Question about usability testing a UI Style Guide

[Smith Anna - annasm]

Rosemary,
I think that the answer to your question of what to do is answered by
another question...how much time do you have/want to put into this?  If
you have enough time, I would say that both options (first the
questionnaire followed up with the usability test) would be the best,
most thorough way of tackling your concerns about your document.  I
actually believe that completing the questionnaire is the best way to
actually put a usability test like you are discussing together for the
best results.

 

___________________________________

Anna Smith |   A c x i o m   R e c o g n i t i o n & U s e r  E d u c a
t i o n

501-342-6297office | 501-733-3912 wireless | 501-342-3299 fax

-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-stcusesig_l-333214 at lists.stc.org
[mailto:bounce-stcusesig_l-333214 at lists.stc.org] On Behalf Of
BroomeBingham_Rosemary at emc.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 9:43 AM
To: STC Usability SIG discussions
Subject: [stcusesig_l] Question about usability testing a UI Style Guide

First, I'd like to introduce myself as this is my first posting to this
list, although I've been lurking for several months now. 
I'm a user experience designer at EMC Corporation, responsible for their
UI Style Guide. Previously I spent many years in technical publications.
I'm also enrolled in a Masters program in HFID at Bentley College. 

My question concerns the usability of our UI Style Guide. The Style
Guide covers behavior as well as look and feel.  It's implemented as a
help system and we hear comments from development about "things being
difficult to find," etc. 

Have any of you tested the usability of a UI Style Guide?  I'm torn
between conducting a survey of users (e.g. 20 questions such as Have you
accessed the Tables section, what were you looking for, did you find it?
etc) and trying to put together a usability test (e.g. design a wizard
to meet xyz use case and measure whether the resulting mockup complies).
I would be interested in feedback and the experiences of this group. 

Regards,
Rosemary

Rosemary Broome-Bingham
EMC Common User Experience (ECUE)
EMC Engineering - 228 South St., Bldg. A
* Direct Phone: 1-508-249-2098 (internal extension 42098)  
* email: broomebingham_rosemary at emc.com





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