User Interface Design: Evaluation of the Prototype

In this project, my team will write up all the documents required for conducting the evaluation of the prototype. We will create a full testing plan, with simple benchmark tasks and protocols for interacting with our interface. We devise questionnaires to get subjective feedback about the interface and interaction. We will also plan how we would do data analysis. The write-up includes the following components: 

• A description of the testing protocol from how we intend to recruit participants to evaluation techniques, tasks, and users involved in our study, to the post-evaluation techniques being used.
• Design rationale for the evaluation tasks and materials we employed. Explain why we chose the benchmark tasks that we did. Why did we ask users what we asked?
• Provide the evaluation materials: Provide the questions we are using during evaluation and any pre- / post-questionnaire evaluation materials. 
• Provide a description of the data analysis techniques we intend to use and provide the rationale.

We may also conduct 8-12 user evaluations of our prototype. Our evaluation will involve other students from class or around campus. Using usertesting.com or alternative methods (e.g. sending the prototype to our friend and Skyping with them as they use the tool + screen capture of their screen), we would be able to draw conclusions about the usability of our prototype. We will perform a cognitive walkthrough or other discount usability method. The write-up for this part includes the following components: 

• Description of the results of the study (data presentation) 
• A discussion of the results 
• The implications that we make from the results with respect to our design 
• A description of how the prototype design could be improved in light of the implications 

The key to this part of the project is not to simply describe our evaluation methodology but to rise above that and describe what we learned from it. What conclusions can we draw from the studies? What aspects of our design "worked" and what failed to meet our specifications? If we had more time to work on the design, what would we now change and improve? Remember, no designer ever gets a system "just right" the first time.