Usability study summery
Goals of the Usability Test
The primary point of usability testing was to provide feedback during
the design/development process to ensure that the web site will actually
be easy and effective to use and provide valuable information to the
users. Four primary elements to measured were:
Ease and effectiveness of navigation - Do users find what they need easily. Is there a clear pattern to
the navigation that fits easily into the users mental model. Are you
links labeled with terms that make sense to our users.
Usefulness of content - What information
do our users want/need? Have we organized the content on each page
in such a way that it is easy for our users to quickly find it?
Effectiveness of presentation - Did
the graphic design, fonts and colors highlight the navigation and
content, making the site easier to use? Or did the presentation distract
or create a barrier between the user and the information?
Task success rate - Were the users
able to accomplish the key task they needed/wanted to accomplish.
If they were able to complete the task, did they feel satisfied, neutral
or angry and frustrated?
- Week 1
- Determine usability goals, timeframe, audience, recruiting plan
- Review web site with management and develop usability test
- Week 2
- Recruited test subjects
- Test the test, make adjustments to test or web interface
- Week 4 & 5
- Conducted the tests and gather testing data
- Week 6
- Compile data and drafted a report, review report with management for consensus, produced final report
- Presented final report to management to
decide what recommendations they will address.
Target Audience & Test Subject
Asked the client who the primary audience(s) are for this
After the primary audience(s) have been named, considering setting a goal
of 3-5 representative test subjects for each primary audience type. See Jakob Nielsen's article on why testing 20 users is enough.
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Students w/ Visual Disabilities