Of the four usability tests that were introduced in the readings, I feel that a document markup will be the most effective for my project (along with feedback to a few survey questions). In case you don’t know, my instructions will include the steps necessary for creating a histogram using Microsoft Excel 2007. As with most instructions for software programs, the best way to determine the effectiveness of those instructions is to have members of your audience use them to achieve the task at hand. This is due to the fact that the author (an experienced user) will probably overlook any possible ambiguities, as they are already familiar with the program being used. A new user, on the other hand, will have the potential to get confused or lost when using a new set of instructions. They are then able to notify the author of these areas so that they may improve upon them by addressing any questions. Chapter 12 from TCT mentions the use of video recording for usability testing, but this isn’t a realistic option for an online course. The easiest way to get my results is to have students mark any areas where they ran into trouble. For my test, I’d like other students in the class to use my instructions to actually perform the task. I’d assume that there are still students who have not used Excel 2007 to create graphs or charts, but have had experience with previous versions of the program. I think that these users would be the most effective in identifying any information that my instructions may lack.
Some short survey questions I plan to incorporate are:
-Did you have trouble finding any menus or tools within the program?
-How can my screen shots be improved for guiding the user to those tools?
-Were the important areas of my screen shots easy to read, or was the text too small?
-Were my steps clear enough for a novice user to implement the necessary Excel formulas and functions?
-Were there any areas in my instructions that include too much text or white space?
-Can you identify any areas that may have made you bored or frustrated?
Getting Feedback
I like how you've decided to not focus in on only one usability option. I think there are advantages and disadvantages to each option, assuming it's viable for an online course obviously, and that it really depends on what kind of instructions you're producing. I think it also depends on where your concerns lie, and what kind of adjustments you anticipate that you'll be making.
I also like the survey questions you've outlined here. They're well worded and require thought out responses. I think that they'll guide you very well in making improvements to better your instructions based on the user-centered approach.
Good thinking
I like how you are aware that there are possible users that are unfamiliar with the steps and processes of excel. From repetition, I can see how an advanced user can easily skip a simple step that can confuse the user.
I also like the questions you have started with most of them are very detailed questions to give you back a lot of clear responses to help you improve you instructions. They are asking directly what the user has trouble with and how the user would improve it. I would also suggest asking with the first, “Did you have trouble finding any menus or tools within the program?”, If so which ones.
Zebulon Rouse
Survey Structure
Originally I thought it was implied that the user should clarify which menus or tools they had trouble finding, but it does seem like a good idea to ask them to elaborate too. A simple "yes" or "no" wouldn't really help me improve my instructions. Your comment also made me think of other ways to improve the questions. Maybe the order in which they are asked is important too. For example, I think it might be a good idea to ask, "did you have any trouble finding anything," first. That way the user will (hopefully) be able to recall the majority of steps that they had difficulty with. If the questions are structured randomly, the reader may forget some important details as they focus on the others.