Tips for Effective DIY Participant Recruitment for Usability Testing

In case you are not using the services of a professional recruitment agency, or do not have an internal recruitment team that can help you acquire participants for usability tests, here are some tips to help you begin with finding those participants successfully.

Rautela, Abhay. Cone Trees (2009). Articles>Usability>Testing

Tips For Effective Usability Testing In India

An introduction to usability testing and 15 tips for effective usability testing in India. Created and presented by Abhay Rautela at the Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India during the second day of Bar Camp Delhi 6.

Rautela, Abhay. SlideShare (2009). Presentations>Usability>Testing>India

Search Engine Optimization Through Accessibility: How Designing Accessible Websites Leads to Automatic SEO

This presentation describes how creating an accessible website takes care of its (organic) search engine optimization to a very appreciable extent taking reference from the WCAG 2.0 working draft and the Google webmaster guidelines.This presentation was created and presented by Abhay Rautela to the Sapient creative community at the New Delhi office in February 2007.

Rautela, Abhay. Cone Trees (2007). Presentations>Web Design>Accessibility>Search Engine Optimization

Fifteen Tips for Effective Usability Testing in India

An Introduction to Usability Testing and Tips for Effective Usability Testing in India. Created and presented by Abhay Rautela at Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India at Bar Camp Delhi 6

Rautela, Abhay. Cone Trees (2009). Presentations>Usability>Testing>India

Usability Spotter #5: HP Laptop Touch Pads with Scroll Zones- Absence of Tactile Cue

Summary The issue with HP laptops that have a touch pad with a scroll zone contained it (as shown in image A) is that they do not provide a tactile cue for the user to help interpret what section of the touch pad the finger is positioned at. In the absence of a tactile cue, it is difficult for the user to determine whether the finger is on touch pad or the scroll zone without looking at it, resulting in the accidental scrolling on the screen when actually the user simply wants to move the cursor. The issue and multiple solutions are discussed ahead.

Rautela, Abhay. Cone Trees (2009). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>User Centered Design

Review: A Review of the Balsamiq Mockups wireframing application

This is a review for Balsamiq Mockups. This is a reasonably-priced application for creating wireframes that is easy to learn and use suitable for smaller projects. Creating interactive prototypes out of Balsamiq wireframes is now possible with the release of another application called Napkee. This review talks talks about: Balsamiq Mockup specifications; Balsamiq’s distinct visual character and how it work both in favor and against Balsamiq being adopted by users; Pros and cons of the application; and a conclusion with a recommendation on who should use and what to use Balsamiq Mockups for.

Rautela, Abhay. Cone Trees (2009). Articles>Reviews>Software>User Interface

Increase Conversions in Long Web Forms by Resolving the Accidental Back Button Activation Issue

The issue of accidentally activating the browser back button through the keyboard while interacting with a long web form is applicable to users across expertise levels. The time and effort wasted by the user can be said as proportional to the number of input fields filled by the user before accidentally exiting the page. Since no application feedback indicating cause of the error to the user is provided, depending upon user expertise, the user may or may not realize the cause of the error. Realizing what went wrong does not guarantee the possibility of reverting the error either. This leads to unnecessary loss in form conversions despite favorable user intent. A solution to resolve this issue (that the author hopes becomes standard practice) to plug the hole for lost conversion that translates to big numbers in absolute terms for high traffic websites is also provided.

Rautela, Abhay. evolt (2009). Design>Human Computer Interaction>Interaction Design>Forms