Read: Chapter 13 and Chapter 14
Write: Reading Response #8
In response to Chapter 13, find a usability report or a user experience design (UxD) report online and analyze the effectiveness of the report using specific information from the chapter. Your analysis should answer the question, "How effective is this report in helping the product/service provider improve the product/service?"
If the report is long, do not read it word for word. Skim for key elements and read selectively.
Here are a few examples if you can't find your own (these documents aren't always public):
http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/rlo/usabilityreports.htm (lots of samples)
http://cdn.kingston.ac.uk/documents/postgraduate/courses/documents/User-Experience-Student-Work-Report.pdf
http://cdn.kingston.ac.uk/documents/postgraduate/courses/documents/megabus-evaluation-report.pdf
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/printables/OWLUxDReport.pdf
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/research/OWLreport.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRxYFbswgS8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPkk5udVa8
http://www.indiana.edu/~usable/reports/acc_report.pdf
http://jcflowers1.iweb.bsu.edu/rlo/monroe2.htm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/92602002/Yelp-Usability-Test-Report-FINAL
Prepare:
Your writing assignment for Thursday, March 10, will focus on elements of Chapter 14, so read the chapter carefully and be prepared to ask questions about the various correspondence genres covered in the chapter. Pay particular attention to the many decisions about tone, style, format, and content that a writer must make when corresponding in the workplace.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
20 comments:
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http://emamato.iweb.bsu.edu/Usability.html
ReplyDeleteThe usability report I chose to analyze is a study for MakerBot 2 Desktop 3D Printer. Certainly good preparation went into the development of this report as the purpose is stated at the top of the page after a short introduction to the product. However, before even determining the purpose behind this study, the author had to go back to the roots of creating a test plan. This includes determining the purpose as stated earlier, the schedule and location of testing, the equipment needed, a list of participants, possible scenarios or outcomes to test for, and determine his role as an observer. After the test plan was developed, participants were given seven tasks to complete on the 3D printer. Survey results were taken of their age, if they had used a 3D printer before, if they had trouble with the tasks, etc. Because the purpose of this usability report was to assess the design of the product, ease of use, function, and clarity, in order to determine if they should be bought for use in school, it can be considered an effective report. The report gives a product description, shows how well students could use the 3D printers while at the same time observing if they work effectively. It was determined by most participants that some of the tasks were difficult at times, the most common being loading plastic into the printer or having their printed 3D object get stuck on the way out. From this information, the school would likely be hesitant to invest in many of these printers unless they planned to an existing class the requirement to learn to use a 3D printer. Considering there are only seven participants in this study, it could be that a minority group that is unskilled with 3D printers could have been selected for this study. If there is one thing I would change about this usability report, I would recruit more participants for more accurate results and a broader range of answers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yweG1z_yBTo
ReplyDeleteThe usability report has to do with freecycle.org. While they all had web experience, there was an extremely wide range in their ages. They had two people for each of the following groups: 25-35 and 55-65. Having such a wide range of age will not bring out the same outcomes because of their general computer knowledge. However, had the researchers instead used someone from the ages of 18-25, 26-36, 37-47, and 50+ they probably would have gotten a better read on the accessibility of freecycle.org. They found that registering and posting to the website was not a problem except in one step for each. The problems began when the participants were looking for a new offer, which was an overwhelming majority, especially since the items were not available. That being said the members were able to turn their findings around and complete the study.
