How to get UX Design right? Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE) is one of the methods which helps Designers to rapidly integrate usability testing and iteration in their process. RITE stands for Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation. The method has evolved from Game design defined by Michael Medlock, Dennis Wixon, Bill Fulton, Mark Terrano and Ramon Romero. The method involves updating the prototype the moment a usability issue is detected, rather than waiting until the test cycle is completed.

In a traditional usability study, several usability tests are conducted using the same prototype. Once the study is complete, the product team looks at the collective findings and suggests improvements. This method is great for finding common usability issues. The key difference with the RITE method is that the prototype is altered during the study. So after 1-3 participants encounter a usability issue, the prototype can be updated before the next test. Cloud based remote UX testing tools like UXArmy allow you to change the prototype on the fly.

Steps To RITE Method 

Step 1: Start with 3 participants

• If issues are found, address them, and repeat Step 1 with 3 new participants
• If issues are NOT found, proceed to Step 2

Step 2: Add 2 more participants

• If issues are found, address them, and start at Step 1 again with 3 new participants
• If issues are NOT found after testing 5 total participants, the study is done!

3 participants is not a magic number. In fact usability tests can be conducted with just 1 participant.

Let’s take an example

Suppose you are a Financial services company and you want to conduct unmoderated usability tests on UXArmy.com to find out the pain points of your users while they are trying to perform their daily banking tasks. Here is how you will plan your study :

Day 1: Preps 

• When will the test go Live 
• When will you see and analyse the recordings 
• Who will take notes of the iterations that are needed to be done 
• How will you decide on the decisions and adjustments to make in the next iteration? 

Day 2: Test Day 

Run a pilot session, watch the recording, and adjust your test plan as needed.

Next, launch your test in UXArmy.com to three participants. Depending on how quickly the test comes back, analyze insights and organize identified usability problems. 

Day 3: Analysis and Iterations 

The team should watch the recordings together, observe, analyse, discuss and debate on the iterations that are needed in the existing model. Then they will have to make those iterations. 

Day 4: Test Day 

We will now again launch the test to 3 participants but this time with the iterations. 

Day 5: Analysis and Iterations 

Same as Day 3, the need is to find out where iterations are needed. 

How to get it RITE? 

1. Schedule meetings after each session to talk about what people observed, make hypotheses about why users did what they did
2. Identify what changes to make in the prototype
3. Get the Designer to make quick iterations 
4. Some Iterations can be time consuming and difficult but you have to keep the changes quick. Large changes can wait so that you are not stuck.

The RITE method is ineffective when the required team members are not onboard throughout the evaluation and prototype fixing process. As decisions are made fast, this method is more suitable for remote teams so that no time is lost in logistics like commuting between work and home, etc. 

From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RITE_Method

“As Researchers you get a lot of fundamental training on what constitutes actionable proof. That fundamental training focuses on ‘completing your research’ before drawing conclusions. In publishing RITE we wanted Researchers to acknowledge that in the correct circumstances you can make strong and accurate conclusions and ‘complete research’ quite quickly. Perhaps more importantly, the standard literature (of the time) on usability testing was indexed on accurate identification of problem areas. The key word in the RITE acronym is Iterative. Through iteration you can prove that something is fixed, which we felt was a more important way to think about research findings. Find a thing. That’s nice. Find and fix it. Far better.” — Ramon Romero

Conclusion 

If you can get RITE right then you can make noticeable design changes to your website in a significantly lesser timeframe. To get it right you need to make a schedule and follow it religiously. RITE method alone is not sufficient to capture all usability issues which may exist in the product. The team needs to ride on momentum and be agile while creating the tests. If you are choosing this method and somehow landed on this blog then we would love to hear your thoughts abouts UXArmy or UX in general. Feel free to write to us at hi@uxarmy.com.