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Topic: Usability testing

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	Usability testing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Usability testing is a means for measuring how well people can use some human-made object (such as a web page, a computer interface, a document, or a device) for its intended purpose, i.e.
		usability testing measures the usability of the object.
		Usability testing focuses on a particular object or a small set of objects, whereas general human-computer interaction studies attempt to formulate universal principles.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Usability_testing (885 words)

	Usability testing: Facts and details from Encyclopedia Topic (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06)
		Usability is the study (and measure) of the ease with which people interact with man-made tools and systems....
		Bruce tognazzini is a usability consultant in partnership with donald norman and jakob nielsen in the nielsen norman group, which specializes in human...
		Stress testing is a form of testing which is used to determine the stability of a given system or entity....
	www.absoluteastronomy.com /encyclopedia/u/us/usability_testing.htm (1740 words)

	Usability Testing - Main Page (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06)
		During more formal testing, it is not recommended that the designers of the product be the experimenters in the usability testing due to a sometimes obvious attachment to some of the features of the product.
		Usability tests not only evaluate the use of the product, they also improve the process of iterative design, as designers are provided with critical usability information that can guide the design during the process, rather than at the end of the design phase.
		Usability testing does not always guarantee success or a usable product because usability testing is performed in artificial laboratory settings and the test participants are rarely fully representative of the end user population.
	pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca /~saul/681/1997/jas (1641 words)

	Usability Testing (Web Design & Usability)
		Usability testing can help you understand how easy it is for beginners to start using the application or Web site.
		If the usability testing equipment is installed in a permanent testing facility, observers may be able to work behind one-way mirrors so that the tester isn't distracted by the feeling of being watched.
		Usability tests do a great job of showing what's not working in a design, but don't get caught in the trap of asking testers to suggest design improvements.
	www.smartisans.com /usability_testing.htm (1304 words)

	Usability Testing of World Wide Web Sites
		Usability can be defined as the degree to which a given piece of software assists the person sitting at the keyboard to accomplish a task, as opposed to becoming an additional impediment to such accomplishment.
		Usability testing is the process by which the human-computer interaction characteristics of a system are measured, and weaknesses are identified for correction.
		Usability testing need not involve a laboratory, however, nor need it be expensive nor require an army of human factors experts.
	stats.bls.gov /ore/htm_papers/st960150.htm (4079 words)

	Seth Nickell - Design Fu : onusabilitytesting (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06)
		Usability testing can be a very useful technique for trying to get improvements implemented in a "design hostile environment".
		If you take a good design, usability test it to learn about major problems, and use that data and experience to improve your design (remembering that design is still about compromise, and sometimes you compromise learnability for other things)...
		Shotgun testing is testing the interface in huge chunks, typically by taking several large high-level tasks that span many interface aspects and observe people trying to perform them.
	www.gnome.org /~seth/blog/onusabilitytesting (1428 words)

	Usability Testing (Evaluation Usability Resources) - Information & Design (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06)
		Usability testing is a technique for ensuring that the intended users of a system can carry out the intended tasks efficiently, effectively and satisfactorily.
		Usability testing it is carried out pre-release so that any significant issues identified can be addressed.
		Usability testing is not a substitute for a human-centred design process.
	infodesign.com.au /usabilityresources/evaluation/usabilitytesting.asp (492 words)

	Usability Testing with Morae - Joel on Software
		I asked them if they would be willing to usability test their own product by running a usability test in the Fog Creek office for our new remote assistance service, and they graciously agreed.
		Our usability test was a little bit uncommon in that we had two subjects, since Fog Creek Copilot involves a helper and a helpee, and Morae only let us hear one subject at a time from one computer.
		The great thing about usability tests is with a day of usability testing and handful of subjects, even if you're as senile as I am, you can find the biggest areas where you didn't realize where the program's behavior diverges from the user's expected behavior.
	www.joelonsoftware.com /articles/UsabilityTestingwithMorae.html (1313 words)

	Testing methods and tools
		Usability is the combination of fitness for purpose, ease of use, and ease of learning that makes a product effective.
		Usability testing focuses on determining if the product is easy to learn, satisfying to use and contains the functionality that the users desire.
		One of the most effective forms of inspection-based user testing involves the use of a "usability checklist." Checklist-based user testing is extremely inexpensive to implement, and requires a surprisingly small number of testers to be effective.
	www.otal.umd.edu /guse/testing.html (1207 words)

