Usability Testing

Wikipedia defines Usability testing as "a technique used in user design to evaluate the product by testing it on users" [0].   Things that benefit from usability testing are foods, consumer products, web sites or web application, computer interfaces and devices, mobile apps, etc....  It measures the usability or ease of use of a product.  Just gathering opinion on the usability of the product is not usability testing.  Instead, it is a systematic approach of gathering information while observing the how the user uses the product[0].  For instance, watching how the person interacts with the instruction on building a bike is an example of usability testing [0].

Usability testing has evolved into a more informal way of evaluations [1].  Instead of viewing the participant from a one way mirror or a video recording, some specialist are in the same room as the participant. Specialists are more concerned about the qualitative data then the quantitative data.  Some do very little video taping or large amounts of information gathering. Instead, these specialists write memos highlighting the findings and provide brief recommendations for improvements [1].  By making usability testing more informal it has shortened the release cycle and reduced the cost of the test. Through experience and study, specialist and the participant who act on the state of the product are more confident knowing what’s important.

An example of a company that has evolved usability testing is a company called LOOKBACK, https://lookback.io.  This company has used technology in mobile apps to give the developer the ability to view the person expression using the onboard camera. The developer is also able to view the current active screen of the product.  The developer does the following to enable this LookBack product.

First, install the lookback plugin onto the mobile app, next the user is requested to record themselves while they test the product.  Finally the user is also able to report bugs and send feedback to the developers[3].  This gives the app creator feed back on the usability of the product while testing it in the real world. Below is a demo of the look back interface, as you can see the developer has the view of the active screen and the users expression.

As technology progresses, usability testing will evolve while remaining a critical part in product development.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_testing

[1]A Practical Guide to Usability Testing, By Joseph S. Dumas, Janice Redish

[2]http://www.zdnet.com/lookbacks-usability-testing-app-expands-gets-financial-backing-7000027804/

[3]https://lookback.io/

Blogs

It's safe to say that we all like to sit at  our computer and waste time by playing games, watching videos, and just surfing the net.  I myself like to structure my "time wasting" by visiting a set websites and blogs that I enjoy reading. A favorite blog that I read often is http://krebsonsecurity.com/.  The author of this blog talks about the latest computer security vulnerabilities and other related computer security topics.  He describes everything from his personal experiences on security to the latest news and report that is currently happening in the security world.  He writes in such a way that both the technical and non-technical can learn something from the articles [0].  Blogs such as this is not only entertaining but instructional.

There is a large range of diversity among blogs.  The content can range from journals of daily activities to serious commentaries on important issues [1].  Some blog journal can get really personal, the author would write about their emotional feelings of their daily life.  Blogs provide an easy way for an average person to publish material on any topic that he or she wishes to discuss on the web [2].  Blogs have become a way to distribute information.

[0]http://krebsonsecurity.com/
[1]Why We Blog, by Bonnie A. Nardi, Diane J. Schiano, Michell GumBrecht, and Luke Swartz
[2]Acceptance of blog usage: The roles of technology acceptance, social influence and knowledge sharing motivation, by Chin-Lung Hsua, Judy Chuan-Chuan Li