Usability is a very important part in today’s society. I would even venture to say it has become excessive. Sure, in most aspects the usability of objects or features is vital to the consumer, but there comes a time where people take it too far. There were quite a few examples of “bad designs” where I thought that people just took too far. For example, airpark, the airport parking codes. It’s pretty simple actually: you take the shuttle to stop “E,” you find row “15,” and then, just maybe your car will be in spot “F7.” Another one that I enjoyed was the path of least resistance. This is a pretty obvious problem, especially on campus, but it would be absolutely ridiculous try to fix it. Purdue’s entire campus would be concrete. Pathways are designed not always for the path of least resistance, but also for landscaping reasons.
I will be employing document mark up, surveying and a read and locate test. I will be concerned about how well my visuals go with the steps. I will focus on how well the instructions flow from page to page making sure there’s not too much information on one page. I need to make sure that the user will be able to handle the instructions and not ruin them. I realize most people will not be able to just go out and try this right away, so I must rely on the surveys I receive. I will try to anticipate any problems or confusion that could interfere with the brewing and attempt to remove, fix, or inform the user of these complications.
Spoiled R9
After looking at the example of airpark, for airport parking codes, I definitely had to agree with you. The number/letter system of airport parking is simple. The author of that page seems to think that there are only a handful of people in the parking lot and expects one number or letter to locate his or her car. Another example that seemed to me like the instructions are fine and the reader has the problem is street names. It has a street sign of Hillrise Drive and Hillrise Circle. This happens all the time, especially in new subdivisions. The one that is a circle is obviously Hillrise Circle. So after reading these it seems to me that no matter what the directions there will always be some complaints even though they may be unfounded.
Shane
A usable brew
I think that your brewing idea is great. It is interesting because a lot of people are interested in brewing their own beer but do not have the equipment. If you show them that it is not that hard then it will help a lot of people get started probably. The usability tests that you have chosen seem to be justified. This project might take a combination of usability tests joined into one. The survey will definitely help to see if the user understood your project and the document mark up will show the flaws in your instructions. I was confused at first why you put all three, but I think using all of them will make the best usability test for your project.
Multiple Tests
I also plan to use multiple tests for my instructions, although I don’t plan on separating them completely. I would like to sort of combine the write up test with a survey. Something along lines of, “What was difficult to understand while completing the task,” while allowing the user to write in comments on the document that would make their understanding easier. I think the survey will really help make sure you have appropriate and useful content, while the document write up allows the user to look at and evaluate your design. The trick with using multiple tests is to be sure to keep them a reasonable length; nobody is going to want to spend an unnecessary amount of time taking test after test.
On "Multiple Tests"
This comment on using different tests for different users connects here.
RE: Multiple Tests
Agreed, the two types of instructions should probably vary enough between the novice and expert set that that each type of user will look at the instructions differently, and pull different types of information from them. In my case with software instructions, the novice user is looking for a step by step guide to setting up an encrypted drive. The novice user instruction usability test should provide feedback on how easy it is to follow the steps, whereas the expert user instruction usability test should provide feedback on how easily the detailed information on key topics is to locate and utilize.
I also feel that usability is
I also feel that usability is very important and that it also has become excessive. I agree that the airpark one was a bit ridiculous. There are a lot of instance that a usability test would help but not everything can be made idiot proof. I think for your project of brewing that pictures will be a major factor in how well we will be able to understand what you are talking about because most of the ingredients will be unfamiliar, at least to me anyway. I think that a surveying test will work well for your particular instructions project.
If you are going to do it, do it right
I don't agree at all that the suggestions for the airport or the walkway would be going too far.
In the case of the airport, it seems the problem is that the designer chose to use letters and numbers twice each. You're right, it wouldn't be that hard to write everything down. But think about it: If you are going to take the time to put up a parking system, it doesn't take any extra effort to create something that makes sense, so why not do it? The point of a parking lot numbering system is to make remembering where your car is easy. I've been in plenty of parking lots that used a system that worked, and I refuse to believe they took any more effort to put into place than "Section E, Sign 15, Spot F7."
The same goes for the walkway. Someone took the time to design design and build the path and the landscaping. The primary function of this is to create a route for people to use; making it pretty with landscaping is a secondary concern. Still, it wouldn't have been that much harder to design it so there was a path to the building. Again, if you are going to do it at all, why do it in a way that doesn't work? You mentioned Purdue, and it's actually a good example. The memorial mall is surrounded by several buildings. There are several walkways through the mall, but the grass is also level so that you can walk in whatever direction you need to, especially if you are in a hurry. It's effortless. The engineering mall is a different story. There are walkways, but the grass is raised up in places so you have to take the paths that are there, even if they don't go directly to your destination. Is it really a big deal? No. But would it have been more difficult to do it better? Probably not.
There is always a purpose whenever you are designing anything. If that purpose is for use by people to complete some task, like walking to class or remembering where you parked at the airport, why not design it to be usable? Again, it's not like it takes a lot of extra effort.
testing
The combination of the usability testing is an interesting idea. I think the usage of three usability test in your instruction assignment can be beneficial for you. However, as Issac stated you don't want to overkill your audience with tests. I would try to combine the key concepts of each usability test you want to conduct into a single test. I think with the combination of a usability test as one whole your get the best results with plenty of good feedback.
I thought your airport example that you found was actually pretty hilarious. It's a great example of a “bad design” with the addition of unnecessary explanations.