Usability Testing Essentials

Foreword Acknowledgments About the author Image credits and permissions Introduction: Getting started guide Usability is invisible U R usability How to use this book Special features you can use or skip A few words about words But wait, there’s more on the companion website 1 Establishing the essentials Focus on the user, not the product Start with some essential definitions Defining usability Defining usability testing Know when to conduct small studies Know how to conduct small studies Define the user profile Create task-based scenarios Use a think-aloud process Make changes and test again Know when to conduct large studies Think of usability testing as hill climbing 2 Testing here, there, everywhere Testing in a lab offers some benefits The bare essentials for testing in a lab Other equipment that’s nice to have Specialized equipment you might need in certain situations Formal labs can cost a lot, or not Informal labs can be set up anywhere at very little cost Field testing gets you into the world of your users Advantages of field testing Disadvantages of field testing Remote testing extends your reach to your users Moderated remote testing is synchronous Unmoderated remote testing is asynchronous New methods push the envelope on remote testing Choosing the right method is a balancing act 3 Big U and little u usability Introducing big U and little u usability Using a user-centered design process Opening your toolkit and seeing what’s there Analysis tools Development tools Post-release tools Choosing heuristic evaluation from the toolkit Conducting a heuristic evaluation Conducting a formal evaluation Conducting