Assignment 4: paid website usability testers

Assignment 4: Paid Website Usability Testers

Due Week 9 and worth 100 points

The design, development, and deployment of a product are the first steps toward a finished product ready for distribution in the marketplace. The next step is the evaluation of the user experience in order to gather data on the usability of the product. Testing centers (also called living labs) have been provided with built-in cameras and sensors to record user experiences of the invited volunteer and paid testers.

A newer evaluation method or data-gathering method uses the Internet. There are Websites that will pay testers or give testers free products to test a Website in order to discover design flaws and assess usability of a Website. The following Website pays Internet users to become testers: UserTesting.com (http://www.usertesting.com/be-a-user-tester/).

Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:

Assess the reliability of data gathered via paid Internet users.

Describe and assess the evaluation method being used by the testing company, i.e., nonvisual and verbal recording of browser activities and tester’s vocal comments.

Evaluate the natural settings of the test environment for Web users. Note: Test environments are usually labs designed to conduct testing. Natural settings refer to the user’s normal operating environment.

Speculate about the validity of the data gathered from various users, each with their specific demographics.

Imagine you want to evaluate the Strayer University’s Website (www.strayer.edu) using a usability test like UserTesting.com. Include a usability evaluation that you would apply to the Strayer University’s Website.

Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

· Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

· Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

· Create a simple usability evaluation for an existing software application or product.

· Describe common usability guidelines and standards.

· Define the different types of interaction styles.

· Use technology and information resources to research issues in human-computer interaction.

· Write clearly and concisely about human-computer interaction topics using proper writing mechanics and technical style conventions.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Points: 100	Assignment 4: Paid Website Usability Testers
Criteria	Unacceptable Below 60% F	Meets Minimum Expectations 60-69% D	Fair 70-79% C	Proficient 80-89% B	Exemplary 90-100% A
1.Assess the reliability of data gathered via paid Internet users. Weight: 20%	Did not submit or incompletely assessed the reliability of data gathered via paid Internet users.	Insufficiently assessed the reliability of data gathered via paid Internet users.	Partially assessed the reliability of data gathered via paid Internet users.	Satisfactorily assessed the reliability of data gathered via paid Internet users.	Thoroughly assessed the reliability of data gathered via paid Internet users.
2. Describe and assess the evaluation method being used by the testing company. Weight: 15%	Did not submit or incompletely described and assessed the evaluation method being used by the testing company.	Insufficiently described and assessed the evaluation method being used by the testing company.	Partially described and assessed the evaluation method being used by the testing company.	Satisfactorily described and assessed the evaluation method being used by the testing company.	Thoroughly described and assessed the evaluation method being used by the testing company.
3. Evaluate the natural settings of the test environment for Web users. Weight: 15%	Did not submit or incompletely evaluated the natural settings of the test environment for Web users.	Insufficiently evaluated the natural settings of the test environment for Web users.	Partially evaluated the natural settings of the test environment for Web users.	Satisfactorily evaluated the natural settings of the test environment for Web users.	Thoroughly evaluated the natural settings of the test environment for Web users.
4. Speculate about the validity of the data gathered from various users, each with their specific demographics. Weight: 20%	Did not submit or incompletely speculated about the validity of the data gathered from various users, each with their specific demographics.	Insufficiently speculated about the validity of the data gathered from various users, each with their specific demographics.	Partially speculated about the validity of the data gathered from various users, each with their specific demographics.	Satisfactorily speculated about the validity of the data gathered from various users, each with their specific demographics.	Thoroughly speculated about the validity of the data gathered from various users, each with their specific demographics.
5. Include a usability evaluation that you would apply to the Strayer University’s Website. Weight: 15%	Did not submit or incompletely included a usability evaluation that you would apply to the Strayer University’s Website.	Insufficiently included a usability evaluation that you would apply to the Strayer University’s Website.	Partially included a usability evaluation that you would apply to the Strayer University’s Website.	Satisfactorily included a usability evaluation that you would apply to the Strayer University’s Website.	Thoroughly included a usability evaluation that you would apply to the Strayer University’s Website.
6. 3 references Weight: 5%	No references provided	Does not meet the required number of references; all references poor quality choices.	Does not meet the required number of references; some references poor quality choices.	Meets number of required references; all references high quality choices.	Exceeds number of required references; all references high quality choices.
7. Clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting requirements Weight: 10%	More than 8 errors present	7-8 errors present	5-6 errors present	3-4 errors present	0-2 errors present

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