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.
#25746
Role of the Highlights Video in Usability Testing: Rhetorical and Generic Expectations 
Despite the proliferation of books and articles dealing with usability testing as a sub-field of technical communication, there remains one artifact that is underdefined: the usability highlights video. Several sources suggest that usability testers should deliver a video to their clients, but there is no common description of the contents of this video or the rhetorical purpose it fulfills. In this article, we examine the use of the highlights video as described in the literature, but we go further to discover some ways practicing usability professionals understand the role of the highlights video. Through the use of generic conventions, rhetorical theory, and industrial practices, we attempt to draw conclusions that point to some common uses of the highlights video that can instruct both teachers in the usability classroom and practicing usability experts as they create videos for client projects.
Yeats, Dave and Locke Carter. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing>Video
#23309
RSVP in Review: A Comparison of Programs for the PC and Handheld Devices
RSVP is a method of displaying text one word (or sentence) at a time in the same area of a screen. RSVP has been used as a method of teaching reading, speed reading, as well as assessing reading speed and comprehension in students and adults. At SURL, we have been interested in the use of RSVP with small-screen interfaces, such as those used on handheld devices.
Russell, Mark C. and Shannon Riley. Usability News (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing
#10578
Developers may hesitate to start usability testing because they worry that their product poses special problems in finding, scheduling, or compensating the right users. This shouldn’t stop them. We successfully find and test hundreds of users a year and about 10% of these require special tactics for scheduling.
User Interface Engineering (1998). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing
#21524
Shaping Knowledge through Usability Testing
Shaping Knowledge through Usability Testing 
Usability testing can make a difference in the product and and the documentation. Seeing is believing.
Barnum, Carol M. IEEE PCS (2003). Presentations>Usability>Methods>Testing
#10576
Six Slick Tests for Docs and Help
Usability testing isn’t just for software and web sites. Testing documentation can ensure that it includes — and accurately conveys — all the information users expect and need. Testing gives you accurate information on how well your documentation and Help work. It can even uncover problems that are better solved by changing the interface.
User Interface Engineering (1998). Articles>Documentation>Usability>Testing
#25385
Six Tips to Ensure a Successful Usability Test
Success in usability testing is learning what you need to know. That includes finding out both what is working well and what is not working well. Focusing on formative tests—with an eye toward identifying problems and bringing the issues to the team—is the secret to successful usability testing.
Redish, Janice C. 'Ginny'. Usability Interface (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing
#24308
If you are a technical writer who writes software documentation, chances are you have been informally involved in testing the software you document. In larger organizations, entire divisions are devoted to thoroughly testing software before it is released. In smaller organizations, this position could be informal or nonexistent. In this workshop, you will learn a basic methodology for testing software that you can use as a starting point for a new or expanded career.
Fisher, Charles D., Jr., Tracey Chiricosta and Tom Witherspoon. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Software>Testing
#23190
Stratégie Web: Le Test d'Utilisabilité
La facilité d'utilisation conditionne la rentabilité d'un site web. Le test d'utilisabilité permet de la mesurer et d'identifier les problèmes que rencontre l'utilisateur. Grâce au test, il est possible d'améliorer le design d'un site web en éliminant ces difficultés qui freine l'internaute dans son achat.
Nogier, Jean-Francois. Usabilis (2002). (French) Articles>Usability>Testing
#29887
Students Perform Usability Testing for Industry Clients
This paper describes how undergraduate students at Mercer University designed and performed hands-on usability tests on seven different products from a wide range of outside clients. Though the projects were challenging and quite difficult for undergraduates, they resulted in significant learning for students and important usability data for the clients. The professor describes the course design and discusses the clients and projects, and three undergraduates report their experiences serving on project teams as project leader, usability specialist, and technical specialist.
Davis, Marjorie T., Corley S. Brown, Erik T. Lindborg and Katherine T. Watson. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Education>Usability>Testing
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Taking Usability Testing to the Field
Know your audiences, comes the repeated message for technical communicators and in response, more and more technical communicators have turned to usability testing to learn more about their readers and to improve their communications. Technical communicators produce manuals, instructions, and warnings for hand tools, medical equipment, lawn mowers, tractors, pesticide sprayers, and thousands of different products. Most manuals, instructions, and products can benefit from usability testing. This case study provides guidance for technical communicators who are novices to usability testing. The lessons we learned can be of value to technical communicators beginning their first usability testing on a wide range of technical communications and products.
Zimmerman, Donald E., Michel Lynn Muraski and Michael D. Slater. Technical Communication Online (1999). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#28287
The web site for a Master's level course on Usability Testing in the Technical Communication department at the University of Washington.
Rose, Emma. University of Washington-Seattle. Academic>Courses>Usability>Testing
#22266
Test and Exercise Learning: Tests, Quizzes, and Self-Evaluations
Feared by learners, discounted by educational pundits, short-changed by instructional designers, tests are, nevertheless, an essential element of learning. We may call them quizzes, drills, examinations, assessments, competence monitors, or demonstrations of mastery. We may cloak them as games or puzzles. Yet, they remain an essential ingredient for gauging a learner’s progress. Tests, along with other kinds of activities, give learners an opportunity to apply the concepts, skills, and attitudes they have learned. Well designed tests provide a reliable way to measure progress objectively.
