Unit 6: Usability Report

You will conduct 5 usability tests on the Bloomington Montessori School web site: http://dev.montessori.k12.in.us/index.php.

Each of you has been given an account as if you were the parent of a child at the school. To use this account you need to follow the "new parent" instructions:

You and your child have been added to the BMS database. When you go to the BMS site http://dev.montessori.k12.in.us/ you will see a Log In link on the left. On the login page you will see a link labeled "Forgot your password?" Click that and fill in your email address. It will send you a temporary password. Use that to log in the first time. When you log in a new "Parents" menu will appear in the navigation across the top. One of the choices is "Reset Password". You can set it to something easier for you to
remember.

After you've reset your password choose "Montessori Online Menu" (MOM) from the Parents menu. It should indicate that your child is in the lunch program. Before you can make her menu choices you must follow the "Modify Menu Profile" link in the middle of the page. This will set her defaults, making it faster for you to fill out her menu each month as you will only have to change what differs from the default. If she always goes for the defaults you won't even need to log in each month, the system will just submit your defaults.

After you've set her defaults you return to the main MOM menu and there will be a link towards the bottom taking you to the November menu.

You will need to have an account and password so that you can log-in to conduct each usability test.

There are several tasks that your testers should first attempt. Ask them to do the following:

How would you contact the school's director?
What language is taught in the elementary classes?
How do you apply to the school?

The next priority is to test the new lunch menu system. Again, ask each tester to follow these steps:

Login (they will use your account and password)
Change password (ask them to change it to something you will remember for the next test!)
Update profile information:
* change home/work phone
* choose your contact preferences
* DO NOT change the e-mail address—you won't be able to log-in again!
Set menu profile:
* for a vegetarian student
* add an extra glass of milk for each day
* choose water to drink
* return to the main lunch menu options page
Choose child's menu choices for December 1 & 2.
Save your choices.
Choose child's menu choices for December 3 & 4.
Submit final menu.
View menu after submitting.
Determine the amount owed for your lunch plan.
Find out the first day of classes after the winter break.
Send a message to the webmaster.

VERY IMPORTANT! Once a test is complete, you can use the link "Usability Class Reset" at the bottom of the Montessori Online Menu page to reset your account for the next tester. Be sure to do this so that the menu system will appear to each tester as it would a new parent. These steps are the primary focus of the test and if they are disrupted our test results will be incomplete.

The test
Your five test subjects can be anyone, but it's helpful to choose people who aren't already familiar with the web site. Follow the testing process we discussed in class and the test described in Chapter 9 of Steve Krug's usability book. Let your subjects take the lead by encouraging them to "think out loud." Focus on how they use the site and the conclusions they draw about the festival. All the while, remember to pay greater attention to their actions than their opinions. After the test take thorough notes on what they did, what you observed, and any quick conclusions you might be able to draw.

Your report should include the following elements:

Notes from all five of your usability tests that outline problems and possible solutions discovered during each test (these can be neatly handwritten or typed)
A bullet-point, "executive summary" of the usability test results (You will need to download a PDF copy of Chapter 10 from the first edition of "Don't Make Me Think." The executive summary required for this report doesn't appear in the second edition of Krug's book. See p. 173 of the Chapter 10 PDF for details)
2 full pages (minimum) detailing the conclusions you can draw from your usability tests: What works? What doesn't? Is the site navigable? How could the site be organized differently?
The report is due by 5 pm Tuesday, December 15; there is no proposal required for this project. Please deliver your completed work to Radio-TV 344.

Your executive summary and conclusions must be typed and all materials should be fastened together (stapled or bound) in some manner.