Assignment #7 User Testing and Surveys
Objectives
Generate a user survey and understand user profiles
Course Outcomes
CO2 Evaluate functionality and usability of a computer interface.
Assignment
This assignment will have you generate a user survey. The purpose of this survey is to evaluate the usability of your designed interface through a formal means of user testing using the designed system.
Step 1 – User profile generation – As part of your survey you will need to categorize users into 3 categories; novice, intermediate, and expert. You cannot simply ask them their level of expertise as they probably do not know. This means you must generate some initial questions on your survey that you will be able to use to quantify their level of expertise. Also this level of expertise may be specific to the platform of your designed interface. You must take this into account.
Step 2 – You need to determine a usability score for each primary interface in your designed system. You also want to know how they felt about the overall experience. This means designing questions to help you make the determination of the usability and also identify problem areas with your interface. A suggestion is to do this based on the tasks associated with the interface.
Sample compiled survey results (assuming scores out of 10):
| User Level | Task 1 functionality | Task 1 impression | Task 2 functionality | Task 2 impression | Task 3 functionality | Task 3 impression |
| Novice | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| Intermediate | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| Expert | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
Using data like this that has been compiled from a survey allows us to spot places where we need to work on the functionality of the product. Your end product will be;
1. The survey
2. How you will use questions (formula) to determine user level
3. How you will use questions (formula) to determine functionality and impression score
This can be turned in as a word or pdf document.
Information
This is a great assignment to discuss approaches on the discussion board. You are welcome to discuss specific questions and approaches, especially towards estimating the user experience level.
Estimated Completion Time
This is a 5-8 hour assignment, including research and discussions. Writing surveys is not necessarily easy.
Supporting Lectures
Topic -Analyzing User Needs and Tasks
Topic – Understanding Users II
Questions and Answers
External Resources
- Usability.gov Usability Scale – https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/system-usability-scale.html
- Sogo Survey – https://www.sogosurvey.com/
Grading Criteria
A good survey is worth 6 points
A decent formula for experience level is worth 2 points
A decent formula for functionality and impression is worth 2 points
Any issues with the ability of the survey to adequately evaluate the user level or usability or functionality of the application will have review comments required for resubmission. You will be using this survey in the next assignment.