Difference between revisions of "Pcdate"

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Expert Usability Review vs Usability Testing
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Pcdate is the ProgClub event scheduling software. That's the software that allows you to find a date that people can attend a particular event. For other projects see [[Projects]].
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One particular question we're often asked is truly which method is actually best: usability testing or expert usability reviews? Well, if they were sports cars, expert usability reviews might be a Porsche (very decent car and better than no car at almost all), but usability testing would become in a different league, namely Formula 1.  
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== Project status ==
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So, what'ersus the difference?
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Released!
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- The expert usability review is truly when a usability specialist inspects a website to identify potential usability problems
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== Contributors ==
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- Usability testing involves obtaining people through the audience to evaluate your site whilst performing tasks
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Members who have contributed to this project. Newest on top.
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They will're quite similar in many ways in that both:  
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* [[User:John|John]]
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- Discover and prioritise usability problems
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All contributors have agreed to the terms of the [[ProgClub:Copyrights#ProgClub_projects|Contributor License Agreement]]. This excludes any upstream contributors who tend to have different administrative frameworks.
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- Evaluate designs in the context of tasks
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== Copyright ==
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Perform that they find the same problems?
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Copyright 2011, [[Pcdate#Contributors|Contributors]]. Licensed under the [[New BSD license|New BSD]] license.
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The answer depends on just how precisely you measure this particular, on balance no, not reliably. Generally speaking, expert usability reviews tend to come across high level breaches of design rules and consistency. Usability testing is truly better at finding issues related to special domain knowledge and task flows.  
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== Source code ==
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Had you been to carry out a good expert usability review before conducting usability testing, and compare both sets of findings, you can observe exactly how the issues you found in comparison to the their real experiences. Did you locate every single one the problems? Which options did you overlook? Which options that you just thought might end up being issues switched out not to end up being? It will give you a good feel for just how expert usability reviews keep upward toward usability testing.  
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The repository can be browsed online:
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Often, expert reviews will:  
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http://www.progclub.org/pcrepo/pcdate/trunk/
   
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- Ignore usability issues that arise during usability testing
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The code for pcdate is publicly available from svn:
   
