Five Colleges of Ohio Libraries: Tutorial Usability Testing Guidelines

TUTORIAL USABILITY TESTING GUIDELINES

Testing Procedures:

Danielle Clarke, Jasmine Vaughan, Julia Gustafson, and Susan Scott will each recruit and observe at least three usability test takers. Each of these campuses will recruit at least one student, one faculty member and one librarian. Testing will be completed June 1-16. Susan, Danielle, Julia, and Jasmine will e-mail summaries of the results for each question, written in sentence form, to the Information Literacy Committee by Thursday, June 22, 2000.

During this 1 hour time period, the usability test administrator will explain the think-aloud protocol, introduce the Information Literacy Tutorial, collect demographic information, observe the strategies used to complete the tasks, and will conclude with several reflection questions regarding navigation, design, and organization.

Please have a blank set of the usability questions for each test taker. Please also time each task. We are not testing the users' proficiency, but are measuring the time required for each task. If the labels, headings, links, and buttons are clear, our users should complete each task with ease. As each test taker works, please record both verbal and non-verbal responses (frowns, surprise, frustration, confident attitude).

Notes and Steps Regarding Payment:

Each usability test taker will be paid $50.00 for one hour of their time.

Test takers will provide their name, home address, and social security number on the payment form.

There is a link to the payment for at the top of this page for the convenience of all.

Test administrators will sign and date the form to indicate approval of payment.

Test administrators will mail filled out and approved payment forms of the test takers they work with to Susan Palmer.

In addition, they will provide each test taker with contact information for Susan Palmer.

Contact information for Susan Palmer is as follows: Susan Palmer, Administrative Director, The Five Colleges of Ohio, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH 43022-9624, (740) 427- 5234, palmers@kenyon.edu..

Test takers will be mailed a check within approximately two weeks of receipt of the payment form.

[NOTE: Other test takers may also participate in evaluating the tutorial in a less formal way. These participants will not be paid. Informal test takers (library colleagues, faculty, or students) could print the following instructions and questions then return their comments by mail to their campus representative to the Information Literacy Committee that are listed at the top of the test.]

Introduction (To Be Read to Each Usability Test Taker):

Thank you for agreeing to participate in a usability test of the Five Colleges of Ohio Information Literacy Tutorial. The Information Literacy Tutorial has been designed to introduce students to basic information literacy concepts. The tutorial will be used by students in introductory classes this fall at the College of Wooster, Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, and Ohio Wesleyan University. Before students use the tutorial in their classes, we need to assess the quality of the content, the ease of use, and the design.

That is how you will help us today. In a few minutes, I will have you answer some questions to find out about your experience using the World Wide Web, the classes you take/teach/support, and the type of computer you prefer.

Next, I will read several tasks. You will use the tutorial to complete each task. I will be evaluating the tutorial, not you! Usability testing is intended to test a Web site, not a person using it. So relax and be honest. Your responses are valuable to us.

As you use the tutorial to complete each task, I will ask that you describe your thoughts and expectations. For example if you move your mouse to follow a link, please describe why you chose that link and what you think it might lead to.

As you are working on the tasks, I might remind you to think out loud. If you have comments about the look and organization of the tutorial, feel free to say them too. After you have worked on each task, I will ask you to answer a final set of questions. These question will ask for your opinion on the layout, appearance, and organization of the tutorial. If you have other comments that are not covered by the questions, please mention them as well.

Are you ready to begin?

Neutral Questions to Prompt Users to Think Aloud:

Often, the usability testing participants may forget to "think aloud" as they are working. Some neutral phrases that you might use to remind them include:

Why did you choose that link?

What did you expect to find on that page?

What are you thinking now?

Can you say more about that?

Upon Completion of the Test:

Test administrators should say the following when the test taker has completed the test.

Thank you for participating in this usability test!