Usability Testing     Usability testing is the touchstone of user-centric design. As such it can, and often should, be applied at every stage of design and development. Without data about actual users, a design is merely an hypothesis-no matter how expert the designers. Combined with field studies, usability testing will help ensure that the user experience of your site or application is satisfying.   We perform several types of usability tests at different stages of a project, and for different purposes:   Exploratory Testing Occurs early in the design phase. Purpose: Gather qualitative data to inform the design and determine the primary interaction model. Informal Process: observe and interview the intended customers using rough or partial product prototypes. Iterative cycles of design and testing eliminate major problems and refine the interface navigation, terminology, interaction and information design. Assessment Testing Occurs late in the design phase. Purpose: Gather quantitative data regarding the usability of the design to determine whether the product is ready to move to the development phase. Formal Process: Observe participants performing the primary tasks with an interactive prototype. Results are analyzed against performance standards. Verification Testing Occurs late in the development phase. Purpose: Gather quantitative data to validate the usability of the design. Formal Process: Observe participants performing the primary tasks. Results are analyzed against performance standards. Beta Testing (Primarily used for applications) Occurs prior to launch, when development is mostly complete and 90% of bugs have been resolved. Purpose: to identify bugs that occur when the product is used under actual usage conditions. Formal Process: Product is used by actual users in the environment where it will be used. Problems are logged in a central bug-tracking system and bugs are resolved prior to launch. Next:     Process Mapping   Get a FREE Expert Analysis of Your Site! Have our team of multi-disciplinary professionals comb through your site for free. You'll get an unbiased opinion, as well as some ideas for easy improvement. Do it Now! Laura Malone talks about the importance of research in her telesymposium. "Do you know me?" More Why do Exploratory Testing during the design phase? A best practices design is a hypothesis based on the expertise gained from experience; a user centric design is based on evidence.   To design a product that matches the users' needs and expectations by.   Learning about what the user actually does, how they describe it to themselves, and how they think about it.         © 1996-2006 Onlinefocus, Inc. | Contact Us | A UCI Web Group Company. All rights reserved.