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With the widespread adoption of the
world wide web, usability has become a key issue. This introductory
course presents a series of topics that are essential to website
usability. Understanding these issues and incorporating usability
testing into the development of your website can save you
both time and money by eliminating design and functionality
problems. This course is intended for people who wish or need
to become familiar with usability testing. Ideal candidates
for this course would be technical documentation specialists,
web designers, web developers and programmers.
Usability Testing is an online
course that combines instructor mentoring via discussion groups,
chat and e-mail with self-paced lessons and two practical
‘marked’ assignments. This course normally takes
about 8-weeks to complete. However, students can accelerate
their efforts in order to complete the course material in
less time if they wish by completing the course entirely on
their own efforts, using newsgroups and chat for general course
issues.
This is an applied course in evaluating
web site materials and structures. Students will undertake
learning and project development directly related to web practices,
design, movement and user needs. In the first assignment,
students perform an examination and evaluation of the usability
of a large site, including issues of overall design, graphics,
layout, hierarchy, navigation and textual content. In the
second assignment, students may undertake analysis in areas
specific to their job needs and work environment by producing
a sustained test of a defined topic relating to their work.
We will provide models and web sources at all points of your
investigation and students will use the web extensively for
course subject matter and testing.
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Course Outline
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This module provides you with a general
introduction to the concepts of the user-centered design. It
provides you with background information on user interfaces
and the user-centered design process.
This module provides you with a general
introduction to the concepts of usability and usability testing.
By the end of this module, you will be able to define usability
and usability testing, you will know the history of those terms
and you will understand why usability tests are conducted.
This module provides you with information
on how to plan a usability test. You will learn about the usability
test process, test objectives and user profiles. You will also
learn about the various usability tests, the different types
of test materials that are needed and the different test environments.
This module provides you with information
on how to conduct the actual test. You will learn how to conduct
one-on-one interviews and what to observe during the one-on-one
interviews. You will also learn how to conduct focus group interviews
and how to evaluate and log them.
This module provides more information
on qualitative and quantitative data gathering. In particular,
it explains the different terms that are used to identify data
and it provides information on how to properly collect this
information. |
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Course Requirements
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Students must have a working knowledge
of English and an awareness of basic software applications,
including file creation and maintenance. An awareness of MS
Word would also be helpful.
Students receive a CD-ROM that contains
all course materials.
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pentium-compatible
processor (133 MHz or faster) |
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32
MB of available RAM |
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super
VGA display, 640 x 480 resolution |
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35
MB of disk space |
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40
MB extra disk space during installation |
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CD
drive |
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an
XML-compliant browser: Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher
is recommended |
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Internet
access |
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e-mail
program: such as Outlook or Outlook Express |
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Windows
XP/Windows 2000/Windows ME/Windows NT/Windows 98 |
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Further Information
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Students receive a certificate of completion
for this course. Please see certification
for details.
US $299.00 includes a CD-ROM with all
necessary materials.
All of the course readings, discussions,
and assignments are conducted electronically. The instructor
works directly with each student in the course via e-mail
In addition, the instructor holds regular web chat sessions
to discuss topics of interest and assignments with the class
as a whole. Students may also use the online discussion bulletin
board to post messages regarding topics of interest and assignments.
Communication with your instructor
and your classmates is an important aspect of this course.
Several tools are provided to help you communicate more effectively.
The tools can be accessed from your 'student locker' page.
Students are encouraged to communicate
with each other through the course discussion group and through
regular chat sessions. Use the discussion group to share information
or to seek assistance with assignments. If you have a question
on an assignment that is of a general nature, use the discussion
group to post your question since other students will also
benefit from the response. If you need personal assistance,
e-mail your instructor.
Students are not required to attend
chat sessions; however, most students find them beneficial.
During chat sessions, students may ask questions relating
to assignments or usability issues.
The instructor will send out weekly
e-mail updates. The instructor's comments will discuss course
issues, assignments, and other information that is related
to the course. Since students are participating from locations
around the world, communication is especially important. Using
the course communications regularly will help students to
have a richer learning experience.
If you have further questions about
this course, or have special circumstances (i.e. student/corporate
group needs), we would be glad to talk
with you!
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About the authors
Randy Harris and Michael Truscello
CO-developed this course. Both have experience in voice and graphic
user interface design, document design, usability testing, and
linguistics. For example, Randy has over 15 years of experience
in teaching technical documentation and user interface design.
He has published three books on these subjects and won numerous
awards from academic institutions such as the Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute.
About the instructor
Brian Horvath has been teaching the
course since its introduction. Brian is a principal partner in
a design consultancy and has been working in interface design
for the last five years. His clients include Nortel Networks and
the Government of Canada.
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