Usability Testing and Research

The more intuitive a product's interfaces and procedures become, the more usable it becomes. Thus, the less formal documentation it requires. To do our part, we can strive to reduce the number of words a customer needs to read. Focusing on clarity and concision, we can take pride that of the words that remain, every word will count. Working with usability experts, our fellow customer advocates, we can transmute unwieldy products into easily used ones. To me, that's a compelling reason to remain a technical communicator, regardless of why we became one.

Harvey, Michael. Carolina Communique (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing

Review: Usability Testing and Research  

If you want a usability reference that includes research, theory, tools, and practical applications within one cover, Usability Testing and Research is the book for you.

Williams, Jocelyn Crump. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Reviews>Usability>Testing

Usability Testing Best Practices: An Interview with Rolf Molich

If you’ve done any usability testing, design evaluations, or heuristic inspections, then you’ve been affected by Rolf Molich's pioneering work.

Perfetti, Christine. User Interface Engineering (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing

Usability Testing in Academic Programs: A Report from Five Universities  

This paper reports on usability testing within five leading academic programs in technical communication. The authors give some background on usability testing at their respective institutions, describe their facilities, and briefly relate how their programs in technical communication incorporate usability testing into teaching, research, and consulting.

Dayton, David, Susan Feinberg, Roger Grice, Tharon Howard and Judith A. Ramey. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing

Usability Testing in Practice

If you're interested in Web site usability then it's likely that you've come across the concept of professional usability testing. It's also likely that the practicalities of testing have remained a mystery, because very little has been published about it on the Web - until now.

Starling, Andrew. WDVL (2002). Articles>Usability>Testing

Usability Testing of Mobile Applications: A Comparison between Laboratory and Field Testing    

Usability testing a mobile application in the laboratory seems to be sufficient when studying user interface and navigation issues. The usability of a consumer application was tested in two environments: in a laboratory and in a field with a total of 40 test users. The same problems were found in both environments, differences occurred in the frequency of findings between the contexts. Results indicate that conducting a time-consuming field test may not be worthwhile when searching user interface flaws to improve user interaction. In spite of this, it is possible that field testing is worthwhile when combining usability tests with a field pilot or contextual study where user behavior is investigated in a natural context.

Kaikkonen, Anne, Aki Kekäläinen, Mihael Cankar, Titti Kallio and Anu Kankainen. Journal of Usability Studies (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing

Usability Testing Then, Now and Tomorrow  

What is current practice in usability testing? How has it changed? What is essential for a good test and what is optional? We compare typical usability testing practice in the past (10+ years ago) with what we find is typical today. Then we look forward to predict what may happen in the future. We predict trends towards testing as a purchasable commodity, more remote testing, as technology makes it easier to ‘observe’ users over the Internet and more ‘mass market’ testing as businesses like Amazon try out their design ideas by micro-launching variants of their web site to see which one plays best with their customers.

Jarrett, Caroline, Dana E. Chisnell and Jeff Johnson. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing>History

Usability Testing Your Documentation's Content  

Traditionally, usability testing of documentation examines the structure of the documentation and users' preferred methods of accessing it. An area of greater importance that requires testing is the documentations content. Content means the features we choose to document, the way we write about them, the terminology, the use of examples, and the amount of text on a page. If the content is unclear, the access methods and design of the documentation are not as helpful. Following a specifk content testing methodology, documentation specialists can identify the areas in their Help where content is aproblem.

Chinoporos, Sandra and Mary Beth Butler. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Usability>Testing

Usability Testing: 8 Quick Tips for Designing Tests

This document is intended to help beginners design questions to help them conduct a good usability testing session. If you already have a prototype you want to test, you've already drafted a few questions, and you're eager to learn how to make the most of your opportunity to learn from your users, then this document is for you.

