There are a variety of approaches to usability evaluation that you may choose
to take. The methodologies can be divided into two broad categories: those that
gather data from actual users and those that can be applied without actual users
present.
Your choice of method depends on:
- Cost of evaluation
- Appropriateness to project
- Time constraints
- Cost of implementation
- Cost of training new users
Usability evaluations can be conducted at many stages during and after the
design and development process. In choosing a method, it is important to calculate
the cost not only in terms of time and materials involved, but also in terms of the
impact on the end-users, especially considering the cost of losing return visitors to
your website due to unusable design.
- Cognitive Walkthrough is an approach to evaluating
an interface based on breaking down and analyzing actions that a user must
perform in order to use the system or perform a task.
- Focus Groups gather groups of users to get their
feedback, initial reactions to a design, and discuss their preferences. Focus
groups can be useful for raising issues that may not come out during interviews.
- GOMS is a family of techniques for modeling and describing
human task performance. GOMS is an acronym that stands for Goals, Operators,
Methods, and Selection Rules.
- Prototyping involves developing representations
of a system for testing purposes and can range from simple sketches to almost
fully functional systems.
- Task Analysis evaluates how the end-user actually
uses software or websites. An analyst determines the user goals and tasks,
then makes recommendations aimed at increasing efficiency and user-friendliness.
- Usability Inspection reviews a system based
on a set of usability guidelines. Experts familiar with issues of usability
in design perform the usability inspection.
- User Testing observes actual users interacting
with software or websites. Users are asked to perform tasks while usability
experts observe and take note of their actions.
The Usability First Glossary's methods category
is a good resource for more information on usability methods.
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