usability research methods
DESCRIPTION
Usability Research Methods. Darlene Fichter [email protected] March 20, 2009. Overview. Cognitive walkthrough Affinity mapping Task based testing Ethnographic methods. Ease of use Ease of learning Fitness for purpose. What is Usability?. effective product. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Overview
1. Cognitive walkthrough
2. Affinity mapping
3. Task based testing
Ethnographic methods
What is Usability?
• Ease of use
• Ease of learning
• Fitness for purpose
effective product
Cognitive walkthrough
• Development team collectively walks through the site assessing whether the visitor has the information to confidently make the next right action
Steps
1. Describe a typical web site visitor
2. (Optional) Pick a task.
3. Ask– Would the visitor see the “choice”?– What would the visitor choose based
solely on the information available on the current page
Exercise
• Typical visitor– 12 year old boy– Just discovered Stephen King books– He’s exhausted his local branch
holdings– In the library and wants to request
books
When to do it?
• Live site – yours and others• Mockup stage
Affinity Mapping
• Insight in how to organize your content from the user’s perspective
Three Main Steps
• List content and services on your site• Have small teams group items and label• Vote for the most important items
Affinity Mapping Exercise
Task Based Testing
• Observe, record, and debrief
5 users will typically uncover 80% of site-level usability problems (Jakob Nielsen)
Design your tasks
• What do you want to know?
• Construct your sample
• Pre-test
1. When are your books are due?2. Find an article about …
Conducting the Study
• Users are given specific tasks
• Asked to talk out loud
• No assistance is provided
Measure and Analyze
• Time
• Errors
• Satisfaction
Exercise
• Task based test
Ethnographic Methods
• Contextual inquiry• Retrospective interviews• Photo journal• A day in the life of …
Studying Students
Studying Students: The Undergraduate Research Project at the University of Rochester edited by
Nancy Fried Foster and Susan Gibbons, 2007
http://docushare.lib.rochester.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-4436
Why do testing with users?
Very big difference between what people say and
what people do