ITECH3001 Evaluating a System - Assignment 2

Assignment 2

You will select one of the websites provided (the list is available on Moodle). You must notify your tutor which website you have selected as each website can be evaluated by only one person. The assignment involves conducting a usability test on that website, interpreting the results and writing recommendations in the form of a report on any changes needed. A copy of your report will be ready to be submitted to the charity.

Each of the charities listed have requested a usability evaluation of their website. The written component of the assignment must be based on your ACTUAL usability test on REAL users and should contain the following:

• A discussion, based on the literature, of the different approaches for assessing or testing usability with more detail on the use of usability testing for evaluating systems or websites.
• A brief description of the website selected for the usability evaluation. This should include the purpose of the website, the audience and the objectives of the organisation with respect to their website as determined by the charity.
• For the usability test you must:

• Describe how the usability testing was conducted, and rationale for the approach. You may use the usability instrument provided on Moodle or a modified version (but improved version). The description should include a justification of the number of users, selection of users, the instrument you used for your test (that is the questions), the task you set the users, the scenario etc.

• A critical discussion of the method (good or useful aspects, difficult or poor aspects).
• A page summarizing your recommendations for changes to the website with supporting evidence. Think about what you think key personnel in the charity will want to know about how well their website is performing.

It should be noted that this is not an exclusive list but suggestions of how you might approach the assignment. Your presentation must be brief and no more than 10 A4 pages with 12pt font. Use dot or numbered lists, tables and numbered headings to organize your ideas and info as demonstrated in this document. To support your arguments, use screenshots, graphs and actual data from your test and cite references across your document.