Evaluation Methods
To gather user data about the Cat Watch application, I decided to use the time to complete the task and interview questions methods. In order to capture the testers’ thoughts on the application and suggestions for improvement, I decided to use the method of interview questions. This method would allow testers to provide feedback freely and share their honest opinions of the application. To measure the success testers had with executing the tasks, I chose to use the time to complete method. I believe users should be able to complete basic tasks and common tasks relatively quickly. If common tasks take a long time for the user to complete, users will not want to use the application because it will be too time consuming to get things done. When users are able to perform tasks quickly the first time they use an application, we know the application is intuitive and they will be able to quickly perform these tasks in the future. According to the book A Practical Guide to Usability Testing, “…we should concentrate in this test on making sure that users will be able to do basic tasks quickly. If people don’t have success with the product when it is first introduced into a company, they won’t continue to use it (Dumas & Redish, 116).”
To protect the privacy of the testers who participated in my usability testing, I will refer to them as tester 1, tester 2 and tester 3. While selecting participants for my usability testing, I selected users of different genders, users of different ages, users with different technical abilities and users with different experiences with cats. This way I would have a variety of different users with varying perspectives to maximize the feedback I received. The sample I selected represented the user community for Cat Watch, people of different gender, ages, technical skills, experience with cats, etc. I want to make sure Cat Watch meets the needs of all Cat Watch users. Tester 1 was a male in his late twenties with good technical skills, who has had a pet cat for at least the past 5 years. Tester 2 was a female in her early 50s with basic technical skills, who has had multiple pet cats for at least the past 10 years. Tester 3 was a male in his early 60s with good technical skills, who has had multiple pet cats. The testing environment used to conduct usability testing was done in the user’s home. Testers were able to select the computer in which they were most comfortable.
The tasks I asked the usability testers to complete were:
The interview questions I asked the usability testers were:
Evaluation Results
All three testers
Two of the three testers
To gather user data about the Cat Watch application, I decided to use the time to complete the task and interview questions methods. In order to capture the testers’ thoughts on the application and suggestions for improvement, I decided to use the method of interview questions. This method would allow testers to provide feedback freely and share their honest opinions of the application. To measure the success testers had with executing the tasks, I chose to use the time to complete method. I believe users should be able to complete basic tasks and common tasks relatively quickly. If common tasks take a long time for the user to complete, users will not want to use the application because it will be too time consuming to get things done. When users are able to perform tasks quickly the first time they use an application, we know the application is intuitive and they will be able to quickly perform these tasks in the future. According to the book A Practical Guide to Usability Testing, “…we should concentrate in this test on making sure that users will be able to do basic tasks quickly. If people don’t have success with the product when it is first introduced into a company, they won’t continue to use it (Dumas & Redish, 116).”
To protect the privacy of the testers who participated in my usability testing, I will refer to them as tester 1, tester 2 and tester 3. While selecting participants for my usability testing, I selected users of different genders, users of different ages, users with different technical abilities and users with different experiences with cats. This way I would have a variety of different users with varying perspectives to maximize the feedback I received. The sample I selected represented the user community for Cat Watch, people of different gender, ages, technical skills, experience with cats, etc. I want to make sure Cat Watch meets the needs of all Cat Watch users. Tester 1 was a male in his late twenties with good technical skills, who has had a pet cat for at least the past 5 years. Tester 2 was a female in her early 50s with basic technical skills, who has had multiple pet cats for at least the past 10 years. Tester 3 was a male in his early 60s with good technical skills, who has had multiple pet cats. The testing environment used to conduct usability testing was done in the user’s home. Testers were able to select the computer in which they were most comfortable.
The tasks I asked the usability testers to complete were:
- Please click a video, which is an animated diagram of your cat’s movements, and watch the path your cat traveled throughout your house.
- Please select the day you wish to compare your cat’s past metrics.
- Please compare the number of hours your cat sleeps and the number of hours your cat is active to national averages.
- Please post a question or comment about the your cat’s behaviors.
- Please sign out of the Cat Watch application.
The interview questions I asked the usability testers were:
- What aspects of the system did you like?
- What aspects of the system were confusing?
- What suggestions for improvement about the system do you have?
- If the system functioned well, how much would you pay to buy it and use it?
Evaluation Results
All three testers
- System intuitive and easy to use
- Pay to use the system because added value
Two of the three testers
- Meaning of the arrows could be clearer
- Prototype very sensitive to clicks
- Compare tab was a little confusing
- Capture cat health information
- Conflicted opinions on font size
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