Sandra Martinez, Ph.D. Apply Texas Team Student Information Systems University of Texas at Austin

 A product is usable if people can accomplish necessary tasks quickly and easily.  This includes hardware, software, menus, icons, messages, quick reference, online help, manuals & other documentation and training.  From Dumas & Redish, A Practical Guide to Usability Testing, Revised Edition. 1999

 To evaluate a product by testing it on actual users or people similar to real users.  To discover errors and areas for improvement by observing people using the product.  To measure efficiency, accuracy, recall, and emotional responses of test subjects.

 A realistic scenario is created in which a person is asked to perform a list of tasks.  Participants are asked to “think out loud” as they go through the scenario.  Observers watch and take notes, perhaps audiotaping, videotaping, and/or using computer keystroke capture software.

 Testing should be done “iteratively from predesign, through early design, and throughout development.”  From Dumas & Redish, A Practical Guide to Usability Testing, Revised Edition. 1999

 Getting a third party to perform a usability study is more effective than using developers or administrators because: ◦ They have less personal involvement in the website, which produces less emotional response. ◦ They are not biased by over-familiarity with the website ◦ They have different expectations than developers

 Usability tests cost time and money, so why do them? ◦ May reduce the time and frustration of users ◦ May enhance the reputation of the organization ◦ May reduce training costs ◦ May reduce the need for updates and maintenance ◦ May make documentation and training easier to develop ◦ May reduce time spent on help desk or going through documentation

 In the spring of 2010, Garrett Stettler, a Master’s student in the UT School of Information, performed a usability study for Apply Texas (for free!)  Apply Texas is the common admission and scholarship application used by most colleges and universities in the state of Texas

 It is written and maintained by analysts from the University of Texas at Austin through a contract with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, a state agency tasked with providing leadership and coordination for the Texas higher education system.  It changes yearly based on requests from the Apply Texas Advisory Committee, a statewide committee whose members are from 2 year and 4 year schools, and from public and private schools.

◦ Find and fix simple errors ◦ Find and fix big, urgent problems ◦ Create list of usability issues for the Apply Texas Advisory Committee to prioritize ◦ Create list of suggested changes for the Apply Texas Advisory Committee

 1) Can a user navigate the application easily?  2) Can a user copy one application to a new application to another school?  3) Is the help provided easy to use and adequate?  4) How much confusion and frustration do the users express?  5) Are users able to complete the tasks accurately?

 8 postsecondary-bound Texas high school students  2 postsecondary-bound high school students from other states  2 current college students (transfer)  1 prospective graduate student  1 “non-traditional” adult returning to school  1 pilot participant

 Group A (“new” users) 1. Create account, input profile information 2. Start and complete a new application 3. Enter essay information 4. Enter scholarship information 5. Logout  Group B (“returning” users) 1. Retrieve forgotten password 2. View/edit a saved profile 3. View/edit a saved application 4. View/edit saved essays 5. Copy an existing application

 Critical concerns  Major concerns  Moderate concerns  Minor concerns

Description of critical concerns:  Critical data may be lost, or  The user may not be able to complete the task, or  The user may not want to continue using the application

Description of major concerns:  Users can accomplish the task but only with considerable frustration and/or unnecessary steps  Non-critical data may be lost  The user has great difficulty in circumventing the problem  Users can overcome the problem only after they have been shown how to perform the task

Description of moderate concerns:  The user is able to complete the task in most cases but it takes some effort to get around the problem  The user may need to investigate several links or pathways through the system to determine which option will allow them to accomplish the intended task  Users will most likely remember how to perform the task on subsequent encounters with the system

Description of minor concerns:  The concern is an irritant for the user  There is a cosmetic problem  There is a typographical error

 Error handling ◦ In Apply Texas, error messages are grouped at the top of the page, but are not highlighted within the page itself. ◦ Observation showed that participants tended to skim over error messages and use a “trial-and- error” approach to correcting the error

 Error handling recommendations ◦ Errors should be highlighted at the top of the page and at the location in the page where the error has occurred. ◦ If possible, identify the error as the user is typing

 Buttons or important information appear ‘below the fold’  Some participants had difficulty completing a task if the continue button required scrolling

Continue button off the screen

For new cycle, continue button moved to top of page

 Confusing/inconsistent terminology ◦ 1) Applicants were unsure what was being asked for “Mini or short” semester

 Confusing/inconsistent terminology ◦ 2) Participants were unsure about the difference between ‘community and volunteer service’ and ‘extracurricular activities’ ◦ 3) Under extracurricular activities, participants were unclear what ‘activity level’ meant ◦ 4) One participant was unclear whether ‘household size’ included only children, or all persons in household.

For mini/short semester, the following paragraph was added for the new cycle as clarification:

 Overall, Apply Texas was found to be a fairly usable product, with no critical concerns  Many improvements to reduce frustration could be done fairly easily  Some improvements will require reworking certain modules or processes

 Selling the idea of a usability test may not be easy, due to the cost and time involved. But your college may have someone who can perform a usability test fairly inexpensively.  Very often, problems are not technical, and can be fixed with a minimum of effort.  It is helpful to have a list of usability problems that can be prioritized, once it is known which problems cause the most trouble to users.

Questions?