	Digital Web Magazine - Practical Usability Testing
		There are many benefits of usability testing, including uncovering pitfalls in a current system before a redesign and evaluating the usability of a system during and after design.
		The first thing to know about planning a usability test is that every test is different in scope, and results will vary a lot depending on the purpose and context of the test.
		In fact, to run casual tests with a small group of users on an iterative design, all you need is a system to test (this could be a Web or paper prototype), a desk, two chairs and a participant.
	www.digital-web.com /articles/practical_usability_testing (2082 words)

	Usability Testing: What is it? (Dennis G. Jerz; Seton Hill University) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06)
		While two test subjects is hardly a scientifically valid survey, it was enough to convince me (and the student) that the layout needed more revision before the resume was ready for the eyes of dozens or hundreds of potential employers.
		You might have subjects take a multiple-choice test before they look at your document; tell them to read the document until they feel they have understood it completely, and then give then another multiple-choice test (which repeats all of the initial questions, but also adds some others).
		You may think the test is a simple matter, and you may even be bored with it, but your testers might take it very seriously.
	jerz.setonhill.edu /design/usability/intro.htm (1828 words)

	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Usability: Usability Basics
		Testing may include collecting data on the paths users take to do tasks, the errors they make, when and where they are confused or frustrated, how fast they do a task, whether they succeed in doing the task, and how satisfied they are with the experience.
		Usability testing can be done inexpensively or more formally, depending on the size and budget of the site under development.
		Usability specialists manage the test, work directly with the users, and take notes; designers, developers, and others also observe — usually from an adjacent room or from a live video and audio stream — and should also take notes.
	usability.gov /basics (3230 words)

	Usability Testing With 5 Users (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)
		Some people think that usability is very costly and complex and that user tests should be reserved for the rare web design project with a huge budget and a lavish time schedule.
		Also, the second test with 5 users will discover most of the remaining 15% of the original usability problems that were not found in the first test.
		In testing multiple groups of disparate users, you don't need to include as many members of each group as you would in a single test of a single group of users.
	www.useit.com /alertbox/20000319.html (1305 words)

	Usability Evaluation
		In Usability Testing approach, representative users work on typical tasks using the system (or the prototype) and the evaluators use the results to see how the user interface supports the users to do their tasks.
		Here, usability evaluators obtain information about users' likes, dislikes, needs, and understanding of the system by talking to them, observing them using the system in real work (not for the purpose of usability testing), or letting them answer questions verbally or in written form.
		The way to classify usability evaluation methods into testing, inspection, and inquiry, and the description of some techniques, are borrowed and used with permission from the Usability Methods Toolbox by Mr.
	www.usabilityhome.com (220 words)

	User Testing (Topic at Usable Web)
		A mathematical model of usability problems is presented to show the value of testing with about 5 users: any more and you are getting diminishing returns that are not worth the investment.
		In this research study, nine teams of usability engineers tested Hotmail.com and the results were compared to see what was similar and what was different.
		For tests where a broad range of users is needed, you may want to use an outside source to recruit participants.
	usableweb.com /topics/000878-0-0.html (623 words)

	ahref.com > Guides > Design > User Testing
		Testing can be useful during initial development, before a redesign, or as a periodic checkup.
		If you are unwilling (for political or other reasons) to make needed changes based on testing results, there is no reason to waste your users' time or raise their expectations.
		Test if you are serious about listening to users.
	www.ahref.com /guides/design/199806/0615jef.html (371 words)

	WDVL: Usability Testing in Practice
		There are many variations on Web site usability testing, but a simple way to picture it is to imagine a real user, almost (but not quite) picked off the street, sitting in front of a PC and accomplishing a short list of tasks on a Web site.
		This kind of sentiment may come out of a usability test as a useful by-product, but the primary focus is on pure performance - how easy the site is to use.
		The Usability Company subcontracts this selection to agencies, which is more expensive than keeping a database of users itself, but avoids the problem of database junkies who turn up as a housewife one month and a stockbroker the next.
	wdvl.com /Authoring/Design/UsabilityTesting (795 words)

	DonnaM: Usability testing for findability
		The 'standard' usability testing approach is to provide a set of scenarios to participants and ask them to work through the scenarios.
		But then I was also thinking about the various usability gurus, where they get their learnings from and how they create their guidelines etc. And I thought about a couple of gurus in particular, who many of you will know, but this is relevant to a reasonably broad group.
		Usability is simply testing whether the system you put together is the best way to facilitate the solution you've put together based on the initital user research.
	www.maadmob.net /donna/blog/archives/000582.html (2393 words)

