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Usability Evaluation: Usability Testing
HFI provides a complete range of services for progressive testing of Web sites and software applications throughout the system life cycle. We identify ergonomic "bugs," and recommend specific solutions. We use
a variety of testing techniques to match the deliverable being refined
and the type of feedback needed (see Usability Testing Chart). |
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"Usability testing will keep you honest. As designers, you can follow all the good usability principles that we teach, but you won't really know if your design will work until you observe real users actually using it. Usability testing gets your project out of the realm of opinion-based design, or 'I'm more important than you'-based design, and elevates it to empirical, verifiable, user-based design."
Drew Falk
Project Director
Human Factors International |
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Benefits |
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A variety of testing techniques are used to match
the deliverable being refined and the feedback
required. |
Our rapid approach has minimal effect on
development schedule. |
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We provide our own portable testing equipment. |
The emphasis is on a low-cost approach without
any inconvenience to our client. |
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Our specialists effectively interpret the data
acquired from the testing. |
The testing results confirm the appropriateness
of the design, minimizing the need for recoding
and redevelopment. |
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We apply our knowledge and experience to use
this data effectively for user-based design. |
Usability testing does not only identify the
bottlenecks for our clients' users; we also
provide precise design solutions. |
Our range of progressive testing includes:
- Phone questionnaires
- Protocol simulation
- Contrast experiment
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- One-to-one interviews
- Formal usability test
- Field trial
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Remote Usability Testing
Usability testing is the acid test of interface design. However, classical usability testing is not always feasible – primarily because of the cost factor. It also requires a physical facility and technical infrastructure, as well as the necessity to travel to the various testing locations.
Remote Usability Testing (RUT) is the breakthrough HFI has achieved to counter such problem scenarios. We successfully run tests in other countries, across different time zones – all this from the sophisticated remote testing lab in our Mumbai office.
HFI's experience over the years has proved that both classical lab and remote usability studies capture very similar performance information. In addition, RUT is the preferred testing method when:
- Testing requires participants in widely dispersed locations.
- The test requires a large number of participants.
- There are cost and/or time restraints that limit face-to-face testing.
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Deliverables to the client are in the form of:
- Written report: methods used, results, design recommendations
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HFI uses Morae, TechSmith's innovative digital usability testing tool, to help make testing easy, fast, and affordable. |
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