#28585
Global Online Card Sort for World Usability Day 2006
World Usability Day has come and gone for 2006, and the results of the global online card sort are in. About five hundred people in 19 or 20 countries participated in the exercise. Find out what's next.
Bailie, Rahel Anne. Usability Interface (2007). Articles>Usability>Methods>Card Sorting
#28390
To me, understanding goals is the single most critical factor in the success of any design project, and fundamental to the Web Design from Scratch approach. In this section, you'll learn techniques that help you discover your own goals and gain insight into what your target audience really wants. If you're working on a project, this section will help you get a clear picture of your purpose, understand the key goals of your target users and start to visualise a high-value solution that ensures everybody wins.
Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2006). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Methods
#25189
If you find yourself in a facilitator role and you're beginning to doubt conventional methods, here are a few things that I suggest might help.
Battista, Ronnie. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>Methods
#20825
Guerrilla HCI: Using Discount Usability Engineering to Penetrate the Intimidation Barrier
When asking how many usability specialists it takes to change a light bulb, the answer might well be four: Two to conduct a field study and task analysis to determine whether people really need light, one to observe the user who actually screws in the light bulb, and one to control the video camera filming the event. It is certainly true that one should study user needs before implementing supposed solutions to those problems. Even so, the perception that anybody touching usability will come down with a bad case of budget overruns is keeping many software projects from achieving the level of usability their users deserve.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1994). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Methods>Usability
#18726
Guía de Evaluación Heurística de Sitios Web
Este documento tiene por objeto servir de guía general para la evaluación de la usabilidad de sitios web. Es una versión resumida de la guía que nosotros utilizamos en nuestra actividad profesional, aunque lo suficientemente extensa y específica como para resultar de utilidad a aquellos profesionales que requieran de un documento base (que poder extender según sus propias necesidades) con el que empezar a trabajar en evaluación heurística. La Guía está estructurada en forma de checklist, para facilitar la práctica de la evaluación. Como se puede observar, todas las puntos están formulados como preguntas, dónde la respuesta afirmativa implica que que no existe un problema de usabilidad, y la negativa que si.
Hassan Montero, Yusef and Francisco Jesus Martin Fernandez. Nosolousabilidad.com (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Usability>Methods>Heuristic Evaluation
#26839
Heuristic evaluation is a form of usability inspection where usability specialists judge whether each element of a user interface follows a list of established usability heuristics. Expert evaluation is similar, but does not use specific heuristics. Usually two to three analysts evaluate the system with reference to established guidelines or principles, noting down their observations and often ranking them in order of severity. The analysts are usually experts in human factors or HCI, but others, less experienced have also been shown to report valid problems. A heuristic or expert evaluation can be conducted at various stages of the development lifecycle, although it is preferable to have already performed some form of context analysis to help the experts focus on the circumstances of actual or intended product usage.
UsabilityNet (2005). Resources>Usability>Methods>Heuristic Evaluation
#26654
A usability evaluation method in which one or more reviewers, preferably experts, compare a software, documentation, or hardware product to a list of design principles and list where the product does not follow those principles.
Usability Body of Knowledge. Resources>Usability>Methods>Heuristic Evaluation
#18625
Heuristic evaluation is a variation of usability inspection where usability specialists judge whether each element of a user interface follows established usability principles. This method is the part of the so-called 'discount usability engineering' method.
#22465
Heuristic Evaluation - a Step By Step Guide
Evaluation and testing is an important part of your website development process. Usability tests gather data about the usability of your site by a group of users performing specific tasks.
Danino, Nicky. SitePoint (2001). Articles>Usability>Methods>Assessment
#23862
Heuristics to Evaluate Online Help
Creates a set of questions for each usability category for the person performing the heuristic evaluation with a range of very satisfied to very unsatisfied to not applicable. Each question can have a severity level that can raise significant opportunities for improvement to the foreground.
DeBoard, Donn. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods>Heuristic Evaluation
#20585
HHS Announces Availability of New Guidelines to Improve Web-Based Communication
Last month HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the availability of a new research-based guide to Web site design and usability.
Usability Professionals Association (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods
#29392
An History of Outlining (and STOP)
The STOP teams brilliant practical approach to outlining also looks forward to a number of activities that have become more convenient thanks to electronic outlining software--collaborative work on organization, visual display of a verbal structure, an iterative process of research, outlining, and drafting focused on the same document, and the large organizations need for standard templates defining the structure of generic modules. In these ways, the STOP team are forerunners for practices that even today are avant garde.
Price, Jonathan R. DITA Users (1999). Articles>Information Design>Methods>History
#14527
The writers at Software Publishing Corporation faced the challenge of reducing the page count of their manuals by more than 50%—without sacrificing quality, extending the schedule, or starting from scratch! They found that approaching this daunting task from several different directions at the same time proved to be the most effective. While the following tips apply primarily to DOS and Windows software manuals, the tips are a good starting point for streamlining any documentation set. The benefits include cutting dollars from the per unit cost of goods and promoting greater customer acceptance of documentation as a learning tool.
