Usability Inspection Methods
Jakob Nielsen, 1994
The first comprehensive, book-length work in the field of usability evaluation. Designed to get you quickly up and running with a full complement of UI strategies, tools, and techniques. This extremely practical guide offers you a unique opportunity to learn them from the women and men who invented the techniques. With the help of numerous real-life case studies, the authors give you: Step-by-step guidance on all important methods now in use, including the heuristic evaluation method, the pluralistic walkthrough method, the cognitive walkthrough method, and more.
Edited by Jakob Nielsen and Robert L. Mack, published by John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY ISBN 0-471-01877-5.
Table of Contents
Preface
Jakob Nielsen and Robert L. Mack
About the Editors
List of Contributors
1. Executive Summary Robert L. Mack and Jakob Nielsen
1.1 Definition of Usability Inspection
1.2 Inspection Objectives
1.3 Inspection Methods
1.4 Inspection Methodology Issues
1.5 Usability Inspection and the Usability Engineering Lifecycle
1.6 Research Directions
1.7 Conclusions
2. Heuristic Evaluation Jakob Nielsen
2.1 How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation
2.2 Case Study: Evaluating a Highly Domain-Dependent System
2.3 Severity Ratings
2.4 Characteristics of Usability Problems Found by Heuristic Evaluation
2.5 Getting Good Evaluators
2.6 Conclusions
3. The Pluralistic Usability Walkthrough: Coordinated Empathies Randolph G. Bias
3.1 A Little Historical Context
3.2 The Pluralistic Usability Walkthrough
3.3 Limitations
3.4 Benefits
3.5 Theoretical Post Mortem
3.6 Choosing to Conduct a Pluralistic Usability Walkthrough
3.7 Conclusions
4. Inspections and Design Reviews: Framework, History, and Reflection, Dennis Wixon, Sandra Jones, Linda Tse, and George Casaday
4.1 Framework
4.2 Framework for Inspections
4.3 History of Inspections and Design Reviews
4.4 Reflections
5. The Cognitive Walkthrough Method: A Practitioner's Guide, Cathleen Wharton, John Rieman, Clayton Lewis, and Peter Polson
5.1 Overview
5.2 Detailed Description of the Walkthrough Procedure
5.3 Detailed Example
5.4 Staying on Track and General Fixes
5.5 Evolution of the Walkthrough Method
5.6 Value of the Walkthrough in Design
6. Formal Usability Inspections, Michael J. Kahn and Amanda Prail
6.1 A Description of the Method
6.2 A Design History of Formal Usability Inspections
6.3 Appendix: Glossary
7. Faster, Cheaper!! Are Usability Inspection Methods as Effective as Empirical Testing? Heather W. Desurvire
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Issues and Mechanics of Comparing Usability Inspection Methods
7.3 Comparing Empirical Data with Usability Inspection Methods
7.4 Enhancing the Performance of Interface Evaluators Using Non-Empirical Usability Methods
7.5 Call for Action
8. A Comparison of User Interface Evaluation Methods, Clare-Marie Karat
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Comparison of Usability Testing and Inspection Methods
8.3 Trade-Offs Regarding Inspection Methods
8.4 Conclusion
9. Evaluating High Level Design: Synergistic Use of Inspection and Usability Methods for Evaluating Early Software Designs, Janice S. Bradford
9.1 Importance and Role of Early Design Evaluations
9.2 Building the Context for Evaluation
9.3 Synergistic Use of Multiple Methods
9.4 The Power of Scenarios
9.5 Conclusion
10. Adding Value to Usability Testing, Patricia Brooks
10.1 Introduction
10.2 When Inspection Methods Provide Value
10.3 Where and Why Inspection Methods Fall Short
10.4 Evolution of User Testing
10.5 Summary
11. Usability Problem Reports: Helping Evaluators Communicate Effectively with Developers, Robin Jeffries
11.1 The Data Set
11.2 Looking for False Alarms
11.3 Examples of Problem Reports
11.4 Which are the False Alarms?
11.5 Better Problem Reports
11.6 Recommendations
11.7 A Research Agenda
12. Observing, Predicting, and Analyzing Usability Problems, Robert Mack and Frank Montaniz
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Background
12.3 Observing and Analyzing Usability Problems
12.4 Inspection-Based Usability Problems
12.5 Analyzing Design Implications of Usability Problems
12.6 General Discussion and Conclusions
13. The Role of Psychological Theory in Usability Inspection Methods, Cathleen Wharton and Clayton Lewis
13.1 What Psychological Theory has to Offer
13.2 How Might System Designers Become Aware of and Apply This Knowledge in Their Work?
14. Interface Design Guidance Systems, Louis A. Blatt and James F. Knutson
14.1 Secondary Research
14.2 Requirements Analysis Research
14.3 Rapid Prototyping
14.4 Focus Group Research
Bibliography
Author Index
Index