Balancing Theoretical and Practical Applications of Usability Testing

The readings this week were helpful in that Quesenbury’s article “What Does Usability Mean” identifies the fundamental goals for usability testing and reasons why it is warranted. Through a series of fictional business examples, this author helps testers understand the characteristics of usability by explaining concrete definitions, showing them how to apply the definition, and teaching them how to make systems work from a user’s perspective.

Barnum’s article “What’s in a Number” offers readers a glimpse of how the “magic number,” in this case – the number “five,” can have an effect on usability testing. Barnum’s studies are helpful in that they identify case studies conducted by some of the leading experts in the field. Barnum asserts that testers who familiarized themselves with “numbers” used in such studies are more likely to grasp the goals of usability and, thus, are those who are more likely to meet the needs of users.

David Dick’s article “Usability Interface: Getting Started with Usability” gives readers a glimpse into his personal experience employing usability as a technical writer. Dick learned that real users would have better represented real world users than the employees he chose to use in testing. I do not necessarily agree with Dick on this. I think it all depends on the product, system, or service being tested. Some employees happen to be their employers best customers.

I found the readings this week helpful, but I would not consider any of them to be an equal balance between theory and practice. I'm still a huge fan of the number one guru for web usability – Jacob Nielsen. For me, the Jacob Nielsen and Hoa Loranger book Prioritizing Usability offers usability testers a clear view of how they can balance theory and practice when it comes to web development.