Professional Website Usability

2. Finalizing Logistics

When the evaluation tool is near completion and participants and observers are confirmed, it's also a good time to reconfirm that your location, equipment, food order, incentive or other items are secured. Ensure that everyone involved knows the exact times for the study and when they should arrive. Ask observers to arrive at least 30 minutes before the session. You don't want any surprises on the day of the study, so take the extra step to confirm all these items again. I generally confirm three or four days before the study so there is time to resolve any issues.

There are several risks associated with administering a Website Usability test that you should be aware of and plan for. Some of these you can't control and others you can. My philosophy is: focus on what you can control and pray about the rest! If you don't manage these risks, the success of your entire study will be in jeopardy. Plan for contingencies or other workarounds, because you can have unanticipated problems.

Here is what you need, and a few of the most commonly encountered problems:

Correct Equipment

The correct equipment to arrive on time and be set up ready to log on to the Internet Service Provider, get through any firewalls, and arrive at the intended URL address.

What could happen:
Equipment doesn't arrive on time, the ISP is down, the firewall doesn't allow you in or out, the URL address isn't valid or isn't operational.

What you can do:
Test, test, test. Give yourself plenty of time to get in the actual room the day or two before the session and test all the PCs, laptops, monitors, connections or other technology to be used. Call your technical representative, vendor or ISP to ensure they don't have any planned maintenance, outages or anticipated issues on the day or time of your session. Call your firewall administrator, vendor or ISP well ahead of time to ensure that all firewall 'maneuvering' issues can be understood and addressed.

Observers

You will need one observer for each participant.

What could happen:
Observer is out unexpectantly sick and can't make the session.

What you can do:
Set up two or three fill-in observers who can stand in and be ready to go if you are short observers. Or, use the facilitator as an observer after they do the opening. If you have sick participant, you can simply reassign or release the observer (better to be short a participant than an observer!!)

Access to the room.

You will definitely need access to a room for the duration of the test.

What could happen:
The room is locked when you get there. This is an obvious problem if you're in your own facility and more annoying when you're off-site.

What you can do:
Add to your 'to do' list a note to confirm with the organizer where keys are or who is responsible for providing you access to the room. If a pager number is available, that's even better.

An Incentive or Reward for Participants
The incentive or other token of appreciation which will be given to participants in your possession or on site. You could give one to observers, as well.

What could happen:
If it's an item you ordered specifically for this study and it hasn't arrived, think about a financial alternative.

What you can do:
Make a mad dash to the bank or ATM machine and get enough cash to give your participants money instead. I think $25 for a 15-minute study, $50 for a 30-minute and $100 each for a one-hour study. Remember to get a receipt so you can expense it when you get back to the office! Let's face it, some of you participants are coming not out of the kindness of their heart, but because you told them in your invitation and confirmation that there would be an incentive for them. You've got to deliver on this!!

Okay, let's recap where we are at with all this shall we?

Summary So Far

You're making progress pulling all the details of your Website Usability study together.

In Part 1, you learned about the concept of usability testing, how it influences the outcome of your web project and how the strategy can lay the foundation for all the components of a study.

Part 2 revealed that planning is the secret. With an approved strategy, approach and implementation plan in place, the foundation pieces are in place for a successful study.

Part 3 moved you closer to implementation by introducing you to the five-part evaluation tool, the roles and responsibilities needed to administer a study and finalizing logistics.

Next is Part 4, which will walk you through the day of the study.

Part 5 will conclude the series with a review of the materials and the results produced by each.