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More About This Textbook
Overview
Do you love your mobile phone? Your MP3 player? Your e-book reader? You laptop or tablet PC? There’s a reason for that. Usability.
When usability testing is part of the design and development of products, the results are better products that users want and like. You may be doing testing now or want to help your company get started, but you may not have all the tools to know how to properly prepare, test, analyze, and measure the results across a multitude of cultures, generations, and countries. And you may be facing tight budgets and short timeframes for testing. If this is your situation, this essential handbook gives you a variety of options and strategies for testing in numerous situations.
Usability Testing Essentials presents a practical, step-by-step approach to learning the entire process of planning and conducting a usability test. It also explains how to analyze and apply the results and what to do when confronted with budgetary and time restrictions. This is the ideal book for anyone involved in usability or user-centered design-from students to seasoned professionals.
• Provides comprehensive coverage of all phases of usability testing
• Fully updated four color edition features important usability topics such as international testing, persona creation, remote testing, and accessibility
• Follow-up to Usability Testing and Research (9780205315192, Longman, 2002), winner of the highest-level award from the Society for Technical Communication
• Presents a step-by-step approach to the entire process of planning and conducting a usability test—an essential component of designing usable products
• Comprehensive coverage of one of the most important skills necesary for usability and user experience practioners, and the first book of its kind to include international testing
• Follow-up to Usability Testing and Research, which won the highest-level award from the Society for Technical Communication, and is already listed among the most widely recommended books in the field.
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
"Have you been inspired to try usability testing, but not sure exactly how to go about it? Carol Barnum’s book will take you step-by-step through all you need to do. Plus, she gives you a solid background in the context and history of testing - and adds a valuable chapter on international testing. Carol is highly regarded as a teacher, an academic, and a practitioner, and all three of her roles shine through in this book" — Caroline Jarrett, User Experience and Usability Consultant, Effortmark Limited, author of Forms that Work
"Carol Barnum’s Usability Testing Essentials delivers just what the title promises. Readers who are new to usability studies will find here all they need to know to design and execute a test, analyze the test data, and provide an effective report with recommendations for clients. But even usability experts will find the book chock full of ideas, insights, and suggestions that will improve their practice and their teaching in this increasingly important area of study. Barnum’s expertise on the subject shines through on every page, but the book’s greatest strength is its careful attention to analyzing test results, a topic that earlier texts have tended to gloss over much too quickly." — George Hayhoe, PhD, Mercer University School of Engineering
"Usability Testing Essentials will guide you through both conducting a usability evaluation and making the decisions that will make it a useful and effective part of any user experience project. Carol Barnum places usability evaluation into the larger context of user-centered design. It is a valuable resource for anyone getting started in usability and a excellent companion to both Letting Go of the Words and Forms that Work."-Whitney Quesenbery, WQusability
"Carol Barnum has done a wonderful job of distilling her research, consulting, and teaching experience into this very lively, practical book on how to do usability testing. You get up-to-date, step-by-step help with lots of variations to suit your own situation. You see each part in action through the running case study. If you have a global market, you'll especially want the chapter on international usability testing. This is a great addition to the usability toolkit. — Janice (Ginny) Redish, Charter member of the UPA, author of Letting Go of the Words - Writing Web Content that Works
"Carol is a rare breed, both an academic and a practitioner. Her voice of experience comes across clearly, backed by references that illustrate where and who our methods came from. Newcomers to usability testing will find a solid introduction; while those more experienced will find unexpected insights into the field."-Carolyn Snyder, Snyder Consulting
Product Details
Related Subjects
Meet the Author
Carol teaches a graduate course in usability testing and also works with clients on projects ranging from software, hardware, web applications, web sites, e-learning, and training products. Barnum is well-known internationally, having keynoted and presented at numerous national and international conferences. Her presentation at the first European Usability Professionals conference in London, in conjunction with British HCI, won the "best presenter" award at the conference. She was invited to be interviewed for the UX Pioneers web site (www.uxpioneers.com), among such luminaries as Jakob Nielsen, John Carrol, Ginny Redish, Ben Shneiderman, and Alan Cooper.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Getting started guide Chapter 1- Establishing the essentials Chapter 2-Testing here, there, everywhere Chapter 3- Big U and little u usability Chapter 4- Understanding users and their goals Chapter 5- Planning for usability testing Chapter 6- Preparing for usability testing Chapter 7- Conducting a usability test Chapter 8- Analyzing the findings Chapter 9- Reporting the findings Chapter 10- International usability testing