Analyzing Usability of a Beta-Version Web Site Through Server Logs, User Profile Data, and Online Questionnaire Responses  

This paper discusses the use of automated data collection to learn from hundreds of beta-test users of a web-based industrial product database how successfully the product met their needs. The collected data consisted of web server log data, opinion data from online questionnaires and follow-up interviews, and user profile data from telerecruiting and online registration was also collected. In the Proceedings of the 1998 Usability Professionals' Association Conference.

Kantner, Laurie and Larry Rusinsky. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1998). Articles>Web Design>Usability

Assessing Web Site Usability from Server Log Files  

White paper on how to glean usability data from web server log files and how to use that data.

Tec-Ed, Inc. (1999). Articles>Web Design>Usability

The Best of Both Worlds: Combining Usability Testing and Documentation Projects  

Describes two cases in which usability testing and documentation projects were performed in conjunction with one other. It describes how usability testing affected the design and content of the documentation and how follow-on usability studies added significant new data not revealed in the initial tests.

Kantner, Laurie, Stephanie L. Rosenbaum and Connie Leas. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Documentation>Usability

Challenges in Participant Recruiting for Usability Testing  

Effective participant recruiting is crucial to collecting reliable data during usability testing of high-tech products and services. Not only should test participants reflect the characteristics of the targeted users of the product or service, but they also must be likely to use it. Only then will their experiences and opinions yield reliable data for identifying meaningful improvements. This paper presents real-world challenges in recruiting participants for usability testing of new-technology products and services for which no firmly established customer base exists. It discusses techniques for meeting recruiting challenges, before and after test sessions begin, based on Tec-Ed usability-test case studies.

Hinderer, Deborah. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Usability

Combining Usability Research with Documentation Development for Improved User Support  

Describes two case studies where Tec-Ed leveraged usability research and documentation activities to create solutions that met the needs of both our clients and their customers.

Keirnan, Timothy, Lori Anscheutz and Stephanie L. Rosenbaum. Tec-Ed, Inc. (2002). Articles>Documentation>Usability

Following a Fast-Moving Target: Recording User Behavior in Web Usability Testing  

Presents techniques for capturing user behavior accurately and completely in real time.

Kantner, Laurie. Tec-Ed, Inc. (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods

How Usability Information Can Improve Clinical Information Systems  

This paper describes a usability engineering program of integrated laboratory and ethnographic studies for collecting user data about a clinical information system. The authors evaluated MIRACLE (Medical Information Retrieval Application for Clinical Enhancement), developed by Philips Medical Systems; physicians and allied health personnel can access MIRACLE from their offices to obtain data about their patients who use hospital services. After an initial heuristic evaluation, we conducted two usability tests and weekly ethnographic interviews with physicians and hospital staff during the software alpha test. Our experience resulted in guidelines for conducting usability programs with medical professionals.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L., Deborah Hinderer and Phillip Scarborough. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1999). Articles>Usability>Biomedical

Iterative Usability Research Methods: Why Testing Isn't Enough  

Discusses how to choose different usability methods for iterative research. Slides only.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1999). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods

Managing Geographically Distributed Teams  

This paper summarizes recent literature on virtual organizations, as well as Tec-Ed’s practical experience in managing project teams whose members are in different geographic locations, have different skills and responsibilities, and seldom meet face to face. It reviews how we share corporate culture, gain insight into clients, build trust, and develop the professional synergy that enables efficient cooperation and effective results. It also discusses the challenges facing our centralized staff who support workers in regional offices, from troubleshooting unseen hardware and software to keeping corporate archives up-to-date.

Anscheutz, Lori. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1998). Articles>Usability>Management

Measuring the Success of Visual Communication in User Interfaces  

Discusses three key areas of visual communication--information access and navigation, icon recognition, and visual appeal--as related to usability research.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. and J.O. 'Joe' Bugental. Tec-Ed, Inc. (2002). Articles>Usability>User Interface

Multiple-User Testing: When One Person Can't See Everything  

Describes the pros and cons of the methods used in designing two usability tests where constraints prevented observation of all participants by one person.

Kantner, Laurie, Deborah Hinderer and Connie Leas. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Usability>Methods

Not Just a Hammer: When and How to Employ Multiple Methods in Usability Programs  

Why should usability programs incorporate many kinds of methodology to influence corporate decision-making? This paper describes what makes successful multiple-method usability programs. It discusses when to apply each method and how to justify usability programs to management.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. Tec-Ed, Inc. (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods

Structured Heuristic Evaluation of Online Documentation  

Increasingly, online documentation is the only documentation that companies provide with their products. To minimize customer resistance and encourage its use, online documentation (PDFs and help systems) must be at least as easy to use as a printed book. This paper presents a structured process for evaluating the usability of online documentation, based on a list of heuristics for navigating through and finding content.

Kantner, Laurie, Roberta Shroyer and Stephanie L. Rosenbaum. Tec-Ed, Inc. (2002). Articles>Documentation>Usability

Techniques for Managing a Usability Test  

For readers who have performed a usability test or taken a course on usability methods, provides project management techniques to ensure that a usability test meets its information-gathering goals.

Kantner, Laurie. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1994). Articles>Usability>Methods

Testing the Sizzle of the Steak: Usability Testing of Packaging  

Provides the rationale for usability testing the packaging of high-tech products, including lowered support costs, improved customer satisfaction, and increased sales.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. and Janice Anne Rohn. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Usability>Marketing

A Toolkit for Strategic Usability: Results from Workshops, Panels, and Surveys  

Describes the organizational approaches and usability methodologies considered by HCI professionals to increase the strategic impact of usability research. Based on data collected at three conferences. In Human Factors in Computing Systems: CHI 2000 Conference Proceedings.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L., Janice Anne Rohn and Judee Humburg. Tec-Ed, Inc. (2002). Articles>Usability

Usability in Practice: Field Studies  

Field methods are a collection of tools and techniques for conducting studies of users, their tasks, and their work environments in the actual context of those environments. The promise of such methods is that they help teams design products that are both useful and usable by providing data about what people really do. This paper reviews ways to adapt these methods to practical constraints, with brief case study summaries.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Usability>Methods

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

When the Field is Far Afield: Multiple-Country Observations of Complex System Use  

Describes the challenges of usability studies of complex systems that are used internationally, based on a case study of a multinational company's enterprise-wide call management system.

Anscheutz, Lori, Deborah Hinderer and Janice Anne Rohn. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1998). Articles>Usability>Methods>International