Table of Contents
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| Foreword | xv | |
| Acknowledgments | xvii | |
| About the author | xix | |
| Image credits and permissions | xxi | |
| Introduction: Getting started guide | 1 | |
| Usability is invisible | 1 | |
| U R usability | 3 | |
| How to use this book | 3 | |
| Special features you can use or skip | 5 | |
| A few words about words | 6 | |
| But wait, there's more on the companion website | 7 | |
| 1 | Establishing the essentials | 9 |
| Focus on the user, not the product | 10 | |
| Start with some essential definitions | 10 | |
| Defining usability | 11 | |
| Defining usability testing | 13 | |
| Know when to conduct small studies | 17 | |
| Know how to conduct small studies | 18 | |
| Define the user profile | 18 | |
| Create task-based scenarios | 19 | |
| Use a think-aloud process | 19 | |
| Make changes and test again | 19 | |
| Know when to conduct large studies | 20 | |
| Think of usability testing as hill climbing | 21 | |
| 2 | Testing here, there, everywhere | 25 |
| Testing in a lab offers some benefits | 26 | |
| The bare essentials for testing in a lab | 27 | |
| Other equipment that's nice to have | 27 | |
| Specialized equipment you might need in certain situations | 28 | |
| Formal labs can cost a lot, or not | 34 | |
| Informal labs can be set up anywhere at very little cost | 37 | |
| Field testing gets you into the world of your users | 38 | |
| Advantages of field testing | 39 | |
| Disadvantages of field testing | 40 | |
| Remote testing extends your reach to your users | 41 | |
| Moderated remote testing is synchronous | 42 | |
| Unmoderated remote testing is asynchronous | 44 | |
| New methods push the envelope on remote testing | 46 | |
| Choosing the right method is a balancing act | 48 | |
| 3 | Big U and little u usability | 53 |
| Introducing big U and little u usability | 53 | |
| Using a user-centered design process | 54 | |
| Opening your toolkit and seeing what's there | 56 | |
| Analysis tools | 56 | |
| Development tools | 57 | |
| Post-release tools | 58 | |
| Choosing heuristic evaluation from the toolkit | 59 | |
| Conducting a heuristic evaluation | 61 | |
| Conducting a formal evaluation | 63 | |
| Conducting an expert review | 64 | |
| Conducting an informal evaluation | 65 | |
| Comparing the results from heuristic evaluation and usability testing | 66 | |
| Putting both methods together: The 1–2 punch | 68 | |
| Cost-justifying usability | 69 | |
| Case Study: Heuristic evaluation of Holiday Inn China website | 72 | |
| 4 | Understanding users and their goals | 83 |
| People are goal-oriented | 84 | |
| When people use the web, they bring their experience and expectations | 85 | |
| People expect web objects to be in specific places | 86 | |
| People don't want to read — they want to act | 87 | |
| Make a good first impression — you might not get a second chance | 87 | |
| Generational differences matter when it comes to the web | 89 | |
| Personas help you get to know your users | 94 | |
| Personas are based on real information about real users | 94 | |
| Personas are a creative activity, but don't get carried away | 97 | |
| Personas should be a manageable number | 98 | |
| Personas need to be visible | 98 | |
| Scenarios tell the story of your users' goals | 99 | |
| Start by knowing the difference between a task and a goal | 99 | |
| Tell stories about your personas in a compelling way | 100 | |
| 5 | Planning for usability testing | 105 |
| Scheduling the planning meeting | 106 | |
| Establish test goals | 107 | |
| Determine how to test the product | 111 | |
| Agree on user subgroups | 116 | |
| Determine participant incentive | 122 | |
| Draft the screener for recruiting participants | 124 | |
| Create scenarios based on tasks that match test goals | 128 | |
| Determine quantitative and qualitative feedback methods | 136 | |
| Set dates for testing and deliverables | 138 | |
| Writing the test plan | 142 | |
| Writing an informal test plan | 143 | |
| Writing a formal test plan | 145 | |
| Case Study: Test plan for Holiday Inn China website usability study | 148 | |
| 6 | Preparing for usability testing | 157 |
| Recruiting participants | 158 | |
| How to do the recruiting yourself | 158 | |
| How to recruit through an agency | 160 | |
| How to plan for no-shows | 161 | |
| Assigning team roles and responsibilities | 162 | |
| Developing team checklists | 163 | |
| Writing the moderator's script | 167 | |
| Preparing or using other forms | 170 | |
| Preparing a video consent form | 170 | |
| Preparing a special consent form for testing with minors | 171 | |
| Using a non-disclosure agreement | 172 | |
| Preparing an observer form | 172 | |
| Creating questionnaires | 173 | |
| Creating a pre-test questionnaire | 173 | |
