1. Assignment 6:
Writing to Present Findings
from a Usability Test*

2. Overview
Or, what the heck are tools and apps?

3. What is it?
 You
will be doing an “individual walkthrough”
of TWO digital tools or apps that may be
useful for technical writers.
 You may also use to tools or apps that are
useful in your field.

4. But Ari …
what do you mean by a tool or app?
I’m glad you asked!
Tools: Digital tools, often referred to as Web
2.0 technology. They are often web-based.
Apps: Apps are free or purchased
technology that perform a certain function.
These are often downloaded but may also
be web-based

5. What to Choose
 Two
digital tools or apps that can be
compared.
 Often, these are similar in scope or function.
 I bet you want examples, huh?

6. Examples!
Loads of them.

7. Examples: Presentations &
Word Processing
 Google
Docs
 Prezi
 Powerpoint
 Zoho
 Microsoft
 Pages
 Empressr
Word

8. Examples: Infographics and
Data Visualization






Piktochart
Easel.ly
Create.ly
Publisher
Illustrator
Photoshop



Wordle
Google Timeline
Bubbl.us

9. Examples:
Web Design & Blogs
 Wix
 Weebly
 WordPress
 Blogger

10. Examples:
Social Media & Bookmarking
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Google
Plus
 Pinterest
 Mashable
 Redd.it
 LinkedIn

11. Examples:
Cloud Storage
 Dropbox
 Box.net
 iCloud
 JustCloud
 ZipCloud

12. And MORE!
 ArcGIS
vs. free online mapping
tools
 Google Maps vs. Yahoo Maps
 MatLab
 Any other digital tools you may use.
 Skype vs. Facebook chat vs.
Facetime etc

13. How to Get Started
Don’t know where to start? Follow these steps.

14. Usability Test: Step 1
 Choose
your tools. It’s easiest if you don’t
have expert-level knowledge of these
tools.
 Decide on a set of tasks you will do using
each product.

For example, if you are comparing
Facebook and Twitter, your tasks might be
signing up, logging in, posting a status,
replying to a status, etc.

15. Usability Test: Step 2




Do each task for each app.
Take detailed notes as you do the tasks – this
will make writing your paper so much easier!
Test the affordances (those things that work
well) and constraints (those things that don’t
work well of the limitations of the tool).
Pay attention to any problems you encounter
when trying to use the product. Be sure to
note them!

16. Usability Test: Step 3
 Write
up your findings in a White Paper
format. About 1000 words.
 Audience:

Potential users of the tools or apps you test.
Imagine that you have been asked to write
a white paper about your test for
Technology Today, an internet site
dedicated to offering information about
the latest technology.

17. White Paper Format
How is it supposed to look?

18. In general, it should follow this
outline:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Title Page
Introduction section
Methods section
Results section
Recommendation section

19. Format: Title Page
 Title
Page: Yes, there needs to be a title
page.
 Tips:
Be specific and apply design features
to make the title page interesting to
potential readers.

20. Format:
Introduction Section
 Rhetorically,
the introduction creates a
permanent record of what was tested,
why, and for whom.
 Be specific in describing the products and
typical users of these products.

21. Format:
Methods Section
 Describe
the specific tasks you did when
using each product. Consider using a list
here.
 State when you did the test, where, and
anything else that helps a reader
understand the testing methods you used
such as type of computer (laptop,
desktop, tablet?).
 Be very specific!

22. Format:
Results Section (Part 1)
 Make
a decision about how best to
organize your results.
 Use subheadings in this section to help
readers navigate and revisit information.
 Use elements of excellent design.

23. Format:
Results Section (Part 2)
 Present
the findings of the test by
explaining the affordances and
constraints of the tasks you completed.
 You
may want to use graphics such as
screen shots to illustrate claims you are
making.

24. Format:
Results Section (Part 3)
 If
you experienced problems when
working with a product that proved to be
inconvenient, such as an app crashing
your browser, report those problems by
describing what happened.
 Be specific, describing the
who/what/where/when information.

25. Format:
Results Section (Part 4)

You may also want to determine the scope and
severity of a problem and/or constraint and
provide readers with a means of understanding
these by using a rating scale such as:




Unusable: the user cannot or will not perform the
task.
Severe: the user’s attempt to perform the task is
severely hampered.
Moderate: the user can perform the task with
moderate effort to overcome the problem.
Irritant: the problem is cosmetic, or does not
present significant difficulty in the user’s effort to
perform the task.

26. Format:
Results Section (Part 5)
 Further,
determine what part of the
product the error affects. It may affect
only one part of the product (local
problems), several parts, but not all, of the
product (semi-local or semi-global
problems), or the entire product (global
problem).

27. Format:
Recommendation
 Make
recommendations to potential users
of the product.
 Consider if it is useful to explain which
product might be best for a novice vs. a
product for a more experienced user.

28. DONE!
Questions? Please ask. 