Test and Refine — Step-by-Step Usability Guide
Test early. Test often. You should be doing usability testing throughout the process—from baseline testing on the old site, tests with partial and low-fidelity prototypes, and testing both navigation and content as you fill out the site. Having representative users try out the site is the only way to really know how youll the site will allow users to accomplish their tasks and get answers to their questions.
- How can you tell if your site is usable?
- What types of usability evaluations are there?
- When should you do usability evaluations?
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- Which should you rely on more: usability evaluations or usability tests?
- What is a heuristic evaluation?
- How do usability tests differ from usability evaluations?
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- What is usability testing?
- What are you looking for in a usability test?
- How does usability testing fit into user-centered design?
- When should you do usability testing?
- What can you learn through usability testing?
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- What should you keep in mind when usability testing?
- Do I need a lab to do usability testing?
- How many participants are needed for a usability test?
- How much does it cost to do usability testing?
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- Who prepares the test plan?
- What goes into a plan?
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- Includes information on numbers of participants, scenarios to be tested, pre- and post-test questions and data to be collected
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- What is a scenario?
- What makes a good scenario for usability testing?
- What does NOT go in a scenario for usability testing?
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- Should you write down how to accomplish the task?
- What if you give participants choices for answers?
- What if users have difficulty understanding a scenario?
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- Who should participate in a usability test?
- Who should recruit participants?
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- What should you ask in a screening questionnaire?
- Does recruiting cost money?
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- Make sure you have everything you need
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- Do a dry-run and a pilot test
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- What happens in a typical usability test session?
- What makes a good test facilitation?
- Treating participants with care
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- Staying neutral
- Deciding when and how much to help
- Taking good notes
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- What data will you have?
- What do you do with quantitative data?
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- What do you do with qualitative data?
- How do you know what are the most important results?
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- How should you write the report?
- What should you include?
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- Where can you get further help?
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- Implementing recommendations
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