The usability testing phase is crucial for companies to conduct before releasing a new product. In the Instructor Blog #6 it defines the concept in detail by saying, “ ...products should be usable in the real world environments where they function.” While constructing a usability test it's important to select a method to test your instruction. The method you select should be appropriately fitted for your needs in order to give you the necessary feedback in order to aid your instruction.
The usability tests that were recommend in Chapter 12 of the TCT were very helpful in organizing and preparing a rough usability draft. The usability test that will be constructed consist of components of a document markup, read and locate, survey and summary test. Due to the limitation of special tools/parts required for my instruction, a summery usability test will be the most important. By conducting a summary test this will get the most effective feedback results to assist me in creating a better set of instruction. In addition to having classmates reviewing my instructions, I will perform another survey to friends that have extensive knowledge in building guitar. I'll try to cover some of the four levels of editing in my questionnaire to always help out. Here are some sample questions that might be seen:
Have you ever installed guitar pickups before?
Are the steps easy to follow?
Is there enough information (graphics or text) to complete each task?
Where you able to find any mechanical errors?
Can you understand the important concepts that take place in each step?
Can you locate the safety information panel?
When dealing with a technically complex area such as installing guitar pick ups, the survey would also be effective to see how effective the instruction are in key important tasks. There's soldering parts in the instructions which you need to assemble the parts together, so it's vital to know their experience as they read the document.
pick-ups
i think that the summary test will be a good idea for your project. All of the other usability tests seem useless with your project. Your project seems pretty complex and your questions will probably work for every user. I have never installed pick-ups but I have soldered before. If there is soldering in your instruction manual then the usability test will come in handy. Soldering is pretty easy for some people but it is a very hard skill to pickup unless someone is teaching you. I might add a couple questions about how the user thins about your instructions for the soldering.
Soldering
I was thinking the same thing you were dbasso when I came to the part about soldering. A person could probably write instructions on simply how to solder different things (wire, pipes, etc.). This really made me think of the various warning and caution labels needed, especially since a lot of guitar players might not even know what that is. Not only could someone injure themselves with the soldering iron or hot solder, but damage to the guitar must also be addressed. I don’t mean to say that you haven’t thought of this and I don’t know where on the guitar the soldering takes place, but I now I would be irate if hot solder dripped down the side of my guitar.
Good test to use
I really like how you are using a summary test due to the circumstance of having limited parts and tools to precede with your instructions. This is also good for people who have installed guitar pickups before or any technical installations with other projects. Also for the novice who wants to try something new he/she can gain an idea of what needs to go into the process before altering their guitar.
Also I like how you are asking questions with the layout of the instructions. Having a good layout with plentiful and useful pictures to complement the text information is good.
The questions asked will give you good source of information from an experienced user. You may look more into asking questions projected to a novice.
Zebulon Rouse
safety first!
The soldering factor is a problem that I've been aware of. I have to be extra cautious in making sure everything is covered in the safety warning labels and tips with the soldering process. These safety issues will be the first item addressed in the instruction layout,so the user will see the safety procedures before using the soldering tool. Not to mention there will be other tips to educate the user of the soldering tool. The amount of technically soldering skills in this process is low,but it could be a challenge to make sure even a novice can do it. During the creation of my instructions I have to be very carefully to not overlook any task that might be " easy."
Re: safety
I have a similar situation for the making of creme brulee. There is a step (although optional) that uses a kitchen blow torch, which obviously can be quite dangerous. I know the safety things will have to be addressed, but I'm unsure about the length/detail of that. There could be an entire instruction set on the proper use of a blow torch...this could be worked into the usability test though to find out if the safety tips ect are too long/short. Also, good call on evaluating the person doing the testing. I had only considered evaluating the document through the testers' eyes, but this would be useful for determining their category: novice or advanced.
Summary test
I also feel that the soldering part of the process is something that you should really be cautious when you explaining the steps. The approach I think you should take would be to act as if you thought that the reader would hurt themselves due to their lack of experience. This would make it easy to be sure that you cover everything that you need to. I also think that a summary test will be effective for your project. It will relay to you if the reader is able to follow the steps smoothly by the summarize the information given.