Horton, William K. III. William Horton Consulting (2000). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Testing
#29691
Software products are tested. Hardware products are tested. But, how often and how thoroughly are the information deliverables tested? In the rush to bring products to market, the full and thorough testing of information often gets overlooked. Last minute changes are crammed in. Procedures are not thoroughly tested. Even something as simple as testing links can be ignored due to lack of time or resources.
Crawford, Vanadis. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Documentation>Usability>Testing
#26368
Testing Assistive Technology for Compatibility with Microsoft Windows XP
This article prioritizes areas of the Microsoft Windows XP interface that can be tested to ensure compatibility between assistive technologies and Windows XP.
Microsoft (2002). Articles>Accessibility>Testing>Microsoft Windows
#28935
Testing Incentives: The Best Way to Pay
The topic of test subject compensation generates a lot of conversation...how do you motivate test participants?
Anderson, Clifford. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#28024
Towards the Design of Effective Formative Test Reports
Many usability practitioners conduct most of their usability evaluations to improve a product during its design and development. We call these 'formative' evaluations to distinguish them from 'summative' (validation) usability tests at the end of development. A standard for reporting summative usability test results has been adopted by international standards organizations. But that standard is not intended for the broader range of techniques and business contexts in formative work. This paper reports on a new industry project to identify best practices in reports of formative usability evaluations. The initial work focused on gathering examples of reports used in a variety of business contexts. We define elements in these reports and present some early guidelines on making design decisions for a formative report. These guidelines are based on considerations of the business context, the relationship between author and audience, the questions that the evaluation is trying to answer, and the techniques used in the evaluation. Future work will continue to investigate industry practice and conduct evaluations of proposed guidelines or templates.
Theofanos, Mary Frances and Whitney Quesenbery. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Reports
#25733
Tracing Visual Narratives: User-Testing Methodology for Developing a Multimedia Museum Show
As a cognitive framework for making meaning of the world, the narrative provides a powerful form for structuring information, and has been adopted as a useful design framework for many communicative forms, including interactive media. This paper reports on the use of visual narrative for user-testing an interactive museum show. The viewers’ perceived narratives of a sequence of graphics from a show on brain science were compared to the designers’ intended narrative. Mapping the audience’s reading of the visual arguments proved a useful testing structure in developing the show, with color and pattern tracking proving especially critical when viewers experienced novel or abstract information.
Kim, Loel. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing>Visual Rhetoric
#29164
Training Teachers and Serving Students: Applying Usability Testing in Writing Programs
Teachers often test course materials by using them in class. Usability testing provides an alternative: teachers receive student feedback and revise materials before teaching a class. Case studies based on interviews and observations with two teaching assistants who usability tested materials before teaching introductory technical writing demonstrate how usability testing can make novice teachers more confident about and help them predict student experiences with their assignments. By helping to train teachers, usability testing can also help better serve students.
McGovern, Heather. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Education>Usability>Testing
#28294
UniFace: Internet-Based Software for Remote Usability Testing of Icons
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) of software usually consists of huge number of icons. Though the intention is to improve the usability of software, not all interface designers are able to test and evaluate the comprehensibility of icons. Increasing exposure to unevaluated icons causes cognitive fatigue to users and slows down the intuitive learning. Users from diverse geographic locations, cultures and religions are very likely to interpret and understand these icons differently. As software products are designed to address universal needs, testing and evaluation of GUI across the globe or at least, wherever the product is likely to be used becomes important. Creation of dedicated usability labs in various locations for usability testing is not a viable proposition. A software tool named 'UniFace' for remote usability testing of icons is designed capitalizing on far-reaching capability of Internet. UniFace extends the usability lab onto the desktop of every user.
Katre, Dinesh S. HCeye (2004). Articles>Usability>Testing>Online
#28617
Usability Leistungsspektrum Die ausgefeiltesten digitalen Strategien scheitern oft am Einfachsten: der Usability. Doch in einer Zeit, in der Ihr Wettbewerber nur einen Mausklick weit entfernt ist, stellt Usability eine der größten Herausforderungen im Bereich der digitalen Kommunikation dar.
Schröter, Holger. Digital District GmbH (2005). (German) Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#26946
Usability and Usability Testing
A compilation of usability, usability testing, and user-centered design resources by Usernomics.
#21125
First, when you are conducting a usability test, it is important to understand exactly what data you should be collecting. You should not run a test without first deciding on what data is required to address your business challenges. Plan ahead! Second, in a usability test, you don't just watch users. You must collect data that reflects how customers actually use your products and services. This is easier said than done.
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2001). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing
#18720
Usability Myths Need Reality Checks
Not so very long ago, it was agreed that five to eight users was enough for a good usability test. Somehow, this idea achieved mythic status. We believed it. We preached it to everyone who would listen. It survived in areas where it had been disproved, and was introduced into new situations where it didn't even apply. What gives some ideas such staying power? What did the five-user myth accomplish? It reconciled test plans with testing budgets! If five to eight users are enough, then it's safe to act on the results of a test series with only five to eight users.
Schroeder, Will. User Interface Engineering (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing
#27146
Repeated (iterative) usability testing finds problems sooner, and usability engineering helps agencies save money. With those ideas in mind, it makes sense that agencies would want to submit their sites and other products to usability testing; doing so is an effective use of taxpayer money, especially with regard to performance measures.
Martin, Beth A. Usability.gov (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing
