|Home|

April 25, 2005 Program Details

Quick, Cheap, and Easy Ways to Conduct
Effective Usability Testing

Video camera and filmWhich would you rather spend, $50,000 or $500, to find out how easily customers can use your products or services? If you picked $500, you're smart! With just that modest investment and a little planning, you can conduct usability testing on a par with what you could do by spending a whole lot more.

Join us on Monday, April 25th as a Cal Poly panel digs into one of our favorite subjects, usability, by exposing the how-to” aspects of this important practice. Theory is wonderful, but how often do we get to see how to actually perform these valuable skills?

From prioritizing your testing goals to inviting participants to setting up the test, this panel will leave no stone unturned in this step-by-step overview. This is our chance to gain practical knowledge that we can implement simply and cheaply on our very next projects!

Please see the complete details on the event, below.

   
Quick, Cheap, and Easy Ways to Conduct
Effective Usability Testing
Date: Monday evening, April 25, 2005
Time:

Networking will start at 6:00. Refreshments will be served in the lobby prior to the presentation. The main program will begin at 6:30 and adjourn by 8:30. There will be a break and door prize drawing midway through the evening. The meeting is open to the public and is free of charge.

Location:

KCBXnet (formerly SLONET) Computer Training Center, 4100 Vachell Lane, SLO (at the intersection of S. Higuera St. and Vachell Lane). Click here for maps and driving directions from your starting point. Courtesy of Mapquest.

Speakers:

A panel of Cal Poly presenters, all involved in the Technical Communication program, will be sharing this information. They will be giving this same presentation at STC's annual conference in Seattle this coming May.

Description:

Quick, Cheap, and Easy Ways to Conduct Effective Usability Testing will give us the nuts and bolts details on how to conduct usability studies without leaping over rivers or spending a fortune. What previously may have seemed like an intimidating process will be revealed in a simpler, cheaper, and easier form. All it takes is a location, a little equipment, some planning, and knowledge, which we'll be learning from this valuable presentation.

Our panel will cover these key points about usability studies:

  • What would a big expensive ($50,000) usability study do?
  • How would a cheaper version ($500) accomplish the same goals?
  • How do you conduct the test (prioritize your goals, script the process, invite participants, set up equipment, and collect data)?
  • How do you evaluate the results?
  • How do you improve your product, service, or Web site using the results?

Mark your calendar now for this rare opportunity to expand your skill set with this critical process!

RSVP: Optional. For more information or if you have questions, please feel free to send e-mail to reservations@slostc.org, or call Adele at 462-2199.
Cost: Free!
Door Prize: We will have an assortment of recent professional publications from which to choose. You must be present to win.

 

Disclaimer, credits, copyrightGet Acrobat ReaderSome articles or linked resources may be in Portable Document Format (PDF). To download the free Acrobat Reader, click the icon at right. To install the Reader, double-click the downloaded file.

Disclaimer and credits