize any usability issues encountered (positive and negative) EXAMPLE: Users had little trouble locating the identified property, however, there were numerous usability issues encountered when asked to register and utilize the personalization functionality.  Many users said they would use immediate broker property chat if it were available on the web page.

E is for Effects on the Goal: By correlating the usability issues encountered during your testing to the goal of your research you can develop a list of action items for web site redesign and/or cost/benefit analysis. EXAMPLE: Participants said that having a personalized web portal would only be valuable if they had already established a relationship with a broker.

L is for Lessons Learned: Sum up the results of your research and identify any action items. EXAMPLE:  This research showed that immediate access to the brokers online would be the most valuable functionality to increase leads from the web site.

The acronym example above can be modified to meet just about any usability research. I can tell you that I’ve found it helpful in discussing the benefits of a variety of different case studies in a conference setting. So now you try it and please let me know if it comes in handy the next time you need to quickly deliver a high-level executive summary of your usability testing.

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