Jennifer Garnett

In order to collect data for my usability sessions, I used several tools. Prior to the testing sessions, I asked each participant to take a brief demographic/background survey

 

During the session itself, I used my laptop with the digital prototype loaded, and Camtasia, which is screen, audio, and video recording software. I used this to software in order to be able to go back and review the sessions later, and to capture any relevant facial expression (which I could not see during the test due to sitting behind the participant observing the participants on-screen interaction).

 

After the users finished the usability tasks, I asked them to complete a System Usability Scale. “The SUS has become an industry standard, with references in over 1300 articles and publications. The noted benefits of using SUS include that it:

• Is a very easy scale to administer to participants

• Can be used on small sample sizes with reliable results

• Is valid – it can effectively differentiate between usable and unusable systems” (Usability.gov)

 

Finally, I interviewed the participants using the M5 guidelines suggested questions, and gave the participants the opportunity to ask any questions they may have had about the system.I chose to include different types of measures: qualitative (timed task completion, Likert scales) and quantitative (interview questions and observation). I chose this mixed-method approach, referred to as “triangulation” by Westat (2002), because a mixed method approach tends to strengthen the validity of the test results (Westat, 2002).

 

References:

 

Usability.gov. (2014). System Usability Scale (SUS). Retrieved from Usability.gov: http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html

 

Westat, J. (2002). The 2002 User-Friendly Handbook for Project Evaluation. Retrieved from National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02057/start.htm

 

For a full discussion of the evaluation menthonds and the results of the sessions, please download the full M5 here: