Usability Testing (A How-To Guide): Home

When designing a web site or piece of software, a user's experience is important. Can people use your site easily? What could make your website better?

Designing a web site or a piece of software is an iterative process. You may go through many revisions of your site's design before you get it just right. It's helpful to get user feedback to solve early issues that could make your site difficult to use. Conducting a usability test will get the right information to make your web site better.

The Nielson Normal Group has been doing usability testing since 1998 and has many resources on their site. Read their Introduction to Usability.

Watch Don Norman from the Nielson Normal Group in this 12-minute Ted Talk: "3 Ways Good Design Makes You Happy."

Learn how to plan and recruit for a usability test from Usability.gov

Watch an example of a usability test by Steve Krug, the author of Rocket Surgery made Easy.

View a list of books and articles available at DePaul about usability testing.

Lincoln Park Campus

The Richardson Library has a Usability Studio containing three iMacs with FaceTime cameras loaded with the Silverback usability software application. The room also contains a two way mirror for objective observation from the adjacent studio F*. An intercom phone is also available to instruct test participants remotely if desired. 

The Usability Studio can be reserved by current students, faculty, and staff of DePaul.

*Studio F is a functioning media studio and must be reserved separately if you would like to use it for your testing.

Reserve the Usability Studio

Loop Campus

The HCI department within the College of Computing & Digital Media has a Software Observation and Usability Lab (SOUL). The lab is available to all DePaul students, but priority will be given to students in the HCI and ISM programs.