web usability testing books

I'd suggest, "Web Usability and Research", Carol Barnum, as an
excellent book and better for usability than the Krug book.

Petra

On Jun 21, 2005, at 11:39 AM, Johan Sjostrand wrote:

> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> Hi all.
> I'm looking for any good boks on usability testing, preferably web
> usability testing.
> Quick-and-dirty-testing aswell as traditional testing.
>
> How to plan a usability test session:
> -How to gather test subjects.
> -Quantative and qualitative research.
> -Research over different periods of time.
> -Budget calculation.
> -Measure: efficiency, effectiveness, learning curve, satisfaction.
> (As I read in an previous email on this list)
>
> I feel I have a pretty strong foundation considering web usability,
> but now I want to move on to perform my own studies.
>
> And yes, I have the Steve Krug book.
>
> /Johan Sjostrand
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Group!
> To post to this list ....... discuss at ixdg.org
> (Un)Subscription Options ... http://discuss.ixdg.org/
> Announcements List ......... http://subscribe-announce.ixdg.org/
> Questions .................. lists at ixdg.org
> Home ....................... http://ixdg.org/
>

Petra

petralyn at petrahofmann.com

The Rubin book is OK, but I've found Dumas & Redish's "Practical Guide to
Usability Testing" to be more... well, practical :-) As with the Rubin book, its
focus is on usability in general, not web usability, but I think the principles
still apply for the most part. It also has great reviews at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1841500208/qid=1119381501/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-3129072-4547010?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Good luck,
Ted Boren

>>> <Lyle_Kantrovich at cargill.com> 6/21/2005 11:42:04 AM >>>
Johan,

I'd recommend Jeff Rubin's "Handbook of Usability Testing"

It's from 1994 (before web really hit)...but often cited as one of the
best books on usability testing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message may contain confidential information, and is
intended only for the use of the individual(s) to whom it
is addressed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to chime in for Mike Kuniavsky's "Observing the User
Experience."

It's not focused on just usability, but I would argue that that is
its strength. There are a number of ways to understand user
populations (and we find ourselves conducting "usability"
increasingly rarely, and mostly in guerrilla situations).

Here's a review from Boxes and Arrows
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/archives/
observing_the_user_experience_a_practitioners_guide_to_user_research.php

--peter

On Jun 21, 2005, at 12:44 PM, Johan Sjostrand wrote:

> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> Thanks everyone! Alot of them seems interesting indeed.
> If you can think of any other books please just keep on telling me
> about it, I really appreciate it.
>
> Best
> Johan
> _______________________________________________
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Group!
> To post to this list ....... discuss at ixdg.org
> (Un)Subscription Options ... http://discuss.ixdg.org/
> Announcements List ......... http://subscribe-announce.ixdg.org/
> Questions .................. lists at ixdg.org
> Home ....................... http://ixdg.org/
>

Understanding Your Users by Courage and Baxter just came out. I've only
flipped through it but it includes a broad survey of user research
techniques -- including contextual inquiry, ethnography, card sorting, paper
prototyping, and traditional usability testing.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1558609350/002-0996634-2432844?v=glance

On 6/21/05, Johan Sjostrand <johan at form-studios.com> wrote:
>
> [Please voluntarily trim replies to include only relevant quoted
> material.]
>
> Thanks!
> Yeah, at this early stage, small quick tests that are easy to conduct
> are most interesting to me. I know that there are alot of different ways
> to conduct tests. Or you tell me, where should a beginner start (and
> end) for practice purposes? Does it matter?
>
> /Johan
>
> Mitchell Gass wrote:
>
> > At 09:39 AM 6/21/2005, Johan Sjostrand wrote:
> >
> >> I'm looking for any good boks on usability testing, preferably web
> >> usability testing. Quick-and-dirty-testing as well as traditional
> >> testing.
> >
> >
> > Johan,
> >
> > Another very good book on usability testing is Carolyn Snyder's Paper
> > Prototyping
> >
> > http://www.paperprototyping.com/
> > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1558608702/
> >
> > Despite the title, it's primarily about how to conduct usability
> > tests, with low-fidelity prototypes as the medium. For methods that
> > let you improve designs very quickly, it's hard to beat.
> >
> > Mitchell Gass
> > uLab | PDA: Learning from Users | Designing with Users
> > Berkeley, CA 94707 USA
> > +1 510 525-6864 voice
> > +1 510 525-4246 fax
> > http://www.participatorydesign.com/
> >
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> Welcome to the Interaction Design Group!
> To post to this list ....... discuss at ixdg.org
> (Un)Subscription Options ... http://discuss.ixdg.org/
> Announcements List ......... http://subscribe-announce.ixdg.org/
> Questions .................. lists at ixdg.org
> Home ....................... http://ixdg.org/
>