This document presents a usability test plan for the Optima learning management system (LMS). It aims to understand if Optima provides enough functionality and ease of use for users to achieve their study goals. The researcher will design and conduct a usability test to identify any usability problems students encounter when using the Optima LMS. The test plan will include defining test objectives, participant profiles, methodology, tasks and scenarios. Results will then be analyzed and recommendations provided to Optima developers to improve the user experience. Over 200 educational institutions currently use Optima, however its slow growth compared to other LMSs could be due to usability issues, which this study seeks to identify.

1. TURKU UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
Business Information Systems (MBA)
Master's Thesis Presentation
May 2014
By
Youssef Hammouche

3.  The rapid changes of information technology,
present a new challenge and awareness of the
necessity to adopt new tools and processes to
improve the quality of education system.
 In confronting this challenge it became obligatory
to know the complexity of the education system
from student’s perspective and related problems
that should be addressed.
 every education system must have an
independent strategy of changes to determine the
affecting factors of failure or success in education
system.

4.  The usability testing represent one of the success
factors to be implemented into any LMS to
evaluate the examined interfaces by testing it on
users.
 It became an essential component of LMS
development process similar to software testing
and system design.
 LMS might be very difficult to use by students if
usability problems are not identified in early stage

5.  Many LMS projects have failed during last few years
to stay among the top existing systems, reasons could
be numerous but lack of usability testing is
considered as one of the most common reasons.
 especially that students interactions with system is
highly impacted with various barriers: lack of available
support by teachers, poorly motivated to understand
system's features, students are unsure in the use of
ICT.
 Therefore it is mandatory to conduct usability testing
during the system development cycle.

6. CONTENT
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS (OR) SYMBOLS
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Problem Statement and Research Objectives
1.2. Research Methodology
1.3. Optima LMS
2. LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
LMSs 2.1. Open Source LMS
2.2. CLOUD LMS
2.3. Steps in Selecting a LMS
2.4. Key Factors of Successful LMS

7. 3. THE USABILITY TESTING PLAN OF
OPTIMA LMS
3.1. The Concept of Usability Testing
3.1.1. What is Usability?
3.1.2. What is Usability Testing
3.1.3. The Purpose of Usability Testing
3.1.4. What to Test?
3.2. Usability Test Plan for Optima LMS
3.2.1. Problem Statement and Test Objectives
3.2.2. User Profile 3.2.3.
Methodology
3.2.3.1. Participants
3.2.3.2. Length of Sessions 3.2.3.3.
Quantitative & Qualitative Data 3.2.4. Scenarios and
Tasks
3.2.5. Test environment and Equipment

8. 4. EMPIRICAL USABILITY TESTING IN
OPTIMA LMS
4.1. Data Collection
4.2. Test Results and Analysis
4.2.1. Top Negative Finding
4.2.1.1. Website Layout and Login Process
4.2.1.2. System Features and Editing Options
4.2.2. Top Positive Finding
4.2.3. Findings Log from the Observer
4.2.3.1. Task Completion Rate
4.2.3.2. Time on Task
4.2.3.3. Problems and Helps required
4.2.4. Presenting Results Based on Post-task and Post-test
Questionnaires

9. 5. USABILITY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
OPTIMA LMS DEVELOPERS
6. DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Pre-test Questionnaire.
Appendix 2. Post-task Questionnaire.
Appendix 3. Post-test Questionnaire. Appendix 4.
Usability Testing Video Permission Form

10.  Discendum is the optima system developer; they
consider it as a high-quality system with an easy tool to
be used by users to build a perfect online environment.
 Optima service aimed to become one of the best existing
platforms for eLearning courses, information
management, networking, and supporting learning on
the job.
 Actually, more than 200 educational institutions and
companies have implemented Optima to support their
education and projects.

11.  Actually, more than 200 educational institutions and
companies have implemented Optima to support their
education and projects.
 Based on the cited quality of Optima and growing
interest of customers, the system is not yet classified
among the top learning management systems.
 Only a few academic literatures have been written under
the name of Optima.
 often those documents belong to libraries of universities
which kept a right for only their users to access into it.

12.  This limitation makes the case more complicated
and stands as a barrier of sharing Optima
researches to external readers of Finnish
universities
 Additionally, lack of usability testing researches
has been conducted on the subject, which
makes my research a bit difficult to collect
necessary information and to reach my study
goals.

13.  On the other hand, similar learning management
system has taken a wide attention across the
world, despite that Optima has improved all
interfaces by merging versatile tools, flexible
online environment, and high security access
"Moodle serve over 70 million users“

14.  Do Optima system provide enough functionality to
users to help them achieve their study goals?
 Is the slow success of Optima due to the usability
of system which would reflect the users’
satisfaction and dissatisfaction to the system?
 Is Optima system afford enough information and
help to users with less effort and less clicks of
navigation?
 Is Optima Easy –to- use?

15.  In order to get responses to the previous questions, a
usability testing should be taken into consideration to
find out how real users use the system in real life, and
which kind of difficulties and problems users might
encounter during their daily tasks?
 This thesis concentrates onto students interface only,
to design a test plan based on the literature of Carol
M. Barnum (Usability Testing Essentials Ready, Set…
Test), and Joseph S. Dumas (A Practical Guide to
Usability Testing), and other resources as well.

16. Constructive research, it is considered as one of the
options currently available for a case researcher, and it
has been widely developed in the field of business
administration and IS.
It has gained significant results by implementing new
construction to solve problems faced in real world, and
this involves the analysis of the users and performance of
the system design in order to understand, explain, and
improve the designed systems.

17.  This research method matched much on my study
research, where I am supposed to understand
Optima system environment, and try to find
usability problems encountered by users.
 The new construction issue in this research is to
design a test plan based on theoretical part
which frequently includes a test objectives,
methods, and scenarios.
 The practical part is reserved to apply the test
plan and to collect data based on the selected
methods, for a goal to be analysed, interpreted,
and presented in form of recommendations to
project stakeholders.

19.  Optima is a Finnish company developed by
Discendum together with its customers, company
was established in 2001 for a goal to create and
implement online learning managements and
related training consultation services.
 Company has delivered over 200 online learning
solutions to various sorts of customers such as
institution of higher education, companies, and
other organizations.

20.  Optima is a web-based learning platform that
supports learning environment and delivers
extensive training programs, managing sales
trainings, and offers opportunities to utilize
different learning models and pedagogical ideas.
 Optima is a web-based learning platform that
supports learning environment and delivers
extensive training programs, managing sales
trainings, and offers opportunities to utilize
different learning models and pedagogical ideas.

22. The Concept of Usability Testing