Usability testing is a way to see how easy to use something is by testing it with real users. Users are asked to complete tasks while being observed by a researcher to see where they encounter problems and experience confusion. It is a necessary step for a lot of different things. For example, building a website.
Building a website is not a quick process. A lot of thought and consideration has to be put into every single aspect of it.
It was interesting to be a “user” of the English Department website for the purpose of the survey. I remember looking at the website back when I was considering applying to Eastern almost four years ago. I spent a lot of time on it, looking at the different majors that were offered and what each major entitled.
I think that usability tests are extremely important, and should be used often, if not always, when creating a website or a part of a website. It is always good to have someone who has no previous opinion on the site to look at the website. I think that my opinion, while still possibly beneficial, was slightly biased. I have been using the Eastern Michigan University website for the past couple years and am pretty comfortable navigating it. I felt like the English Department page was pretty similar to the way that the rest of the website functions.
Building a website is not a one step process and it will never be perfect in the first attempt. It can be a long process that will result in a lot of “re-dos” and I think that usability testing is a necessary step of the process.
While I felt that I didn’t have too much trouble navigating the site, there were still some things that I could not find. Like I stated above, I’ve been navigating the Eastern Michigan University website for the past couple years so I am pretty comfortable with it. I had my sister attempt to find the same scenarios that we had to, and she took much longer than I did.
Finding the undergraduate English Major page was the easiest part for me when I was doing the survey. I think, based on the results from other students who conducted the survey, found it easy as well. I was also able to find the graduate school information pretty easily as well.
I think that one of the most important things to consider when creating a website is design. “As you design, keep all your site visitors in mind. Meeting everyone’s needs is much easier if you plan for accessibility and flexibility from the beginning.” (Redish, 48.) Based on what Redish has said, some really important things to think about are:
“Who will be using this site?”
“Will they be able to navigate this site?”
“Will this site appeal to them?”
The best way to get answers to these questions is usability testing. By conducting usability tests, you see/receive feedback that can help you improve your site.
I have conducted usability tests in previous classes and found it to be extremely helpful. Before, I had never even heard of usability testing. When I first learned about it, I was skeptical. But once I had done it, I realized how helpful it actually was. I was able to improve a project for a previous class so much after conducting usability tests on it – more than once. I definitely understand why it is so important now, and I liked being on the other side of it with this survey rather than being the one conducting the test.
WRTG 444 