Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Chapter 11 Usability

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Usability  Refers to how successfully and satisfactorily a person uses a product, document, or website  Means that a product, document, or website is  Easy to learn  Easy to remember  Efficient  Satisfying  Error free

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Usability focuses on the user’s interaction with a product, document, or website; it does not focus simply on the product, document, or website by itself

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Internet Usability Challenges  Online users may be hard to identify  Websites do not work in a linear fashion  Websites are more likely to use diverse color schemes, graphics, and images  Writing styles on websites differ from traditional documents

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Usability in the Workplace  Workplace documents are often reviewed to make sure that they are usable.  “Usability testing” can occur during product development or document design, or after a document has been put into use.

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. User-Centered Design  Is important because not all users are alike  Considers users’ skills, particularly those that implement emerging technologies  Attempts to give users satisfying and efficient experiences with documents or website  Is often the end product of usability testing

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Phases in Developing Usable Documents  Pre-design involves analyzing who the users are, what tasks they will need to perform, and the places in which these tasks will be performed.  Usability Measurement involves users testing a product or website and for issues such as learnability or ease of use.  Iterative Design involves fixing problems discovered by users during the previous stage.

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. General Characteristics of Usability Tests  The goal is to improve the usability of a document or website for its specified users  Participants must be representative of users  Participants must engage in real tasks  Testers must observe and record what participants do  Data should be analyzed and used to guide changes

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Where Usability Testing Takes Place  In a Lab  Allows for a controlled environment  Makes observation easier  Outside a Lab  May only need a conference room  In the Field  Tests real-life situations and environments

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Planning Usability Tests  Establish a team  Define the parameters of the test  Define the user profile  Establish the issues and goals of the test  Write the test plan  Recruit and screen participants for the test

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Establish a Team  Of participants to observe closely and keenly  Of enough participants for the size of the project  Of members with different viewpoints

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Define the Parameters of the Test  Based on budget and time  Based on particular issues and concerns  Based on facilities available for testing  Based on the audience who will look at the test results

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Define the User Profile  By identifying the kinds of people who typically use the document or website  By making it specific and narrow  By defining different subgroups of users based upon frequency or expertise  By considering factors like user experience, stress, attitudes, motivations

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Establish the Goals of the Test  By deciding upon a variety of central issues that guide the testing plan  By establishing clear goals for users that satisfy the issues at stake  By understanding users and their needs, desires, and preferences  By providing concrete and quantifiable means to measure test results

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Write the Test Plan  To allow others to see what the test will accomplish  To outline the test and its procedures  To clarify issues and goals that make up the test  To define participants, methods, and timeframe

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Recruit and Screen Participants  Advertise or hire an outside recruiting firm  Consider compensation for participants  Screen participants to fit the profile

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Conduct the Test  Focus on the tasks you expect users to complete, without suggesting how they should do so  Collect data directly, by video, or on pre-made data collection sheets  Administer post-test questionnaires to collect neutral feedback, both qualitative and quantitative

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Analyze Findings  Distinguish between identifying a problem and identifying the cause of a problem  Determine the severity of the problems  Classify the nature of problems, the causes of problems, and the severity of the problems

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Report Results & Make Recommendations  By identifying the audience for the report  By choosing a format that fits the audience  By using a cover letter, a summary, a table of contents, and appendices (when appropriate)  By summarizing methodology, results, and recommendations (when appropriate)

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Follow Usability Report Guidelines  Write in a clear style  Include charts or diagrams  Include actual voices and words of the participants

Dobrin / Weisser / Keller: Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century. © 2010 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved. Ethical Considerations in Usability Testing  Brief participants about the test process  Create unbiased questionnaires  Use consent and anonymous disclosure forms  Get permission and limit interactions when testing in the field