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- Locate some issues that usability testing didn'big t
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  http://www.progclub.org/svnro/pcrepo/pcdate/tags/latest/
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- Report false alarms (i.e. not real issues)
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Or privately available for read-write access:
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Which'utes the problem. It doesn't matter how good a helpful expert you are if you just depend while on an expert usability review you'll locate different kinds of issues and overlook some potentially serious options.  
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  https://www.progclub.org/svn/pcrepo/pcdate/trunk/
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Consider the case of a health website aimed specifically at brand-new mums. The expert usability review found plenty of great issues, but might have overlooked the main killer one which triggered participants to pass comments like "That'utes just so insensitive!" and "I wouldn'capital t use this web site anymore". And almost all because of a seemingly benign bit of banner advertising for a local gym placed next to an content about breasts eating. A reviewer would have difficulty predicting the indignant reaction of fresh mothers who felt the site had been rubbing their nose in it. In the end there would be little possibility of them going anywhere near a gymnasium with a newborn.  
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== Links ==
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Just how much overlap is there between expert usability reviews & usability testing?
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* [https://www.progclub.org/pcdate/ Production Event Planner]
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* [https://www.progclub.org/pcdate-dev/ Development Event Planner]
Normally, there is actually some overlap in the symptoms seen in both expert usability reviews and usability testing. Research executed by Fu, Salvendy and Turley in 2002 estimated this kind of to end up being all-around 41%. Not because high as you might expect. Interestingly, expert usability reviews tend to find much more issues in comparison to usability testing. But it'utes good quality over volume.  
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== Functional specification ==
Expert usability reviews are good...  
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=== Login screen ===
Expert usability reviews tend to be common than usability testing mainly because they're less expensive and quicker to perform. Typically, it'll only possess a handful of days and nights to inspect a site and write a report and because you don'n need to find labs nor recruit surfers, costs are significantly cheaper. Due to this, they will're often preferred to usability testing, specifically when time and budget are squeezed.  
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Here the user can login by specifying their username. There are no passwords for this system.
There are anyhow some pitfalls. For a start, a lot depends on the reviewer'ersus level of experience. No two usability experts will find exactly the same issues so the method is furthermore open up to practitioner variation. The biggest problem even so is actually that they will occasionally skip the real symptoms that cause consumers to fail tasks. This particular might be specially correct once the customers provides a particular skill set. For instance, a very accountant may always be better placed to diagnose selected kinds of issues related to online accountancy tasks than a non-accountant reviewer.  
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=== Event list screen ===
...But usability testing is da Daddy!
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Here all events in the system are listed.
Usability testing takes far more time to plan and organise and is actually much more expensive also - recruiting and incentivising people coming from a viewers can be costly. But it'utes definitely worth the effort! The outcome give a truer picture with the real problems people encounter because they will're derived through real people in the first place.
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=== Event creation screen ===
It'utes inconceivable exactly how sites go live without checking to determine that they're actually usable. It's like building an automobile but not test driving it. "Indeed, we've built this unique great website. Umm, well no, we've not examined to find out if people can play with it yet. But don'testosterone worry because every single one the links function and the pages download quickly."
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Here a user can create an event by specifying an event name, earliest date and latest date.
Another benefit of usability testing is actually that there'ersus a smaller amount conjecture and feedback comes straight coming from the horse'utes mouth. Movies of user sessions in particular, can provide a powerful persuasion device for reluctant stakeholders. It'utes hard to argue with recordings of people in tears of frustration.
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=== Event screen ===
Use real people and accept no substitute!
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Here the current availability of everyone in the system is reported and candidate dates are reported.
Both expert usability reviews and usability testing have their time and place. In practice, people often use expert usability reviews early again to straighten upward their design in arrangements for usability testing. (Indeed that is critical for accessibility testing, since it'utes a waste of time to recruit and test consumers who can'testosterone even get into your site in the first place.)
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=== Availability screen ===
Whilst an expert usability review is better than nothing, it'ersus still vital to serve your website in front of customers because early since probable too, rather than leaving it also late. Key elements such as site structure and navigation should always be assessed with customers at the very first opportunity. Otherwise you risk having your internet site totally overhauled at a late stage.
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Here a user can nominate their availability.
Ultimately, the key would be to appreciate that expert usability reviews and usability testing are different beasts. The most effective approach is to try and integrate both techniques. Remember though, you must test your site with real consumers - accept no substitute!
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http://www.brightspark.uk.com/index.php/member/12012/
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* Y: Yes, available
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* N: No, not available
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* M: Maybe available
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By default if a user has not made a specific nomination for a date then it is considered a 'maybe'.
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When users save their preferences they get written to a file. If the user returns to the screen the saved file is reloaded into their browser.
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== Technical specification ==
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System implemented in PHP with a file-system based backend.
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== TODO ==
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Things to do, in rough order of priority:
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* Select entire week availability
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* Fix up site navigation and overall look-and-feel
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* Fix up HTML titles and content headings
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* Add more description and help text
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* Validate comment field doesn't contain new-line or pipe
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* Allow for event deletion
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* Sort event list
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* Sort user list
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* Default DEBUG to on
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== Done ==
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Stuff that's done. Latest stuff on top.
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* [[User:John|JE]] 2011-12-05: released initial event creation, availability nomination and reporting
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* [[User:John|JE]] 2011-12-05: created project page and project in svn
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== Notes for implementers ==
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If you are interested in incorporating the ProgClub pcdate into your project, here's what you need to know:
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 +
Just get a copy of the system from pcrepo.

Revision as of 16:15, 11 December 2017

Pcdate is the ProgClub event scheduling software. That's the software that allows you to find a date that people can attend a particular event. For other projects see Projects.

Project status

Released!

Contributors

Members who have contributed to this project. Newest on top.

All contributors have agreed to the terms of the Contributor License Agreement. This excludes any upstream contributors who tend to have different administrative frameworks.

Copyright

Copyright 2011, Contributors. Licensed under the New BSD license.

Source code

The repository can be browsed online:

http://www.progclub.org/pcrepo/pcdate/trunk/

The code for pcdate is publicly available from svn:

http://www.progclub.org/svnro/pcrepo/pcdate/tags/latest/

Or privately available for read-write access:

https://www.progclub.org/svn/pcrepo/pcdate/trunk/

Links

Functional specification

Login screen

Here the user can login by specifying their username. There are no passwords for this system.

Event list screen

Here all events in the system are listed.

Event creation screen

Here a user can create an event by specifying an event name, earliest date and latest date.

Event screen

Here the current availability of everyone in the system is reported and candidate dates are reported.

Availability screen

Here a user can nominate their availability.

  • Y: Yes, available
  • N: No, not available
  • M: Maybe available

By default if a user has not made a specific nomination for a date then it is considered a 'maybe'.

When users save their preferences they get written to a file. If the user returns to the screen the saved file is reloaded into their browser.

Technical specification

System implemented in PHP with a file-system based backend.

TODO

Things to do, in rough order of priority:

  • Select entire week availability
  • Fix up site navigation and overall look-and-feel
  • Fix up HTML titles and content headings
  • Add more description and help text
  • Validate comment field doesn't contain new-line or pipe
  • Allow for event deletion
  • Sort event list
  • Sort user list
  • Default DEBUG to on

Done

Stuff that's done. Latest stuff on top.

  • JE 2011-12-05: released initial event creation, availability nomination and reporting
  • JE 2011-12-05: created project page and project in svn

Notes for implementers

If you are interested in incorporating the ProgClub pcdate into your project, here's what you need to know:

Just get a copy of the system from pcrepo.