Usability Testing

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Usability Testing

• Professor Larry Heimann
• Carnegie Mellon University
• 88-272 Lecture Notes Fall 1999

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Agenda Announcements

• Announcements
• The Truth About Usability Testing
• Steps in Usability Testing
• Developing a Usability Test for a Popular
  Software Package

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The Truth About Usability Testing

• What is usability testing?
• Deciding how much and when to test

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7 Myths of Usability Testing

• 1. Testing occurs at the end of the development
  cycle
• 2. You need an expensive lab to do UT
• 3. You should test everything you possibly can
• 4. Good UT involves at least 100 participants
• 5. A good test means no changes are needed
• 6. UT is the same thing as system testing
• 7. UT is the same thing as a design review

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1. Identifying the Testing Scope

• Decide on the features/tasks to be tested
• Decide on the testing medium
• Decide on the level of interaction in the test

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1. Identifying the Scope (continued)

• Decide on the test environment
• Choose participants

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2. Planning Preparing for Test

• Creating test scenarios

Task 3 Pay bills Your Situation You have six
bill that have to be paid. The bills are in a
folder on the table. Your Job 1. Enter the
bills into Check-Ease. 2. Decide whether you
have enough money to pay all of them. 3. If you
do have enough money, pay them all. 4. If you do
not have enough money, pay less on the credit
card bill so that you can pay the rest.
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2. Planning Preparing for Test

• In creating test scenarios you need to
• Develop a written test plan
• Prepare all test materials

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Materials to be Prepared in Advance

• The prototype
• Test scenarios
• Confidentiality and permission forms
• Participant instructions
• Observer schedule and other forms
• Observer instructions
• Logging software (if used/available)
• Video/audio taping equipment (if
  used/available)
• Pre-test and post-test interview lists or surveys

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3. Conduct the Usability Test
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4. Analyzing Reporting Results

• Tips for analyzing the data
• Prepare report and presentation
• Prepare a video excerpt tape (if available)