Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited a common Sense Approach to Web Usability Steve Krug

Apps need to be memorable, too
There’s one more attribute that’s important: memorability. Once you’ve
figured out how to use an app, will you remember how to use it the next time
you try or will you have to start over again from scratch?
I don’t usually talk much about memorability because I think the best way to
make things easy to 
relearn
is to make them incredibly clear and easy to
learn
in the first place. If it’s easy to learn the first time, it’s easy to learn the
second time.
But it’s certainly a serious problem with some apps.
One of my favorite drawing apps is ASketch. I 
love
this app because no
matter what you try to draw and how crudely you draw it, it ends up looking
interesting.
But for months, each time I opened it I couldn’t remember how to start a
new drawing.
In fact, I couldn’t remember how to get to 
any
of the controls. To maximize
the drawing space there weren’t any icons on the screen.
I’d try all the usual suspects: double tap, triple tap, tap near the middle at the
top or bottom of the screen, various swipes and multi-finger taps, and finally
I’d hit on it. But by the next time I went to use it I’d forgotten what the trick
was again.

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Memorability can be a big factor in whether people adopt an app for regular
use. Usually when you purchase one, you’ll be willing to spend some time
right away figuring out how to use it. But if you have to invest the same
effort the next time, it’s unlikely to feel like a satisfying experience. Unless
you’re very impressed by what it does, there’s a good chance you’ll abandon
it—which is the fate of most apps.
Life is cheap (99 cents) on mobile devices.
Usability testing on mobile devices
For the most part, doing usability testing on mobile devices is exactly the
same as the testing I described in 
Chapter 9
.
You’re still making up tasks for people to do and watching them try to do
them. You still prompt them to say what they’re thinking while they work.
You still need to keep quiet most of the time and save your probing
questions for the end. And you should still try to get as many stakeholders as
possible to come and observe the tests in person.

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Almost everything that’s different when you’re doing mobile testing isn’t
about the process; it’s about logistics.