While the researchers did have a recommendations for how to make the site more user friendly, anyone who does not know what freecycle.org does or stands for you have no idea that you are supposed to be learning. The researchers should have included a slide or two that explained the purpose of the website because once I was finished watching the video I still have no idea what freecycle.org does. Freecycle.org is a large non-profit donation site where everything is free. While that is only my small understanding of the company the researchers failed to bring the website’s cause or their purpose to the presentation, which could pass the mark for anything they were trying to accomplish in my eyes. Even if the researchers are giving their presentation to people who know the company there will always be someone who does not know anything about the product.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGraco Car Seat Usability Report
ReplyDeleteI reviewed a report on the usability of Graco’s Snugride Classic Connect 30 Car Seat. Graco asked five subjects, with differences in age, gender, and knowledge of car seats, to install the Graco Car Seat in a minivan and secure a doll inside. This usability test tested the product multiple times with real users. The test clearly laid out what steps the users were supposed to take while installing. The purpose of the test is stated to “determine usability issues that arise during the installation of the product's base unit, the installation and removal of the car seat into the base unit, and the functioning of the product's restraint system.” The test followed almost all of the instructions listed in the textbook for preparing a usability test. They developed a plan, selected participants, and prepared the materials for the users. The participants were encouraged to think out loud while installing the car seat and were asked a series of five debriefing questions afterword. These questions specifically asked for suggestions to improve the product and if any tasks were difficult to perform. A section of the report analyzed the participant’s answers and stated areas of the car seat the company needs to fix or improve. I believe this report was very effective in helping Graco improve this car seat model. The test revealed a problem with the car seat’s restraint that all five subjects mentioned. This report reveals the major improvement areas Graco should focus on. By observing participants while they install the car seat, the testers are able to see and hear specific problems the users are having as they are having them. By including participants who had not used a car seat in the past 10 years, Graco can see how simple, or not simple, it is for an average person with not much experience to use their product. At the end of the report, three major specific ways to improve the product were mentioned and analyzed. This showed that the report was helpful to Graco in evaluating their latest car seat.
http://cdn.kingston.ac.uk/documents/postgraduate/courses/documents/User-Experience-Student-Work-Report.pdf
ReplyDeleteThe user ability report I decided to analyze was a report by Kingston University Faculty of Computing & Information Systems. The report is a diary study and redesigning of the Fitbit Flex sleep monitoring application. The purpose of this project is to improve the App for Fitbit Flex though user research, and redesign the sleep-monitoring App by applying the solutions to solve the issues, that Fitbit App has. The overall effectiveness of the design of the document is displayed very well, looking professional, listing a table of contents and figures, and then an abstract before the report goes into greater detail. The report compares other such brands of watches such as Nike and Misfit shine, listing the strength and weaknesses of both products. The report shows that every watch has its pros and cons about it. The study is put into an online diary because the people chosen for this study uses the internet and email plenty of times throughout the day. The study addresses four questions in the research; usability, satisfaction, motivation and redesign. Five participants were selected for the diary study. The criteria for selecting participants include people who were interested in new gadgets but with no previous experience with Fitbit Flex. All of the selected participants were highly interested in the sleeping pattern function of the product. Two of the participants were interested in losing weight, and the other three were interested in the motivation of health management, increasing activities and improving quality of sleep. The age of the selected five participants ranged were from the mid-twenties to the early fifties, and the two were female and three were male. They had a wide variety of people trying out their product in terms of age that they would not have a same result. After the diary, the participants were interviewed one to one interview. Overall the applicants liked the Fitbit but they had two aspects they didn’t like; one was the sleep monitor and the other was food.
Sewing Machine Usability Report
ReplyDeleteI looked at the usability report for a Singer sewing machine. The purpose of the study was to measure the design usability. The test looks at what needs to be changed to improve participant satisfaction and performance. The study had participants, with varying experience with sewing, prepare the machine, complete certain stitches, and take a pre-test and post-test. The individual that conducted the usability test also looked at reviews prior to the test to comprise a list of possible problems or difficulties with the sewing machine. The study had six participants, which is fairly small, but since they had a variety of sewing experience and shared most of the same problems, I think that it was an accurate test group. They were very thorough in getting feedback on the frustrations that the participants had. The report has a very clear list of things that caused difficulty and frustration. The report goes on to give more specific recommendations for ways of improving the usability. I think that the report is effective. It fulfills its purpose of finding issues that limit satisfaction and performance and goes on to recommend specific changes. The report also has a variety of graphs that show the frustrations and issues of the sewing machine. The graphs are effective because they are understandable and they are good for people that don’t want to read the feedback form each participant. The report clearly lists the problems and solutions for these problems making it an effective report.
Zino Efenedo
ReplyDeleteI reviewed a report on tire pressure monitoring system analyzer. The writers of the report gave the reason why tire pressure monitoring system had to be implemented in vehicles and also the purpose for using the monitoring system. They had four participants and it was explained to each participant how the assessment should take place. There were chronological questions for each participants like how often they would use the product, which most of them replied “when new tires are being fixed” to what the company can do to improve the product. The usability report was successfully drafted giving the reader pictures of how this product should be used and what signals on the product to keep an eye for. One of the participants was not very cooperative and did not give detailed information on his questionnaire. Most of the participants were auto mechanics and I would have suggested they broaden the range of people who participated in the usability test. From auto mechanics to regular citizens who just want to check their vehicle tire pressure. Overall, the report was effective and the company got back a feedback that they needed to broaden the screen of the product for better visibility and reduce the weight to make it portable.