	WDVL: Usability Testing in Practice
		Our thanks to The Usability Company, for permission to visit their testing laboratories, watch real usability tests in progress and publish the details.
		In practice there are many variations on testing, beginning with the basic division between testing live sites that already exists on the Web, and testing new sites still at an early stage of development.
		Testing existing sites is the more common of the two, perhaps because there are relatively few new sites in the process of creation compared to the number that already exist, and also because sites need to be repeatedly tested through their lifetime as they change and incorporate new content.
	wdvl.internet.com /Authoring/Design/UsabilityTesting (795 words)

	Usability In Practice: Three-Day Intensive Camp: Usability Week 2006 Conference
		It is less suited for usability specialists, unless they plan to teach their own course and want to learn how to communicate usability methodologies.
		She has conducted international usability research worldwide and has given keynote presentations and tutorials on a wide range of topics, including user testing, paper prototyping, corporate websites, and designing for teenagers.
		She is a leading authority on intranet usability and has also judged the submissions for and coauthored the company’s Intranet Design Annuals in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, and its government intranets report.
	www.nngroup.com /events/tutorials/camp.html (1253 words)

	Usability Testing Course
		Usability Testing is a 6-week online course that is designed to teach you how to plan, prepare, and conduct a usability test as well as report on the findings of the test.
		By the end of this course, you will have developed a test plan for a usability test, conducted a usability test, conducted an expert (heuristic) evaluation, and written a report using the industry-standard report format.
		It is a good introduction to usability topics and has the right blend of theoretical and practical knowledge.
	www.online-learning.com /course_use_desc.html (575 words)

	Usability Testing
		Designers should conduct usability testing on a representative sample to ensure that the materials are appropriate for all users.
		Paper based testing is a common form of usability testing.
		Pilot testing usually takes place near the end of the design process when the product is nearly completed, and includes more users than paper based testing.
	coe.sdsu.edu /eet/articles/usabilitytestin/start.htm (417 words)

	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Usability: Methods for Designing Usable Web Sites (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06)
		The goal of usability testing is to find out what is and is not working well on the site (or other product or service).
		Usability testing is an iterative process that involves testing the site and then using the test results to change the site to better meet users' needs.
		In the usability community, this technique is called "usability testing." For users, however, "testing" often has negative connotations.
	usability.gov /methods/usability_testing.html#what_are (797 words)

	jameshom.com \| Usability Methods Toolbox \| Usability Methods Toolbox Bibliography
		Usability specialists from 17 companies describe how their usability programs got started, and how they incorporate usability engineering into the design of their products or services.
		Was one of the chapters in Bias and Mayhew's Cost-Justifying Usability.
		Nielsen provides a taxonomy of UI scenarios including different forms of mockups, then describes a heuristic evaluation usability test where the same videotex system was implemented as a paper mockup and as a HyperCard running prototype.
	jthom.best.vwh.net /usability/biblio.htm (2919 words)

	Usability Testing
		Progressive testing of Web sites and software applications is a critical component of creating a user-centered design.
		This seminar provides usability practitioners with quick and practical tools to accurately predict how users will experience their applications.
		Learn practical usability testing techniques — ranging from simple paper prototype tests to cutting edge remote testing — for the entire interface design life cycle.
	www.humanfactors.com /training/usabilitytesting.asp (206 words)

	OCLC usability testing [OCLC - OCLC human-computer interaction]
		A usability question is a statement of what you are trying to determine, such as "Does the user easily find the Search button?" There is usually one question for each task.
		Remote usability testing is a variation of the standard usability testing procedure, with one major difference: the test user can be anywhere in the world that has a PC, and either a Internet connection capable of sending audio or a phone on a separate line.
		Compared with testing in the usability lab, remote usability testing can gather usability data from a wider range of users and is more comfortable for most users, who may get nervous in a usability lab with its cameras, microphones, and less-than-cozy feeling.
	www.oclc.org /policies/usability/testing (1036 words)

	I-Design: Details of a usability study
		Usability tests can be run on prototypes (paper prototypes, physical mockups of new hardware, software prototypes), or finished products.
		Earlier testing finds general problems and provides direction; later testing finds specific problems, but they may be harder to change.
		In addition to product-specific categories, usability reports cover these topics:layout and visual design, conformance with platform UI guidelines, terminology, how well the product matches the user's conceptual model of the task, ways you can improve transaction rates.
	www.user.com /testing-details.htm (567 words)

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