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Usability Evaluation focuses on how well users can learn and use a product to achieve their goals. It also refers to how satisfied users are with that process. To gather this information, practitioners use a variety of methods that gather feedback from users about an existing site or plans related to a new site.
Usability refers to the quality of a user's experience when interacting with products or systems, including websites, software, devices, or applications. Usability is about effectiveness, efficiency and the overall satisfaction of the user.
It is important to realize that usability is not a single, one-dimensional property of a product, system, or user interface. ‘Usability’ is a combination of factors including:
The key to developing highly usable sites is employing user-centered design. The expression, “test early and often”, is particularly appropriate when it comes to usability testing. As part of UCD you can and should test as early as possible in the process and the variety of methods available allow you to assist in the development of content, Information architecture, visual design, interaction design and general user satisfaction.
Opportunities for testing include:
Any one or a combination of these tests will radically improve the usability of your site, system or application.
Usability evaluations can capture two types of data: qualitative data and quantitative data. Quantitative data notes what actually happened. Qualitative data describes what participants thought or said.
Once you have gathered your data, use it to: