Tag Archives: Usability testing

The Hudson River usability test

Posted on 23 February, 2009 by David Hamill

You never really know how well something works until people try to use it. Even the most logical seeming processes can have problems when they are tested with users. The problems you find in usability testing, often appear totally obvious … Continue reading →

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The increasing importance of usability in e-commerce

Posted on 10 February, 2009 by David Hamill

The world is facing a massive financial downturn, so doing business over the internet makes more sense now than it ever did. In order to succeed, retail businesses should pay more attention to the usability of their websites. Why the … Continue reading →

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Focus group usability testing

Posted on 22 November, 2008 by David Hamill

In today’s financial climate, organisations are trying to cut costs. This has led to lots of new and innovative cost-cutting usability techniques springing up. Some of them are ingenious, but not every cost saving measure is a good idea. One … Continue reading →

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Avoiding the R word

Posted on 13 November, 2008 by David Hamill

Many web teams I talk to long for the day they get to redesign their websites. I remember the days when I was the same. I now believe that the word ‘redesign’ should be avoided. I think it’s quicker and … Continue reading →

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Trigger words versus Customer Carewords

Posted on 25 October, 2008 by David Hamill

I was discussing Gerry McGovern with a friend recently. We both like the way he writes about good web content. However my friend felt that he couldn’t really see a difference between Customer Carewords and Jared Spool’s trigger words. They … Continue reading →

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Usability tests and the effect of learning

Posted on 6 October, 2008 by David Hamill

During usability tests participants will learn how to use the website during the session. This can have an affect on the accuracy of your results. Simulating reality Usability tests attempt to discover what people really do when they use websites. … Continue reading →

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Usability test tasks to avoid

Posted on 3 October, 2008 by David Hamill

Whether you’re carrying out your own test or a specialist is doing it for you, there are a few tasks I that recommend you avoid. Free browse The free browse task is when the facilitator just asks the participant to … Continue reading →

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