Jerz, Dennis G. Seton Hill University (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing

Usability Testing: A Definition Analyzed

Usability testing actually measures human factors as they apply to performed tasks based on the interaction between documentation and a product user. As technical communicators, we are becoming increasingly aware of the importance human factors have on our profession.

Ruhs, Michael A. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>Usability>Testing

Usability Testing: A Field Test Report

The following is a brief description of how I tested a user manual for a word processing program to be used by low-level and intermediate-level users.

Cheng, Ting Ting. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>Usability>Testing>Documentation

Usability Testing: Assess Your Site's Navigation and Structure  

Usability is literally the 'ease of use' or understanding it takes to make something work. In this case, Web Site usability is the understanding of how an individual user navigates, finds information and interacts with your Web Site. Unlike online surveys or focus groups, usability testing is a oneon- one process in a 'watch and learn' approach. The results of the sessions are used to improve your user’s experience. Having the development team watch the testing and witness the results helps resolve most internal issues in an undisputed manner. You can’t fight the reality of usability testing.

Goto, Kelly. GotoMedia (2000). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing

Usability Testing: Don't Let the Myths Put You Off  

Jarrett dispels several myths about usability testing that may dissuade technical communicators from applying valuable usability techniques.

Jarrett, Caroline. Intercom (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing

Usability Testing: Evaluation and Integration in the Document Development Process  

Support, teamwork, and process are the keystones of our renewed efforts to reap the benefits of usability testing. Best practices from the literature led us to adopt Nielsen's suggestion to build reliance on task-based scenarios, heuristic evaluations, and protocol-aided revision. But integrating usability testing with documentation development processes is crucial. Our approach includes getting writers involved in planning and conducting informal and formal usability tests throughout the development cycle. Implementation is based on ISO-compliant work instructions and product information guidelines. Usability measurements and process metrics help demonstrate results and added value.

Robbins, David B. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Usability>Testing

Usability Testing: Getting It Right The First Time  

User-centered product design is a design approach that focuses on the users’ job tasks, skills, and abilities. Usability testing has emerged as a critical component in the user-centered design process to assure that a product meets the needs of the user. Implemented correctly, usability testing can increase customer satisfaction and acceptance, improve product image, and reduce development costs. A variety of information is available to help you get started in developing a usability testing process. This workshop will provide sample questionnaires, checklists, scenarios, scripts, etc. However, the main focus of the workshop will be to train participants in the following two areas: (1) writing measurable usability test goals; and (2) collecting and interpreting the test data. These activities are critical because they relate directly to the usefulness of the test results.

Cope, Michael and Kevin Uliano. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing

Usability Testing: Now and the Future

All councils and public sector organisations have a clear remit to make their information available and accessible to their citizens, and increasingly they are applying usability testing to gather empirical evidence of the effectiveness of their sites. Whether this is done by internal teams or external, independent organisations and consultants, usability testing is now part of a process applied by many site managers. Indeed usability is considered by SOCITM in their annual UK council site reviews, and is a critical part to citizen fining services and transacting online.

Rourke, Chris. User Vision (2007). Articles>Usability>Testing

Usability, Testing and Documentation

The three disciplines of usability, testing, and documentation are important to the success of hi-tech products. These three areas are often overlooked, but they have a profound affect on the end user's experience of a software product. As customers become more perceptive about IT, their expectations rise. Since customers now have more choice than ever, to be successful, a software product needs to stand out from the crowd. This article explains why the three disciplines are important to the overall success of a software solution. It concludes with recommendations for obtaining the best return on investment.

Unwalla, Mike, Andrew Swartz and Bill Matthews. TechScribe (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Documentation

The User Advocate: Interactive Prototyping, Part 1: Easy PDF Prototyping

I've often observed that once wireframing begins, it's off to the races! In the rush to launch, we sometimes forget end-users. Is there a way to ensure that they get a voice during this always-hectic phase?

Rogers, David J. GotoMedia (2005). Articles>User Centered Design>Usability>Testing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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