ABSTRACT
The first usability testing activities started off with a few outsourced tests, using a well-known usability firm based in Dallas. He cannot overstate the importance of the personal credibility of any usability practitioner in a corporate environment. The Vice President of Infrastructure and Technology, a real visionary, decided to try something new. Up until then, the contractor had handled usability testing or any type of usability evaluation at all. It was all summative testing, coming at the end', costing big bucks and revealing issues that nobody could address the usual scenario. Information technology (IT) did not know what usability was and on confused it with Quality Assurance (QA) evaluation and user-acceptance testing. Usability testing can be done with a notepad and pencil and indeed, must be if you are doing field studies. Through a series of lab-based observations and focus groups, they were able to crystallise their thoughts into a plan of action to make search better.
