This week’s readings outlined a lot of very good methods and examples of usability test that can be targeted to our instructions. As noted in the instructor blog, many of the more formal methods of testing will be out of the question for this assignment. For my instructions I plan on using document markup, survey, and summary test. I would use a read and locate test but I plan on having a rather short manual that would make this nearly trivial. I seem to be decent at recognizing when something is not designed right or does not flow, but I can’t always find a good way to fix. I think a document markup could really help polishing the design and making sure it has a good feel to it. I plan to use the survey and summary test to make sure I hit on all the main points and didn’t leave the reader wondering about anything in the end. This will help me to know where to add more detail or explanation to keep the reader confident in what they’re doing.
For the novice users, I would like to target someone that would see the words Daemon Tools and disk emulator and not know what they just read. This would ensure that my instruction are thorough, and supply enough extra information so that they not only know how to do it, but that they know what they are doing also. I imagine there is going to be no shortage of expert users either. Ideally, someone who has used a disk emulator in the past, such as Alcohol120, would make a good candidate. It would help me make sure that the instructions are quick and effective in familiarizing them with the new program and format, allowing them to feel comfortable with it.
I also thought that usability testing was sort of undersold in the TCT; it was only a few pages at the end of the whole document. This really is a chance to put you work out there and get it critiqued and judged by the people who are going to be using it. By making my test rather open ended, I hope to get good feedback and criticism I can use to improve my content and design.
Well rounded testing
Using multiple tests is a great way to make sure that you cover all your bases. This way you make sure that not only do your instructions logically make sense but that they are also free of spelling and grammar errors. I often run into the same thing that you do. You know that something doesn't sound right but you just can't figure out what does sound right. Usually I find it helpful to bounce ideas off someone else until something better develops.
I totally agree that the usability testing was undersold. While the pages on editing are still useful it was hard to gain that much on usability testing from such few pages. However the IB#6, I feel, bridged that gap as it is entirely about usability testing.
Andy
The Power of 3
I think the strategy you’ve outlined here will prove very effective in tackling the usability tests. I, too, have chosen to use a combination of three tests for it offers a higher level of understanding of what needs to be covered, emphasized, or omitted. For instance, in using the document markup test, you will be able to determine where, if at all, individuals get lost in performing the steps; and in using the survey and summary tests you can ensure that readers will provide any information you did not explicitly prompt for, which enables you, as the author, to realize and resolve any “gaps” in your instructions.
Using Too Many Tests
There can be some negative aspects to using too many tests. At some point, the users might get annoyed with the test and their responses can become useless. Make sure you are not testing a user too much or if you are, that they have an incentive to continue providing you with feedback. It is also possible that not all users get the same tests. This will allow you to make conclusions about the users in general but would make it hard to compare results of two tests of a specific user.