Computer Assistant Mechanism For Data Gather And Analysis In Usability Testing

The high speed of product innovation and upgrade need more effective and high quality of usability testing. For usability testing, the data gather and analysis is the core to improve the efficiency and quality. We find the current computer assistant systems have some limitations in practice for the flaws in their mechanism. It influences the efficiency and quality of usability testing. Based the research on the current usability testing methods and computer assistant systems, we give a more efficient system mechanism. Following this new mechanism, we create a new system, which we call UX Office - Usability Testing, to support usability testing more efficiently and better in quality.At first, we introduce and make a summary for the current usability testing methods. And we walkthrough with the current computer assistant systems, show the limitations: lack of control on the testing process, lack of supporting on structured data, lack of transferring raw data to useful usability information, lack of reusing data analysis result, lack of supporting on the whole testing workflow.At second, we give a new mechanism for computer assistant usability testing, which include use case analysis and scenario definition, data gather and data analysis. For use case analysis and scenario definition, we using the method of use case to make a relationship between data. For data gather, we define 5 tasks to gather the data systematically and structurally, which are event observation, process control, data mark, preference data gather, structure data. For data analysis, we define 4 tasks to support the work more efficiently, which are flaw cluster, performance analysis, preference analysis, and group difference analysis.At third, based this mechanism; we build a new computer assistant system, which we call UX Office - Usability Testing, to assist usability researchers on usability testing. We worked out the detail design documents and collaborated with programmers to implement it.Finally, we applied this new system in a usability testing project. We found it can promote the efficiency and quality of usability testing. In following works, we still need to check and improve this system in quantitative view with more projects.