Discount User Based Usability Testing
Authors
Bruun, Anders ; Gull, Peter ; Hofmeister, Lene
Term
4. term (INF10 - Master Thesis)
Education
Publication year
2007
Abstract
I denne kandidatafhandling undersøger vi, hvordan tidsforbrug og arbejde i brugerbaserede brugervenlighedstests kan reduceres. Mange udbredte “discount”-metoder holder omkostningerne nede ved ikke at involvere rigtige brugere, hvilket kan begrænse deres værdi. Derfor vurderede vi én laboratoriebaseret metode, Instant Data Analysis (IDA), samt tre fjern- og asynkrone tilgange (deltagerne bidrager på eget tidspunkt, ikke i realtid): User Reported Critical Incident (UCI), et forum og en langvarig dagbog. IDA gjorde det markant hurtigere at omsætte observationer fra think‑aloud‑sessioner (hvor deltagere siger deres tanker højt) i laboratoriet til klare fund, samtidig med at de mest alvorlige problemer blev identificeret. De fjern- og asynkrone metoder reducerede i høj grad den samlede indsats for at gennemføre studier, analysere data og undgå at indkalde deltagere til et laboratorium. Men disse fjernmetoder var mindre effektive til at afdække både alvorlige og mindre, kosmetiske problemer.
This thesis explores how to reduce the time and effort required for user-based usability testing. Many popular “discount” evaluation methods keep costs low by not involving real users, which can limit their value. We therefore assessed one in‑lab method, Instant Data Analysis (IDA), and three remote, asynchronous approaches (participants contribute on their own time, not in real‑time): User Reported Critical Incident (UCI), a discussion forum, and a long‑term diary. IDA helped turn observations from lab‑based think‑aloud sessions into clear findings much faster, while still revealing the most severe usability problems. The remote, asynchronous methods substantially reduced the effort of running studies, analyzing data, and avoiding the need to bring participants into a lab. However, these remote approaches were less effective at uncovering both serious issues and minor, cosmetic problems.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Documents