Usability testing is a technique used to evaluate a prototype of a product by testing it on users. This can be seen as an irreplaceable usability practice, since it gives direct input on how real users will use the system.
#26260
The User Advocate: Interactive Prototyping, Part 2: Building a PDF Prototype
This tutorial shows a very high-fidelity prototype—based upon the current gotomedia site—that might be created very late in the design process.
Rogers, David J. GotoMedia (2005). Design>User Centered Design>Usability>Testing
#24521
User Observation Testing is Mandatory
Without user observation testing, the usability of your web site is virtually unknown. Surveys are worth little, since those surveyed tend to tell you what they think you want to hear. Staff opinions are nice, but biased and they are not typical users. Heuristic (general guidelines-based) evaluation is helpful, but remains theoretical until tested on actual, representative users as they attempt to find information or perform tasks at your site.
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Usability>Human Computer Interaction>Testing
#24519
User Observation Tests: Forms and Procedures
Detailed explanation of how to conduct a web usability user observation test. Simple, step-by-step instructions for professional administration of testing program. How to select and supervise test subjects. How to design test task assignments. Suggested forms to use: test subject selection computer skills level telesurvey, link strategy survey, system usability scale questionnaire, site satisfaction survey.
Streight, Steven. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Usability>Testing>Web Design
#28092
User Testing is Not Entertainment
Don't run your studies for the benefit of the people in the observation room. Test to discover the truth about the design, even when user tasks are boring to watch.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing
#19363
User Testing Techniques - A Reader-Friendliness Checklist
Periodic user testing is an important element in developing and maintaining a reader-friendly Website. But formal usability tests are expensive and time-consuming -- often prohibitively so. Happily, inspection-based user testing methods, ranging from a free-form site review to more structured approaches, provide a cost-effective means of assessing (and thus improving) the usability of almost any Website. 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. It's also easy to schedule; it can be used at virtually any time throughout the development cycle, from the earliest prototype screens to a full-blown Website.
Sullivan, Terry. All Things Web (1996). Design>Usability>Testing>Web Design
#23510
User Testing: Does Your Site Need It?
So you’ve spent a lot of time with your content - editing it for brevity - bulletizing key points. Your graphics are sharp and have small file sizes. Your server is fast. You've submitted your site to key search engines. But how are your site's structure, navigation and overall usability? Do you really know?
Osswald, Mike. Hanson (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>Testing
#23782
Using Benchmark Testing to Measure Ease of Use Improvements: A Case Study 
In order to measure how future releases improve on the current store development scenario in our product, IBM® WebSphere® Commerce, a multidisciplinary team of user experience analysts, information developers, and testers decided to create a benchmark test that we can apply to each new version of the product. This paper discusses how we prepared and planned for the test, as well as the execution and results of the first test. We also discuss lessons learned and how we can improve our benchmarking process.
Markova, Uliyana, Diba Bot-Roche, Erin Heximer and Justine Yoon. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing
#24758
Using Microsoft Excel to Collect Usability Data
For many usability engineers and human factors researchers, basic note-taking on a paper form or laptop computer represents the common data collection strategy. Unfortunately, this approach can be cumbersome and slow to compile the data following the completion of a study.
Zazelenchuk, Todd. Userfocus (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing>Microsoft Excel
#27701
Variability in User Performance
When doing website tasks, the slowest 25% of users take 2.4 times as long as the fastest 25% of users. This difference is much higher than for other types of computer use; only programming shows a greater disparity.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Testing
#31903
Weekly User Testing: TiVo Did It, You Can, Too
TiVo ran 12 user tests in 12 weeks while designing its new website. As TiVo's experience shows, frequent and regular testing keeps the design usability focused.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Usability>Testing
#24695
What Really Goes on at a Usability Test
The term 'usability testing' means different things to different people. In its 'high fidelity' form, it connotes two-way mirrors, fancy electronic equipment, sophisticated logging software, and tomes of test data. However, high fidelity options aren’t always required for learning about or performing substantive usability testing. Even in a 'low fidelity' environment, you can hit all of the usability high points and provide a valuable service to your software developers and users.
Hyman, Francine N. and Barton A. Evans. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Usability>Testing
#28017
When 100% Really Isn't 100%: Improving the Accuracy of Small-Sample Estimates of Completion Rates 
Small sample sizes are a fact of life for most usability practitioners. This can lead to serious measurement problems, especially when making binary measurements such as successful task completion rates (p). The computation of confidence intervals helps by establishing the likely boundaries of measurement, but there is still a question of how to compute the best point estimate, especially for extreme outcomes. In this paper, we report the results of investigations of the accuracy of different estimation methods for two hypothetical distributions and one empirical distribution of p. If a practitioner has no expectation about the value of p, then the Laplace method ((x+1)/(n+2)) is the best estimator. If practitioners are reasonably sure that p will range between .5 and 1.0, then they should use the Wilson method if the observed value of p is less than .5, Laplace when p is greater than .9, and maximum likelihood (x/n) otherwise.
