Usability Testing for the Rest of Us: The Application of Discount Usability Principles in the Development of an Online Communications Assessment Application

Abstract

Background : Usability evaluation provides developers and educators with the means to understand user needs, improve overall product utility, and increase user satisfaction. The application of “discount usability” principles developed to make usability testing more practical and useful may improve user experience at minimal cost and require little existing expertise to conduct. We describe an application of discount usability to a high-fidelity online communications assessment application developed by the University of Washington for the American Board of Internal Medicine. Evaluation : Eight internal medicine physicians completed a discount usability test. Sessions were recorded and the videos analyzed for significant usability concerns. Concerns were identified, summarized, discussed, and prioritized by the authors in collaboration with the software developers before implementing any changes to the interface. Description : Thirty-eight significant usability issues were detected and four technical problems were identified. Each issue was responded to through modification of the software, by providing additional instruction, or delayed for a later version to be developed. Conclusions : Discount usability can be easily implemented in academic developmental activities. Our study resulted in the discovery and remediation of significant user problems, in addition to giving important insight into the novel methods built into the application.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported through funding from the American Board of Internal Medicine. We would like to also thank Alan Gojdics, David Hughes, Ashley Bond and David Jones for programming and development expertise.