Usability Evaluation

The best way to guarantee that your site or document is usable and useful is to evaluate it or test it. How does this work? The methods you choose will largely depend on the size and significance of the project and can range from the simple to the complex.

At the first level, careful proofreading or evaluation of the document using a checklist may reveal areas that need development or clarification. Ask someone to review your draft or prototype and offer suggestions that will improve the design of the document. Most types of usability evaluations involve 3 groups of individuals: Users, the primary audience for the document; subject matter experts (SMEs) who are knowledgeable about the topics of the document or web site; and usability experts, who are trained to determine what questions to ask about the draft or prototype and how to best acquire the answers that will be most useful (Markell, 2015) Usability evaluations also come in different forms, and may include interviewing users ,using a questionnaire or survey, conducting focus groups, and observing users.