http://desimons.iweb.bsu.edu/UT.htm
The usability report that I chose to analyze was for Yelp. The report opened up with a table of contents. The first part of the report was an executive summary. This summarized how many people they used in the report and their Internet usage. The executive summary also served as a mission statement. Yelp used both qualitative and quantitative data to do this usability report. The purpose of this report was to find any improvements that Yelp should make to the website. These problems statements were written in the form of questions. The usability report said how many participants were female and male. It also included the ages of each participant. During the test that the eight people participated in yelp encouraged the participants to think out loud. Yelp also put in their usability report the problems that they faced while doing this study. Overall, I think they asked five good questions in this usability report. It stated what problems were found and how to clearly fix them. I think that the sample size of people use could be larger to gain more data. In my opinion the number they used (8) was very small. I think that they could have used people that were not familiar with the functionality of the website. Using a broader audience gives the company better results. Other than that, I think this usability report for Yelp is effective. It clearly lists the problems that users had while navigating the website. The usage of pictures help this report and was a smart move on the company's part. From this usability report yelp can decide how to fix problems that these users had.
ReplyDeleteI decided to do my report on a link provided in the blog post. The link is http://www.scribd.com/doc/92602002/Yelp-Usability-Test-Report-FINAL at first look, I can tell that the document is extremely long but it is the usability report about “yelp”. It starts towards the top with a two column section with on the left asking questions, and on the right it gives really good examples on how yelp can improve on that problem. After that it goes through the project description of yelp, it says that the main problem of the website is that people get on there to look at reviews and very few are the actual people that do reviews. It then says that a lot of people do not use the website in the fullest way possible. After that, it does the test description, they ran through 5 different test problems that a user might face when using the website. It does not take long at all to learn how this document is set up and whoever wrote it did it very efficiently. This document has been proof read thoroughly because I could not find any errors or problems with it. I think overall, the people that wrote this did a very good job in helping yelp improve their website.
ReplyDeletehttp://aegorski.iweb.bsu.edu/UsabilityAssessment.html
ReplyDeleteI choose to evaluate the usability of the fitbit app. The report didn't include a large range of participants with only containing five. The author also didn’t mention the ages or gender. It was just known that the participants were iphone users but weren’t familiar with the fitbit app, just familiar with app interfaces. By observing the users, the author made a list of tasks for the users to complete in order so they could follow along easily. Also, to make the users comfortable, they picked a quiet place, free of distraction and preprogrammed the information in the app so the users can focus mainly on the app. As the notes for the tests, it was straightforward on what the participants had trouble with. One other problem I noticed besides the lack of variance with participants, is that there was poor grammar in the report from not enough revising I assume. Overall, I found the report somewhat effective in that it addressed the issues with the device. It also was organized with the points it made by discussing the device, discussing the participants, describing the setting, describing the test and then closing up with the conclusion. They did make it clear of the reports goal and saying that the device needed improvement based on the results of the test.
http://kfenzel.iweb.bsu.edu/UsabilityReport.html#Suggestions_
ReplyDeleteI read the usability report titled Student File Submission through Schoology. It was broken down into five different subjects: purpose, technology & research, methodology, data analysis, and suggestions & conclusions. The purpose of the document was to see if high school students knew how to upload homework files on Schoology without instructions. The method used to collect the data was relatively effective, using two out of the three basic principles of usability testing. It told how Schoology is still being developed for apple products so the test will be conducted in a computer lab. Then the document followed the second principle by studying real users as they used schoology. In this report it would be the student's attempting to upload a file onto Schoology without instruction. However, the report did not set a goal for the research they conducted. The tone of the document was that of satisfaction after the results were displayed. Although, that tone changed in the suggestions & conclusions section when the document said Schoology was a decent Learning Management System (LMS). The graphics given in the document did not seem to show what Schoology was trying to prove about it’s effectiveness. The statistics were kept more on the vague side in the data analysis section. Saying that the test was a 50/50 split of failure and success. I think the document believes Schoology was an effective product, but since the data did not show that, the document told the reader that product was relatively effective.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/92602002/Yelp-Usability-Test-Report-FINAL
ReplyDeleteI used the yelp.com usability evaluation. In this usability evaluation, evaluators surveyed eight users. From the start I believe that this evaluation was off to a good start because they found participants who were already familiar with yelp.com. They are the perfect participants because they are already regular users, and also will continue to use it after the evaluation. Yelp.com gave the participants different aspects that are a common problem to look into while partaking in the evaluation, and this determined the purpose of the test. Developing the test plan happened when Yelp gave the participants the desired areas to look at during the evaluation. Yelp prepared the test materials by explaining to the participants what their roles and responsibilities are. The participants needed to understand going into the evaluation what exactly they were looking for and all of this was explained in the introduction. One other thing I think was highly significant would be the post-test questionnaire that was conducted. This part of the testing gives them the best interpretation of the data. Yelp gives an entire section based on the solutions to the different concerns on the Yelp website. It is clear that they have analyzed the data that was given to them from the contestants and I think that the specific areas that were evaluated, and those areas were reported so that they can keep on improving their website for users.