Lewis, James R. and Jeff Sauro. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#28915
When Observing Users Is Not Enough: 10 Guidelines for Getting More Out of Users' Verbal Comments
One of the principles underlying usability testing is that observing a user perform a task provides more reliable information than simply asking the user how easy it would be to perform the task. By observing users, you can assess whether they are actually able to use a product. By asking them, you simply cannot.
Peyrichoux, Isabelle. UXmatters (2007). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#27413
Why You Only Need to Test With Five Users
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. Not true. Elaborate usability tests are a waste of resources. The best results come from testing no more than 5 users and running as many small tests as you can afford.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2000). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#28378
#32089
As part of the product, testing documentation seems like an obvious thing to do, but what does it really mean? I’ve fielded the question in a few different places now and it’s always interesting to delve deeper and understand the rationale behind the request.
McLean, Gordon. One Man Writes (2008). Articles>Documentation>Assessment>Testing
#32357
Unexpected Complexity in a Traditional Usability Study
This article is a case study of a demonstration project intended to prove the value of usability testing to a large textbook publishing house. In working with a new client, however, the research team discovered that what our client thought were simple problems for their users were actually complex problems that required the users to evaluate potential solutions in a surprisingly complex context of use. As Redish (2007) predicted, traditional ease of use measures were "not sufficient" indicators and failed to reveal the complex nature of the tasks. Users reported high levels of satisfaction with products being tested and believed they had successfully completed tasks which they judged as easy to complete when, in fact, they unknowingly suffered failure rates as high as 100%. The study recommends that usability specialists expand our definition of traditional usability measures so that measures include external assessment by content experts of the completeness and correctness of users' performance. The study also found that it is strategically indispensable for new clients to comprehend the upper end of complexity in their products because doing so creates a new space for product innovation. In this case, improving our clients' understanding of complexity enabled them to perceive and to take advantage of a new market niche that had been unrealized for decades.
Howard, Tharon W. Journal of Usability Studies (2008). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#32362
A Low-Cost Test Environment for Usability Studies of Head-Mounted Virtual Reality Systems
There is a need to develop new usability testing environments and methodologies for unconventional interactive systems. Pursuant to that need, we developed a low-cost test environment for a Head-Mounted Display (HMD)-based, virtual reality system called Osmose. Osmose was difficult to test for many reasons, one of which was its style of interaction. We began setting up the testing environment about two weeks before the start of the usability testing. We learned many lessons throughout the experience. This paper summarizes the study findings, both methodological - how to setup and conduct a usability lab for such an environment - as well as conceptual -the human experiences and behavioral patterns involved in using an immersive environment.
Seffah, Ahmed, Jonathan Benn and Halima Habieb Mammar. Journal of Usability Studies (2008). Articles>Usability>Testing>3D
#32378
Quick Turnaround Usability Testing
Completing usability testing quickly is a challenge anywhere but especially in consultancies, which have to overcome additional challenges, such as learning a new application. To assure success on these projects, I’ve developed a quick turnaround usability testing methodology (QTUT) that minimizes the time needed to complete testing.
Nuschke, Paul. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Usability>Testing
#32546
The Sixty-Minute Guide to Evaluating Comparative Test Data
Mary wants to compare the average registration times between the two versions to see if the second version is faster than the first. The method typically used when comparing averages is called a t-test of independent means.
Hughes, Michael A. STC Proceedings (2008). Articles>Usability>Testing>Assessment
#32592
Usability testing makes use of a lot of role-playing scenarios like this one, and many findings and design recommendations result from participants’ responses to these scenarios. But an over-reliance on role playing when testing a product and making design recommendations can have major downsides and risks
Peyrichoux, Isabelle. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Usability>Testing>Personas
#32901
Guidelines for Usability Testing with Children
Although user-centered design is a well-supported concept in the literature on adult computer products, not until recently have publications begun to appear addressing the need to include the user in the design process of children’s computer products.
#33007
Get Out of Your Lab, and Into Their Lives
The proliferation of usability labs is a sign of success for the field of user-centered design. Whether it’s a low-rent lab comprised of a couple adjacent conference rooms, a video camera, and a television, or a fully decked-out space with remote-control cameras, two-way mirrors, an observation room, and bowls of M&Ms — more and more companies are investing in such set-ups. Conducting user tests in labs is probably the most common means of getting user input on projects. That’s a shame, because standard user testing practice is remarkably out of sync with reality.
Merholtz, Peter. Adaptive Path (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Contextual Inquiry
#33163
Why Doing User Observations First is Wrong
Field studies, user observations, contextual analyses, and all procedures which aim at determining true human needs are still just as important as ever – but they should all be done outside of the product process. This is the information needed to determine what product to build, which projects to fund. Do not insist on doing them after the project has been initiated. Then it is too late, then you are holding everyone back.
Norman, Donald A. JND.org. Articles>Usability>Testing>Contextual Inquiry
#33186
Conducting International Usability
User testing is a valuable tool, but how does one conduct user tests internationally? This essay draws from my experience leading an international user testing project, and I hope you can learn from my mistakes and successes.
Merholtz, Peter. Adaptive Path (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing>International
