Glossary » Usability Methods

questionnaire

a form that people fill out, used to obtain demographic information and views and interests of those questioned. Questionnaires are especially good for collecting subjective data (e.g. “how much do you like this software?”) and are often more convenient and…

RAD

a Rapid Application Development tool. These are tools, such as Visual Basic and Delphi, which are designed to make developing software applications a faster process, usually by focusing on the design of the user interface in terms of screen layout…

random observation

a type of field study to gather usage data, where you observe users at random points throughout the day to see what they’re doing with your software at those times, thus capturing real-life as opposed to laboratory usage. Random observation…

rapid prototyping

quickly generating mockups of what a system will look like. Rapid prototyping may be done with paper prototyping methods, such as with quick sketches, or with techniques like video prototyping or wizard of oz prototyping. Rapid prototyping systems are software…

regression testing

after repairing a problem identified in a previous test, re-testing to confirm not only that the problem has been fixed but that no other problems have been introduced in the process. Regression testing is common when fixing software bugs but…

remote usability evaluation

situations where the user and the usability evaluator are not located in the same place, as when users are tested over the internet. Remote evaluation is especially helpful when the user population is small and specialized, dispersed, or difficult to…

requirements analysis

an early phase in user interface design where basic requirements are determined. Typical categories of requirements include target audience and target platform, features of the application, responsiveness, usability benchmarks (e.g. “such and such a task must be completed within 2…

retrospective testing

additional “testing” after-the-fact. After a user testing session has been conducted and videotaped, retrospective testing is reviewing the tape with the user to ask additional questions and get further clarification.

role-playing walkthrough

a method for evaluating a user interface, particularly one where multiple people may be interacting during its use, such as customer service applications (cash registers, telemarketing) and groupware. Each person in the evaluation team acts the part of a user…

rough

(graphic design) a rapidly-drawn sketch, larger and more detailed than a thumbnail sketch, but less refined and precise than a comp, used to explore visual possibilities in design.

RSVP

a mnemonic for requirements analysis – structural design – visual design – production, the main steps in a design process. In the spirit of iterative design, each stage would have an evaluation component to ensure that the design was proceeding…

satisficing

a theory of human reasoning that says that people minimize cognitive load by minimizing reasoning and using quick heuristics to make decisions. Thus, people avoid complex memory, planning, and decision-making in favor of acting upon information immediately available perceptually, well-known…

scenario

a design envisionment technique whereby a set of representative target users are identified and an outline is created of their lives, their goals, their interests, their schedules, and their interaction with the system being designed. While these descriptions of different…

schedule chart

a diagram used in project management, planning, and scheduling. The schedule chart shows the different resources and activities involved in a project and time dependencies between them. With this diagram, a critical path can be found that indicates the shortest…

screenshot

or screendump / screen snapshot / screen capture; a picture of a screen capturing the appearance of the user interface at a given point of time, typically a printout, but also including electronic snapshots.

Screenshots can be used for focus…

script

(multimedia) a specification used to generate a multimedia presentation. The script contains all the details of each shot and scene, usually along with a storyboard. The script contains drafts of all text, graphics, and other media and their timing, interaction,…

selection bias

in choosing test users for a usability study, selection bias is any imperfection in the selection process that gets either the wrong types of users (people who aren’t in your target audience) or a sample of users that is not…

self-report

any method of gathering usability data through having the user report what happened. This may be by having users record themselves on tape or writing down in diaries. They may range from open-ended reflections to very specific questionnaires that users…

semantic differential

a type of survey question where respondents are asked to rate their opinion on a linear scale between 2 endpoints, typically with 7 levels. For example:

Please rate this software on the following dimensions:

easy to use 1 2 3

…

semantic net analysis

a method for understanding the structure of a domain by diagramming the relationships between objects in the domain and attributes of those objects. The information for creating a semantic net is usually obtained by interviewing users and domain experts. The…

similarity matching

a technique for identify conceptual categories. Users are given a set of topics, and they are asked to rate the similarity of pairs of topics (on some scale, e.g. 1 to 10). These ratings can them be combined with a…

single-case experimental design

a method for determining the effect of an experimental manipulation with only one test subject (one user, one organization, etc.), basically by applying and removing the intervention over time:

measure the dependent variable initially apply the intervention, and measure

…

site visit

going to target users’ workplace to see how they work, interact directly with them, conduct interviews, and see their work artifacts. Interaction can range from directly interviewing to inconspicuously observing. Visits can be brief or long-term.

speed-accuracy tradeoff

in many types of perceptual-motor tasks, there is a tradeoff between how fast a task can be performed and how many mistakes are made in performing the task. That is, a user can either perform the task very fast with…

spiral model

a classic approach to project management. The spiral model is an iterative approach that begins by developing basic requirements, building small simple prototypes, evaluating those prototypes, and then expanding into refined requirements and consecutively larger prototypes, until a complete deliverable…