http://emamato.iweb.bsu.edu/Usability.html
ReplyDeleteI analyzed the report on the usability study for the MakerBot 2 Desktop 3D Printer, which was done in order to determine if the technology education department the author works for should purchase more 3D printers. The usability study was done using five random students that had the period free, along with 2 random faculty, who also had the periods free. This was done to have a representative sample of the users of the product.
The study performed a pre-questionnaire to see what the participants knew and some information about them, while the post-questionnaire was used to debrief the participants and gain their opinions of the product. This information, along with the observer’s suggestions, the usability study provided solid information on how to improve the product. Without these improvements, the technology department most likely would not buy any more of the printers because of their difficulty in use. Therefore, this report was effective in helping the product provider improve the product, even if that was not necessarily the purpose of the usability study.
Usability Report (PDF Document)
ReplyDeleteI reviewed the usability test report for the Accounts Management System and Starter Kit for the University of Indiana. Overall, the design of the report is very good, beginning with a page including a summary and basic information about the tests performed. The report then goes into a description of the purpose of the testing, and the methods used, with the actual results relegated to a large table at the end of the document. Sections are clearly defined with headings, and I was never confused about which section of the document contained what information, but I do think that three entire pages of information before getting to the actual results of the test might be too much. Much of the information on pages two and three, while important, did not seem as important as the results themselves, and maybe the document could be restructured to focus on the actual feedback instead of the design of the test. Another potential issue is that the feedback given is presented without context. This may not be an issue if the audience is very familiar with the system being described (and they probably are), but for someone like me who isn't, it makes the information harder to understand. To summarize, the information was presented neatly and orderly, and was never hard to read, but I felt that the ordering of the information could be improved, and that some kind of context, such as screenshots of the pages being described, if they could be acquired, would aid in understanding.
For this assignment I choose to write about the Yelp usability report which was provided in the list of links. The document opened up with a table of contents that simply laid everything out. Following the table of contents was an executive summary basically stating that they were surveying people to improve and overcome problems the website was having. They followed the summary with a description of the study. This included how many people they had taking the test and their age groups. I thought they did a good job by adding some common problems users were having and simply showing recommendations on how to fix them. I would have recommended using a larger sample of people to conduct this report. Eight people just didn’t seem to be a lot for this type of report. They mentioned that their sample of people were familiar with yelp, To get a better response I would of used people that have never used the website before. I believe they could have gotten a better feedback. Overall I did like the layout, it seemed to be organized and detailed. I like how they added pictures to better explain the situation. It showed common problems and simple recommendations on how to solve them. Yelp’s usability report seemed to be effective.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scribd.com/doc/92602002/Yelp-Usability-Test-Report-FINAL
Toyota User Report
ReplyDeleteThe Toyota Prius usability report was very organized and structured. User demographics are clearly defined in the beginning of the document. Age, gender, driving time and environment, and driving tendencies are all organized in a table. All participants are asked to test drive the simulators and receive compensation for participation. Researchers observed the participants with cameras that do not obstruct the drivers view. Participants are asked questions during the procedure. This method is used in lieu of focus groups. Basic principles of usability testing are outlined and described in the text. This gives the author more credibility. Preparation is outlined in tables at the beginning of the report. While testing participates are given free-form, goal-based, and task-based activities. These tests give feedback on users’ needs and effectiveness of the car. The report was easy to read, follow, and understand because of the intense organization, use of color, change in font, and bolded text.
