1. 1 Overview of Usability Testing CSSE 376, Software Quality Assurance Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology April 19, 2007

2. 2 Outline  Goals  Limitations  Methods  Environments

3. 3 General Goals  Ensure creation of systems that are: easy to learn and use satisfying to use provide value to the user

4. 4 Benefits of Testing  Create historical record of benchmarks  Minimize cost of service calls  Increase sales  Provide competitive edge  Minimize risk

5. 5 Limitations of Testing  Always an artificial situation  Tests do not prove that the product works  Participants in tests are rarely fully representative of target population  Testing is not always the best technique to use

6. 6 Basic Method 1. Form a hypothesis 2. Choose participants 3. Conduct test 4. Analyze results

7. 7 Types of Tests  Exploratory  Assessment  Validation  Comparison

8. 8 Exploratory Tests  Explore preliminary design concepts  Use a prototype of system  User follows a simple scenario  User should "think aloud"  Test monitor asks opinion of user during test

9. 9 Assessment Tests  Evaluate how successfully a design has been implemented  Use the implemented system (or part of it)  User performs specific tasks  Quantitative measures are collected

10. 10 Validation Tests  Compare product to a benchmark  Use a completed system  Users perform specific tasks  Quantitative data is collected for comparison with benchmark

11. 11 Comparison Tests  Determine which of 2 versions is better  May be used at any stage of development  Side-by-side comparison of 2 approaches  Should propose radically different approaches

12. 12 Cartoon of the Day

13. 13 Test Environment  4 different choices  Each has advantages and disadvantages  Consider: Test Monitor Observers Participant

14. 14 Simple Single-Room

15. 15 Modified Single-Room

16. 16 Electronic Observation Room

17. 17 Classic Testing Lab