My goals for the course:
• Learn to create a test plan using multiple testing methods
• Understand the multitude of qualitative and quantitative research methods
• Be able to write a professional-level survey and then analyze it
• Develop skills as a test moderator
• Synthesize the results with a group
• Present the results
For my study on Olin.edu: I plan to start with a short Discovery Phase during which I will interview new faculty members at Olin to determine the motivations, use cases, and problems they face in relation to the Olin.edu Academics Page. Then, I'll use the information from the Discovery Phase as a guideline for planning and executing usability design tests in the Testing Phase. Through the Testing Phase, I am looking to understand how successfully new faculty are able to utilize the Olin Academics Page, whether or not their needs are met through the page’s current offerings, and identify points of failure or confusion.
Testing methods used:
Usability Design Test Script (for Olin.edu): Linked here
Quantitative Tools being used:
• Web Analytics (via Google Analytics)
• A/B Testing
• Card Sorting
• Tree Testing
• Surveys
• Heat mapping
Qualitative Methods being used:
• Direct Interviews
• Usability Tests + Observations
• Persona Clustering
• Clustering Qualitative Comments