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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Usability and Usability Testing
A compilation of usability, usability testing, and user-centered design resources by Usernomics.
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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
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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
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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
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Usability Studies of WWW Sites: Heuristic Evaluation vs. Laboratory Testing
Describes the strength and weaknesses of two usability assessment methods frequently applied to web sites to illustrate issues of special interest to designers.
Kantner, Laurie and Stephanie L. Rosenbaum. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
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Usability Techniques: Analyzing and Reporting Usability Data
There is an ongoing discussion in usability circles about the importance of formal reports that document the results of usability testing. I think that each usability evaluation should have a formal report that provides some context for the problems. Not all problems can be addressed immediately and memories fade. Usability reports are also important for showing what a usability specialist has done. They can also be used to determine some metrics, such as the number of problems addressed by development or the number of problems that occurred during successive prototypes or versions of a product.
Wilson, Chauncey E. STC Usability SIG (1997). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
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People often throw around the terms 'objective' and 'subjective' when talking about the results of a usability test. These terms are frequently equated with the statistical terms 'quantitative' and 'qualitative'. The analogy is false, and this misunderstanding can have consequences for the interpretations and conclusions of usability tests.
Hodgson, Philip. Userfocus (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
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Most people use Microsoft Excel to analyse the results of usability tests, but did you know you can use it to collect the data too? This spreadsheet allows you to measure task completion rates, analyse questionnaire data, and summarise participant comments. It even includes a timer so you can measure time-on-task.
Userfocus (2003). Resources>Usability>Testing>Microsoft Excel
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Once a site has been developed (or partially developed), you can test it to ensure that it is usable and spot any potential problems.
Marshall, Samuel. Leaf Digital (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>Testing
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There are two major considerations when conducting usability testing. The first is to ensure that the best possible method for testing is used. Generally, the best method is to conduct a test where representative participants interact with representative scenarios. The tester collects data on the participant's success, speed of performance, and satisfaction. The findings, including both quantitative data and qualitative observations information, are provided to designers in a test report. Using 'inspection evaluations,' in place of well-controlled usability tests, must be done with caution. Inspection methods, such as heuristic evaluations or expert reviews, tend to generate large numbers of potential usability 'problems' that never turn out to be actual usability problems.
Usability.gov (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>Testing
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Usability Testing and Editing Online Documentation: Where's the Connection?
Through the completion of an independently researched and developed academic proposal, this author demonstrated the need for change in academic instruction and the need for working technical communicators to extend their skills by recognizing the connection between usability testing and editing online documentation. In short, the underlying connection between these two processes is that, in order to edit online documentation effectively, the editor must know the basics of usability. This paper discusses the background, the methodology, the results, and the implementation of this research project.
Giordano, Jennifer L. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Documentation>Usability>Testing
