|
|
|
|
|
|
Testing Methods and Tools
|
Introduction
Comprehensive sites on Usability Testing Methods and Tools
Usability Testing Methods
Usability Testing Tools
Automated Tools
Usability Labs
Case Studies
Credits
Usability is the combination of fitness for purpose, ease of use, and ease of learning
that makes a product effective. Usability testing focuses on determining if the product is
easy to learn, satisfying to use and contains the functionality that the users desire. The
movement towards usability testing stimulated the evolution of Usability Labs. Many
forms of usability testing have been tried from discount usability engineering,
field tests to competitive usability testing. Apart from research and development of
various testing methods there have been development in the field of automated tools for
evaluation of interface designs against usability guidelines. Some of the tools are DRUM,
WebCAT, WebSAT etc.
This page provides informative links to other sources on World Wide Web, focusing on
issues of Usability Testing Methods and Tools. The Page is organized in four
subsections.
The first section includes links to Comprehensive sites that cover various aspects of
usability including Testing Methods and Tools. The second section covers sites on Testing
Methods e.g. Heuristic, surveys etc. The third section contains links to Testing Tools
including automated tools and testing labs. The fourth section presents links
to some case studies. Lastly, we credit the people who maintain this page.
|
| Comprehensive sites on
Usability Testing Methods and Tools |
Top |
Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D., is a principal of the Nielsen Norman Group, a user experience
consultant. The site can be called the encyclopedia of information on usability
engineering.
Usable Web is a collection of 390 links and accompanying information about human
factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web. Usable
Web adds value to the links by providing descriptions, multiple organizational schemes (by
date, by site, by topic) and custom search engine queries.
| Usability Testing Methods
|
Top |
One of the most effective forms of inspection-based user testing involves the use of a
"usability checklist." Checklist-based user testing is extremely inexpensive to
implement, and requires a surprisingly small number of testers to be effective.
This site decomposes Usability Evaluation Methods into Testing, Inspection, and
Inquiry. It offers nine different testing methods and offers an overview, procedures and
references pertaining to these methods.
A number of methods can be used to gather requirements and identify tasks for Web
sites. Because there is no "one size fits all" solution, the specific
requirements, schedule, and objectives of a project will usually dictate the appropriate
method or methods to use. Additionally, each method has its strengths and weaknesses, and
these along with sample materials are provided to help usability engineers evaluate which
method is most appropriate for a given situation.
| SUMI |
Serco Usability Services |
SUMI (Software Usability Measurement Inventory) is a rigorously tested and proven
method of measuring software quality from the user's viewpoint. It delivers a subjective
measurement of user satisfaction.
A site describing various methods of usability testing: Thinking Aloud protocol,
Co-discovery method, Question asking protocol, Performance measurement etc.
Fundamentals of Usability Testing is a paper by Russell J. Branaghan, Ph.D. describing
various steps in usability testing methodology i.e. Purpose of the test, General problem
statement and so on.
This is a description of a usability study discussing about individual test sessions
showing what each participant does, the role of observers, the usability report detailing
the product's strengths and weaknesses.
Discussion of Heuristic evaluation, Pluralistic usability walkthrough test methods by
Usability Test Group of Helsinki University of Technology.
Provides an overview of usability testing methodology. It also introduces concepts of
interviews, task analysis, prototyping and expert reviews.
Provides a link to the usability testing handbook for the Software and Automation
Systems Branch (Code 522) at the NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center.
Various Automated Testing Tools have been developed and are used to evaluate usability
from different perspectives. In addition, various companies and organizations offer
specialized services to assist in Usability testing with the use of their testing labs.
Even large organizations like Microsoft and IBM have their own usability testing labs and
tools. This section is divided in two parts: Automated tools and Usability Labs.
Comprehensive GUI quality solutions
for the professional Windows application developer.
ErgoLight offers solutions for developers of Windows
applications for testing and evaluating their usability.
Tool Suite contains rapid, remote, and automated tools to help in producing usable web
sites. The Web Static Analyzer Tool (WebSAT) checks the html of a web page against
numerous usability guidelines. The output from WebSAT consists of identification of
potential usability problems, which should be investigated further through user testing.
The Web Category Analysis Tool (WebCAT) lets the usability engineer quickly construct and
conduct a simple category analysis across the web.
| Bobby |
Center for Applied Special Technology |
Bobby is a web-based public service offered by CAST that analyzes web pages for their
accessibility to people with disabilities as well as their compatibility with various
browsers.
| DRUM |
Serco Usability Services |
DRUM is a software tool, which has been developed by close cooperation between Human
Factors professionals and software engineers to provide a broad range of support for
video-assisted observational studies.
| Form Testing
Suite |
Corporate Research and Advanced Development, Digital Equipment
Corporation |
Provides a test suite developed to test various web browsers. The test results section
provides a description of the tests.
The Usability Center (ULAB) is a full service organization, which provides a
"Street-Wise" approach to usability risk management and product usability
excellence. It has custom designed ULAB facilities.
Usability Sciences Corporation has a usability lab in Dallas consisting of two large offices separated
by a one way mirror. The test room in each lab is equipped with multiple video cameras,
audio equipment, as well as everything a user needs to operate the program. The video
control and observation room features five monitors, a video recorder with special effects
switching, two-way audio system, remote camera controls, a PC for test log purposes, and a
telephone for use as a help desk.
UserWorks, Inc. (formerly Man-Made Systems) is a consulting firm in the Washington, DC
area specializing in the design of user-product interfaces. UserWorks does analyses,
market research, user interface design, rapid prototyping, product usability evaluations,
competitive testing and analyses, ergonomic analyses, and human factors contract
research. UserWorks offers several portable usability labs (audio-video data
collection systems) for sale or rent and an observational data logging software product
for sale.
Lodestone Research has usability-testing laboratory with state of the art audio and
visual recording and testing equipment. All equipment has been designed to be portable so
that it can be taken on the road. The lab consists of a test room and an
observation/control room that can seat as many as ten observers. A-V equipment includes
two (soon to be 3) fully controllable SVHS cameras, capture/feed capabilities for test
participant's PC via scan converter and direct split signal (to VGA "slave"
monitors in observation room), up to eight video monitors and four VCA monitors for
observer viewing, mixing/editing equipment, and "wiretap" capabilities to
monitor and record both sides of telephone conversation (e.g., if participant calls
customer support).
Provides insight into the usability test laboratory at Online Computer Library Center,
Inc. It gives an overview of the infrastructure as well as the process being used in the
laboratory.
Provides insight into how usability improvements were made in a highly successful
product, Lotus cc:Mail for Windows. The document discusses the entire improvement process
divided into four phases, of which, testing forms the second phase.
Is a paper on Lessons from Pilot Studies about Examining World Wide Web Designs. The
findings are based on three projects: 1. The Online Catalog Project, 2. The Graduate
School Application Forms Project, and 3. WWW and Multimedia Instructional Modules
Comparison Project.
Provides the outcome of usability test conducted to compare Netscape Navigator with
Microsoft Internet Explorer. The document is informative and gives a starting point for
anyone interested in evaluating a product as compared to a competitor's product.
This page was created by:
This page was last modified on 11/17/98.