Repel, Timothy R. and Jennie Tan. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Documentation>Methods
#27405
How Many Users Should You Test With in Usability Testing?
Doesn't one need to test with at least 100 or more users for statistical significance, accuracy and validity?
Spillers, Frank. Demystifying Usability (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#31542
How Regular Polling can Support Communication of Change
You can't wait for the employee survey each year to see if you're making improvements in your change communication - you need to measure now. Polls are the pulse takers that give snapshots of perceptions. They describe how people are coping with change, what they are thinking, how they are feeling and the extent to which they are supportive of organizational goals. Tudor Williams, ABC, outlines the critical factors in ensuring your polls are accurate, usable and result in valid sets of data.
Williams, Tudor and Ryan Williams. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Methods>Surveys
#23878
How the Usability SIG Survey Was Developed
Although I had extensive experience creating surveys and analyzing survey results, working on a Usability SIG and an Employment and Salary Survey taught me a lot about a new survey tool.
Kleid, Naomi A. Usability Interface (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>Surveys
#20824
How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation
Heuristic evaluation is a usability engineering method for finding the usability problems in a user interface design so that they can be attended to as part of an iterative design process. Heuristic evaluation involves having a small set of evaluators examine the interface and judge its compliance with recognized usability principles (the 'heuristics').
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1994). Articles>Usability>Methods>Heuristic Evaluation
#13968
How to Get Beneath the Surface in Focus Groups
It should come as no surprise that you can't always believe what you hear in focus groups, or anywhere else. Some people still believe that any moderator who can put participants at ease will get them to talk 'openly,' creating the 'right atmosphere' where the truth will come pouring out. This attitude has all too often led to findings which are clear-cut, simple, unambiguous and wrong. Are the things people are saying when pressed in focus groups really what moves them? How do you sort out the ambiguity, vagueness, omissions, contradictions, biases and irrelevancies of groups? Surely some of the most important motivators cannot easily be put into words: they are feelings, attitudes, values and beliefs that people may not be consciously aware of. How do you get beneath the surface to these hidden motivators? How do you eventually come out with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I have agonized over these issues for 26 years in thousands of groups. I still agonize over them in each and every project I undertake.
Silverman, George. MNav.com (2000). Articles>Usability>Methods>Focus Groups
#18989
How to Use Six Sigma to Improve Documentation 
Six Sigma is a tool you can use to ensure that your documentation is satisfying customer needs and expectations. The three case studies provided demonstrate ways in which Six Sigma has helped us make our documentation more effective by finding out more about the customer and getting the customer more involved. This paper does not teach Six Sigma methodology or its statistical background.
Beard, Lori and Erin Beal Welch. STC Proceedings (2002). Articles>Documentation>Methods
#21312
HTML Wireframes and Prototypes: All Gain and No Pain
Mention the use of HTML for wireframing or prototyping, and some information architects and interaction designers frantically look for the nearest exit. In some circles, HTML has acquired the reputation of being a time-consuming, difficult undertaking best left to developers. This is very far from the truth.
Stanford, Julie. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Web Design>Methods>User Centered Design
#28892
The Hunt for Usability: Tracking Eye Movements 
Usability testing methods have not changed significantly since the origins of the practice. Usability studies typically address human performance at a readily observable task-level, including measures like time to complete a task, percentage of participants succeeding, type and number of errors, and subjective ratings of ease of use. Certain types of questions are difficult to answer efficiently with these techniques.
Karn, Keith S., Steve Ellis and Cornell Juliano. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (1999). Articles>Usability>Methods>Eye Tracking
#20584
The author wants to know more about ideation frameworks, immersive spaces, and aspirational models.
Daniel, Lucas. Usability Professionals Association (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods
#20065
All business writing uses some kind of process to create final copy. Many processes, especially in small organizations, are not formalized into regularly used procedures. This casual approach to development methodology makes it particularly difficult to measure and then analyze the efficiency of these processes. Simple surveying techniques can be used to capture process data before Statistical Process Control (SPC) analysis reveals resource consuming process elements.
Miller, John. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Business Communication>Methods
#22169
Incorporating Usability Testing into the Documentation Process
Describes how one company approaches usability testing of documentation and incorporates usability testing into its writing process through a Documentation Usability Team.
Postava-Davignon, Christi-Anne, Candice Kamachi, Cory Clarke, Gregory Kushmerek, Mary Beth Rettger, Pete Monchamp and Rich Ellis. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods>Documentation
#22076
Information Design Using Card Sorting
At the beginning of any information design exercise, it is normal to be confronted by a very long list of potential subjects to include. The challenge is to organise this information in a way that is useful and meaningful for the users of the system. A card sorting session can go a long way towards resolving this problem.
Robertson, James. Step Two (2001). Articles>Usability>Methods>Card Sorting
