Usability Evaluation Methods

Reporting Usability Test Results

When reporting results from a usability test, you should focus primarily on your findings and recommendations that are differentiated by levels of severity. Include the pertinent information from the test plan and present just enough detail so that the method is identifiable.
Running a Usability Test

Once you have planned your test and recruited your test participants, it’s time to get ready to conduct your test. To do so, you’ll want to
Recruiting Usability Test Participants

It is vital to recruit participants who are similar to your site users for your usability testing. Depending on the site or product, you may have multiple potential users groups. Try to include representatives of all these groups or optimally, perform testing with each group separately if you r
Planning a Usability Test

One of the first steps in each round of usability testing is to develop a plan for the test.
Usability Testing

Usability testing refers to evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users.
First Click Testing

First Click Testing examines what a test participant would click on first on the interface in order to complete their intended task. It can be performed on a functioning website, a prototype or a wireframe.
System Usability Scale (SUS)

The System Usability Scale (SUS) provides a “quick and dirty”, reliable tool for measuring the usability. It consists of a 10 item questionnaire with five response options for respondents; from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree. Originally created by John Brooke in 1986, it allows you to eva
Heuristic Evaluations and Expert Reviews

In a heuristic evaluation, usability experts review your site’s interface and compare it against accepted usability principles. The analysis results in a list of potential usability issues.
Eye Tracking

Eye tracking involves measuring either where the eye is focused or the motion of the eye as an individual views a web page. Purpose of Eye tracking When your site visitors are connected to eye tracking software, you will be able to tell:
Contextual Interview

During these interviews, researchers watch and listen as users work in the user’s own environment, as opposed to being in a lab. Contextual interviews tend to be more natural and sometimes more realistic as a result.
Focus Groups

A focus group is a moderated discussion that typically involves 5 to 10 participants. Through a focus group, you can learn about users’ attitudes, beliefs, desires, and reactions to concepts.
Remote Testing

Remote usability testing allows you to conduct user research with participants in their natural environment by employing screen-sharing software or online remote usability vendor services. In general, tests should be about 15–30 minutes long made up of about 3-5 tasks.
Mobile Device Testing

Testing mobile devices such as phones, tablets, and eReaders requires special equipment and methodology. Since traditional desktop screen-capture software cannot adequately capture touch interactions, usability practitioners have been using strategically placed cameras to record usability test i
Scenarios

Scenarios describe the stories and context behind why a specific user or user group comes to your site. They note the goals and questions to be achieved and sometimes define the possibilities of how the user(s) can achieve them on the site.