Usability Testing

One of the assignments we are in the process of completing for our Library Systems class is a combined usability test for our Wiki page. Although originally there was some confusion as to how each member of the team was to contribute to the design of the test, it looks like they are beginning to come together quite well. Before working on this usability test, I had not had the opportunity to create a test for a technology system and it was a good learning experience. I think that four things in particular were of benefit in learning about usability testing:
Class lecture: Obviously Dr. Ball has been around several thousand usability tests of technology systems and her experience tells us that librarians have a rich history in the world of usability testing and we can use what we have learned over the years to be leaders in this area.
The textbook: The textbook had recent examples of usability tests designed for Library Web pages and it was helpful to read further about the theory applied and get to see some examples of different tests for different types of library sites. Of course it was helpful to work through the book and gain a better understanding of the thought process that goes into usability testing.
Doing your own test: Making up your own test, although it is not as realistic in terms of a finished product in the business environment, I thought it was a great starting point because it allowed the individual to work through some of the challenges before coming together with ideas for the group.
Group effort: This is the most rewarding part of putting the test together because, each member has good insight and ideas to add, and collectively a library systems team can create a pretty good usability test for a library site.