| Creating post-task questionnaires | 176 | |
| Creating a post-test questionnaire | 176 | |
| Using standard post-test questionnaires | 181 | |
| Using the SUS | 182 | |
| Using the CSUQ | 183 | |
| Creating or using qualitative feedback methods | 185 | |
| Using product reaction cards | 185 | |
| Ending with an interview | 187 | |
| Testing the test | 188 | |
| Conducting the walkthrough | 188 | |
| Conducting the pilot | 189 | |
| Case Study: Sample test materials for Holiday Inn China website usability study | 193 | |
| 7 | Conducting a usability test | 199 |
| Setting up for testing | 200 | |
| Meeting, greeting, briefing | 200 | |
| Meeting and greeting the participant | 201 | |
| Conducting the pre-test briefing | 201 | |
| Preparing the participant to think out loud | 205 | |
| Being an effective and unbiased moderator | 207 | |
| Monitor your body language | 207 | |
| Balance your praise | 208 | |
| Ask "good" questions | 209 | |
| Know how and when to intervene | 214 | |
| Administer post-test feedback mechanisms | 216 | |
| Managing variations on the theme of testing | 218 | |
| Testing with two or more participants | 218 | |
| Testing with two or more moderators | 219 | |
| Testing remotely with a moderator | 220 | |
| Providing help or customer support during testing | 223 | |
| Logging observations | 225 | |
| Handling observers and visitors | 226 | |
| Observers with you and the participant | 226 | |
| Visitors in the executive viewing room | 228 | |
| Remote observers | 230 | |
| Working solo | 230 | |
| Case Study: Session log from Holiday Inn China website usability study | 234 | |
| 8 | Analyzing the findings | 239 |
| What did we see? | 240 | |
| Gather input from everyone | 241 | |
| Collect the top findings and surprises | 241 | |
| Choose your organizational method | 242 | |
| What does it mean? | 249 | |
| Determining who should do the analysis | 249 | |
| Collating the findings | 250 | |
| Presenting quantitative data | 251 | |
| Working with statistics | 252 | |
| Analyzing questionnaires | 256 | |
| Using qualitative feedback from the think- aloud process | 258 | |
| Collating responses from the product reaction cards | 259 | |
| What should we do about it? | 259 | |
| Triangulating the data from findings | 260 | |
| Characterizing findings by scope and severity | 261 | |
| Making recommendations | 265 | |
| Case Study: Findings analysis from Holiday Inn China website usability study | 270 | |
| 9 | Reporting the findings | 277 |
| Following Aristotle's advice | 279 | |
| Preparing the message for the medium | 279 | |
| Writing an informal memo report | 280 | |
| Writing a formal report | 283 | |
| Preparing the parts of a formal report | 283 | |
| Writing the executive summary | 285 | |
| Organizing the rest of the report to match youraudience needs | 285 | |
| Presenting the findings | 289 | |
| Using tables to summarize the findings | 291 | |
| Illustrating the findings | 293 | |
| Ordering the findings | 299 | |
| Presenting post-task and post-test results | 300 | |
| Presenting survey responses | 301 | |
| Presenting SUS results | 302 | |
| Presenting qualitative responses | 303 | |
| Making recommendations | 304 | |
| Presenting an oral report | 307 | |
| Plan your presentation | 308 | |
| Prepare video clips | 309 | |
| Practice, practice, practice | 310 | |
| Deliver your presentation | 311 | |
| Know how and when to ask for questions | 311 | |
| Advocating for more UCD | 312 | |
| Case Study: Report of Holiday Inn China website usability study | 315 | |
| 10 | International usability testing | 319 |
| Learning about your international users | 320 | |
| Some international users are here | 320 | |
| Other international users are "there" | 320 | |
| Understanding cultural differences | 324 | |
| Books to learn more | 324 | |
| Articles to learn more | 324 | |
| Applying the work of Hall and Hofstede to understand international users | 331 | |
| Hall's concept of high-context and low- context cultures | 331 | |
| Hofstede's concept of five cultural dimensions | 332 | |
| Planning for international testing | 334 | |
| Where to test | 335 | |
| How to test | 340 | |
| Structuring the test protocol | 342 | |
| Localizing the scenarios | 342 | |
| Localizing the questionnaires | 343 | |
| Scheduling single sessions or co- discovery sessions | 346 | |
| Choosing think-aloud or retrospective recall | 346 | |
| Selecting the moderator | 346 | |
| Anticipating other aspects of international testing | 348 | |
| What if the participant arrives with someone else? | 348 | |
| Should more time be set aside for meeting and greeting? | 349 | |
| Should breaks be longer between sessions? | 349 | |
| Can you interpret nonverbal communication cues? | 350 | |
| Case Study: Analysis of the UPS Costa Rican website | 353 | |
| References | 355 | |
| Index | 367 | |