Usability Testing

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• Usability Testing
• SOMATAT NA TAKUATUNG

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Usability Testing Plan

• What are you trying to accomplish?
• What are the user profiles?
• What tasks will users do?
• How will you present the results?
• How will you make recommendations?

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Usability Testing Methods

• Heuristic Evaluation Methods
• Cognitive Walkthroughs
• Formal Usability Inspections
• Empirical Methods
• Pluralistic Walkthroughs
• Formal Design Analysis
• Etc.

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Choosing Methods

• Based on product lifecycle
• Usability factors
• Usefulness of the product
• Learnability
• Effectiveness
• Efficiency
• Satisfaction
• Tuxedos or jeans

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Heuristic Evaluation Methods

• Heuristic evaluation is a usability method for
  finding the usability problems in a user
  interface design by using a predefined set of
  standards, a professional usability expert
  reviews someone elses product or product design
  and presents a marked checklist back to the
  designer.

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Ten Usability Heuristics

• Visibility of system status
• The system should always keep users informed
  about what is going on, through appropriate
  feedback within reasonable time.
• Match between system and the real world
• The system should speak the users' language,
  with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the
  user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow
  real-world conventions, making information appear
  in a natural and logical order.

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Ten Usability Heuristics (Cont.)

• User control and freedom
• Users often choose system functions by mistake
  and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit"
  to leave the unwanted state without having to go
  through an extended dialogue. Support undo and
  redo.
• Consistency and standards
• Users should not have to wonder whether
  different words, situations, or actions mean the
  same thing. Follow platform conventions.

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Ten Usability Heuristics (Cont.)

• Error prevention
• Even better than good error messages is a
  careful design which prevents a problem from
  occurring in the first place. Either eliminate
  error-prone conditions or check for them and
  present users with a confirmation option before
  they commit to the action.
• Recognition rather than recall
• Minimize the user's memory load by making
  objects, actions, and options visible. The user
  should not have to remember information from one
  part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for
  use of the system should be visible or easily
  retrievable whenever appropriate.

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Ten Usability Heuristics (Cont.)

• Flexibility and efficiency of use
• Accelerators -- unseen by the novice user -- may
  often speed up the interaction for the expert
  user such that the system can cater to both
  inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users
  to tailor frequent actions.
• Aesthetic and minimalist design
• Dialogues should not contain information which
  is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit
  of information in a dialogue competes with the
  relevant units of information and diminishes
  their relative visibility.

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Ten Usability Heuristics (Cont.)

• Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from
  errors
• Error messages should be expressed in plain
  language (no codes), precisely indicate the
  problem, and constructively suggest a solution.
• Help and documentation
• Even though it is better if the system can be
  used without documentation, it may be necessary
  to provide help and documentation. Any such
  information should be easy to search, focused on
  the user's task, list concrete steps to be
  carried out, and not be too large.

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Other Usability Heuristics

• Task sequencing
• Users can select and sequence tasks (when
  appropriate) rather than the system taking
  control of the users actions. Action support
  agents (wizards, etc.) are available but are
  optional and are under user control.
• Skills
• The system supports, extends, supplements or
  enhances the users skills, background knowledge
  and expertise. The system does not replace them.

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Other Usability Heuristics (Cont.)

• Pleasurable and respectful interaction
• The users interactions with the system enhance
  the quality of her or his experience. The user is
  treated with respect. The design reflects the
  users professional role, personal identity or
  intension. The design is aesthetically pleasing
  with an appropriate balance of artistic as well
  as functional values.
• Quality work
• The system supports the user in delivering
  quality work to her or his clients (if
  appropriate). Attitudes of quality work include
  timeliness, accuracy, aesthetic appeal, and
  appropriate levels of completeness.

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Other Usability Heuristics (Cont.)

• Privacy
• The system helps the user to protect personal or
  private information belonging to the user or
  his or her clients.

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Cognitive Walkthroughs

• Cognitive Walkthrough is a usability test
  situation set up by making mock-ups of artifacts,
  and walk through the scenarios.

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Model of Cognitive Walkthroughs

• 0. The user starts with a rough plan of what he
  or she wants to achieve - a task to be performed
• 1. The user explores the system, via the user
  interface, looking for actions that might
  contribute to performing the task
• 2. The user selects the action whose description
  or appearance most closely matches what he or she
  is trying to do
• 3. The user then interprets the system's response
  and assesses whether progress has been made
  towards completing the task

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Model of Cognitive Walkthroughs

• Asking questions on each stage of interaction
• Q1 Will the correct action be made sufficiently
  evident to the user?
• Q2 Will the user connect the correct action's
  description with what he or she is trying to do?
• Q3 Will the user interpret the system's response
  to the chosen action correctly, that is, will the
  user know if he or she has made a right or a
  wrong choice?