Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Critical acclaim for Understanding Your Users

The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive Technologies

Copyright

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PART 1: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE CHOOSING AN ACTIVITY

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION TO USER REQUIREMENTS

Introduction

User-centered Design

A Variety of Requirements

Getting Stakeholder Buy-in for Your Activity

The Methods

Chapter 2: BEFORE YOU CHOOSE AN ACTIVITY: LEARNING ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT AND USERS

Introduction

Learn About Your Product

Learn About Your Users

Pulling It All Together

Competitive Intelligence: Mining Design Concepts from Business School Libraries

Personas: A Case Study by Microsoft Corporation

Chapter 3: ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Introduction

Ethical Considerations

Legal Considerations

Pulling It All Together

Chapter 4: SETTING UP FACILITIES FOR YOUR USER REQUIREMENTS ACTIVITY

Introduction

Using Your Company’s Existing Facilities

Renting a Marketing or Hotel Facility

Building a Permanent Facility

Digital versus Analog Labs

Pulling It All Together

Designing an Innovative Cost-effective Usability Lab

PART 2: GET UP AND RUNNING

Chapter 5: PREPARING FOR YOUR USER REQUIREMENTS ACTIVITY

Introduction

Creating a Proposal

Deciding the Duration and Timing of Your Session

Recruiting Participants

Tracking Participants

Creating a Protocol

Piloting Your Activity

Pulling It All Together

Chapter 6: DURING YOUR USER REQUIREMENTS ACTIVITY

Introduction

Welcoming Your Participants

Dealing with Late and Absent Participants

Warm-up Exercises

Inviting Observers

Introducing Your Think-aloud Protocol

Moderating Your Activity

Recording and Note-taking

Dealing with Awkward Situations

Pulling It All Together

PART 3: THE METHODS

Chapter 7: INTERVIEWS

Introduction

When Should You Conduct Interviews?

Things To Be Aware of When Conducting Interviews

Preparing to Conduct an Interview

Conducting an Interview

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Communicate the Findings

Lessons Learned

Pulling It All Together

Preparing and Conducting On-site Interviews

Chapter 8: SURVEYS

Introduction

When Should You Use a Survey?

Things To Be Aware of When Using a Survey

Creating and Distributing Your Survey

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Communicate the Findings

Lessons Learned

Pulling It All Together

Using Online Surveys to Quantify Usability Issues

Chapter 9: WANTS AND NEEDS ANALYSIS

Introduction

When Should You Conduct a Wants and Needs Analysis?

Things To Be Aware of When Conducting a Wants and Needs Analysis

Preparing for a Wants and Needs Analysis

Conducting a Wants and Needs Analysis

The Brainstorming

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Communicate the Findings

Modifications

Lessons Learned

Pulling It All Together

Understanding Users’ Healthcare Wants and Needs

Chapter 10: CARD SORTING

Introduction

When Should You Conduct a Card Sort?

Things To Be Aware of When Conducting a Card Sort

Group or Individual Card Sort?

Preparing to Conduct a Card Sort

Conducting a Card Sort

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Communicate the Findings

Modifications

Lessons Learned

Pulling It All Together

How Card Sorting Changed a Website Team’s View of How the Site Should Be Organized

Chapter 11: GROUP TASK ANALYSIS

Introduction

Background to Task Analysis

Overview of Group Task Analysis

Preparing to Conduct a Group Task Analysis

Conducting a Group Task Analysis

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Communicate the Findings

Modifications

Lessons Learned

Pulling It All Together

Capturing Task Information on How People Prepare For and Conduct Online Meetings

Chapter 12: FOCUS GROUPS

Introduction

When Should You Use a Focus Group?

Things To Be Aware of When Conducting a Focus Group

Preparing to Conduct a Focus Group

Conducting a Focus Group

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Communicate the Findings

Modifications

Lessons Learned

Pulling It All Together

Engineering Collaborative Tools: a Different Use

Chapter 13: FIELD STUDIES

Introduction

When Should You Conduct Field Studies?

Things To Be Aware of When Conducting Field Research

Field Study Methods to Choose From

Preparing for a Field Study

Conducting a Field Study

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Communicate the Findings

Lessons Learned

Pulling It All Together

Understanding the Staples Delivery Experience

PART 4: WRAPPING UP

Chapter 14: CONCLUDING YOUR ACTIVITY

Introduction

Prioritization of Findings

Presenting Your Findings

Reporting Your Findings

Ensuring the Incorporation of Your Findings

Pulling It All Together

Calico Configuration Modeling Workbench

PART 5: APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: LEARN ABOUT USABILITY

APPENDIX B: VENDORS THAT OFFER TRAINING IN USABILITY ACTIVITIES

APPENDIX C: VENDORS THAT CONSULT ON USABILITY LAB DESIGN, SELL OR RENT LAB EQUIPMENT, OR BUILD LABS

APPENDIX D: VENDORS THAT RECRUIT PARTICIPANTS, CONDUCT USABILITY ACTIVITIES FOR YOU, AND/OR RENT FACILITIES TO YOU

APPENDIX E: REQUIREMENTS FOR CREATING A PARTICIPANT RECRUITMENT DATABASE

APPENDIX F: AFFINITY DIAGRAM

APPENDIX G: COMPUTERIZED QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS TOOLS

APPENDIX H: REPORT TEMPLATE

APPENDIX I: GLOSSARY

APPENDIX J: REFERENCES

INDEX

FIGURE AND TABLE CREDITS

ABOUT THE AUTHORS