Taking the role of a ‘usability consultant’ you are to write a usability report based on a formal test or inspection method that we have covered on the module.
you can choose ONE from the following list of web applications:
http://www.google.com/google-d-s/intl/en-GB/tour1.html
http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/inc/planner places redirect.jsp
http://www.coventryairport.co.uk/
it is important that you use a formal inspection method to conduct your test- and you should select one of the methods we have studied in class from the research literature- you might choose a heuristic evaluation, or a recorded usability test with a few subjects, a cognitive walkthrough, or a co-discovery or talk-aloud method. you should NOT simply conduct an ad-hoc critique of your chosen web site.
HINT: evidence from last years run of the assignment showed that usability tests were better at identyfing specific usability issues. the report should be about 3000 words in length. the report MUST contain :
1. A DESCRIPTION OF THE FORMAL USABILITY METHOD THAT YOU CONDUCT THE INSPECTION.
this might be one of those studied on the module so far, such as talk aloud usability test or heuristic analysis you might, however , like to try one of the other methods of usability testing outlined in the web resources below.
2. A DESCRIPTION OF THE SIGNIFICANT USABILITY ISSUES THAT YOU FOUND. in a 3000word report you are not going to be able to cover every aspect of your chosen sites usability. therefore you should concentrate on the significant usabilty issues. what problems did you ( or your test subject, if you are carrying out a formal user test) encounter when trying to complete the test tasks- it may help, for the purpose of the report, to categorise the issues found in terms of nielsen’s list of heuristics.( e.g consistency, feedback, user control etc).
3. A SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING YOUR SITE’S USABILITY. based on your background research and focussing on the significant problems found on your chosen site.
4. A BRIEF REFLECTION ON THEUSEFULNESS OF THE METHOD YOU CHOSE. assess how successful the method is at highlighting usability problems in your target website, discuss the validity of the data your method produces, identify any difficulties that using the method presents.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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