Testing Lesson - main page
If you were not in the classroon or logged on using CCCConfer please watch the recording that will be listed here soon.
This first testing experience often strikes fear in the hearts of even the most seasoned web producers. What if after all your hard work, they don't like it? Not to worry! The purpose of this class is to provide you with a safe place to make mistakes and recover. Besides, the user testing most often shows what a great job you have done. That doesn't mean, though, that your product is perfect at this point. What seems logical and clear to you, may not seem so to those who are not as close to or familiar with your web site as you are.
Here's what you want to find out in the user test-run: What "problems" do you need to fix in order to have a web site that truly does for the client what you designed and developed it to do? A problem could be anything from misspelled words and unclear navigation to unanticipated user reactions or even the web site loading so slowly that they user quits and goes surfing at Yahoo. It also could be something as basic as the participants hating the whole concept (not likely, but possible).
I wanted to discuss all testing issues in one lesson, we will be implementing them over the next several weeks. The sequence I have found most effective is to test it with
- conduct classmates test (CD)
report due - 5/9
- conduct client test (DES)
report due - 5/9
- conduct typical users test (PM)
report due - 5/9
- conduct equipment test (PROG or IMD)
report due - 5/9