I looked at the usability report for MegaBus. The problem was that Mega Bus wanted to expand into the UK. They wanted to make a very efficient website for the UK users to use. They reviewed what was wrong and decided to make a change. They needed to change their site to make it more updated and to be appealing to those in the UK. In one of the diagrams shown, they show the fixes that they made to the website. This shows that they edited the product to fit their users in the UK, but also shows that they really had to go back and analyze how they wanted to adjust everything. Mega Bus tested real people and evaluated them based on their descriptions. The test was very thorough the steps listed in the manual are very specific for what the participant did. Mega Bus got feedback from the participants after being tested. There were also recommendations for how to make the website better. I believe the test was effective because it proved that the Mega Bus site was not up to par and the participant’s recommendations would make the website better it makes the purpose known that they had issues to fix and the test was an efficient way of going about that problem. By implementing them, they can increase in the UK and UK users. It also effective because it is easy to read along, the diagrams help make the text easier to understand, and they were error free.
ReplyDeletehttp://cdn.kingston.ac.uk/documents/postgraduate/courses/documents/megabus-evaluation-report.pdf
http://lnlockhart.iweb.bsu.edu/Research.htm
ReplyDeleteI choose to look at the usability report for Apple products provided in the list of links. Overall, I think the Apple Product Usability Study provided some interesting results even though it drew from a small sample size of individuals that responded. Only ten people were polled for information in this survey that only consisted of ten questions. The most important question asked I think from the survey was what feature of the Apple iPhone users enjoy or did not enjoy the most. This question is the one that would allow the Apple creators the most relevant data for producing the next generation of Apple Products. Responses such as “Ease of use, battery life, design, picture/video quality, size, and Siri” would allow those that make decisions to hone in on what people that actually use Apple products want and what Apple could make easier or better in the future. To better interpret these results, the usability report featured five sections boxed off for ease of reading or to better see highlight the pertinent parts. The survey results and recommendations sections were the two sections that offer the most information to Apple decision makers about their products and what to take away from the survey. The survey results section was overly long I thought and could have used bullet points or bolding to highlight the more relevant or interesting data. The Recommendations section does this and it makes for a much quicker and skimmable read. As mentioned, the report seemed effective and concise overall and should provide useful information about how people use their Apple products.
I analyzed the “Usability Assessment Test of the fitbit App Version 2.14.1” written by Alicia Tamayo. My first critique is that the author didn’t seem to proofread their report. Therefore, they did a poor job at reporting their findings. I was distracted by all of the misspelled words and misused conjugations. I truly believe that if the author were to turn this report in to the app developers, they would not take it seriously. I would say that this is its biggest downfall, and if the author would have taken more time to proofread and have others go over it, it would have been better for the project as a whole. I do feel that the author was thorough in their development in the testing, however. The three basic principles of usability testing are prevalent. The fitbit app was physically tested by five participants. The study used “real users” and not experts. The usability testing set measurable goals for the participants. The steps to create a usability test were followed. The author did give suggested solutions to the issues that were most prevalent in their study. (Although, there was one statement made about blind users of the fitbit app that threw me for a loop.) The design was acceptable, at best, with section headings to follow along present and also different boxes for different sections, as well. The color contrast was a bit off and the graphics used weren’t relevant. All in all, I’d say this report would do an okay job explaining how to improve the fitbit app at its current state. It could use a few updates in the presentation aspect.
ReplyDeletehttp://goo.gl/FcbU6d
I looked at a report on Fitbit Flex sleep monitoring. They made this report very is to read and go through. It is a longer report, but they included a table of context and all the new headings are bolded to help skim ability. They first looked at the usability of the Fitbit Flex sleep and then went into a study about it. . I really liked how in the beginning they went through what the Fitbit Flex sleep was step-by-step and included all the information we might need to know. They also included the competition so that we could compare their product to the competitors out there. In this dairy study they looked at everything and they go through the study step-by-step with you in the report. In this diary study they went through section by section over all aspects of the study, from the participants, to the purpose, even to motivation. They also included a review sections so that you could go back and review the study in a faster more efficient way. Even after the study and usability, they went through the design of the Fitbit Flex sleep. Now we have all the information on this product we could need. I feel like the report covered all aspects of a good report from usability, to doing research, to looking at their participants.
ReplyDeletehttp://cdn.kingston.ac.uk/documents/postgraduate/courses/documents/User-Experience-Student-Work-Report.pdf