The usability test report summarizes tests conducted on the Ram Page website. Four participants were observed using eye tracking software as they freely navigated the website for 10 minutes. Both positive and negative feedback was gathered. Positively, pictures drew attention and functionality was good. Negatively, small font size made articles hard to read, event descriptions were confusing, and advertisements were ineffective and missed. The tests provided insights on improving reader engagement and navigation of the website.

1. ANGELO STATE UNIVERSITY
Usability Test Report
Ram Page
William Neill
Alonzo Gonzalez
David Heyse
May/1/2014

2. Table of Contents
Client Interview..........................................................................................................................5
Research Objectives....................................................................................................................5
Test Types....................................................................................................................................6
Testing Methods and Data...........................................................................................................6
Tools............................................................................................................................................6
Tasks............................................................................................................................................6
Task 1.......................................................................................................................................6
Task 2.......................................................................................................................................7
Positive Feedback.......................................................................................................................8
Visual appeal ...........................................................................................................................8
Functionality ...........................................................................................................................8
Negative Feedback .....................................................................................................................9
Visual Appeal...........................................................................................................................9
Functionality .........................................................................................................................10
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3. Letter of Transmittal
Angelo Station #8970
San Angelo, TX 76909
May 1, 2014
Allison Price
Ram Page
Angelo Station #8970
San Angelo, TX 76909
Dear Ms. Price:
The following information in the report details the usability tests conducted for the Ram Page
website, and the results we concluded. The tests allowed us to make recommendations that will
help improve the website.
Thank you for allowing us to work on the project. If you need anything else usability tested
pertaining to the Ram Page, feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Alonzo Gonzalez, David Heyse, and William Neill
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4. Executive Summary
The report is formatted with the procedures and findings pertaining to the usability tests we have
conducted. The main points of focus for our usability tests are:
• The reader’s attention when viewing the Ram Page
• How does the reader interact with the Ram Page site
Validation tests were conducted to the Ram Page website. We asked the participants to freely
navigate through the sites, and view on their own accord whatever articles, pictures, and
advertisements they wished to see. This way, we allowed the participants to naturally navigate
the site. In the end of the usability test, we then asked a series of questions to the participants,
such as what they liked and disliked about the Ram Page.
The user profile consisted of current ASU undergraduate students. We conducted the usability
tests with a total of four participants, according to Jeffrey Rubin and Dana Chisnell, “Research
has shown that four to five participants who represent one audience cell will expose about 80
percent of the usability deficiencies of a product for that audience” (72). Since the medium of
what we are usability testing is a website, it is important to catch the 80 percent of errors. Also,
the Ram Page website is one of the main portals to find the digital edition of the newspaper, so
knowing the current usability of the website is vital.
The main tool we used for the usability tests consisted of the eye tracker software and hardware.
We used the eye tracker to acquire data on where the participants focus on while viewing the
Ram Page.
We have provided both positive and negative feedback that the participants gave, pertaining to
their experience with the Ram Page.
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5. Introduction
Client Interview
Our client, Allison Price, told us during our meeting that she would like our main focus to be on
what grabs the attention of the audience in her newspaper or website. We kept this main goal
along with the following ideas provided by Allison in mind when conducting our tests.
• Maximize reader attention span
• Find out if readers skip over advertisements
• Are the size of pictures best left where they are currently at
• Maximize the flow of reading
• What are the reader’s eyes drawn to while reading
• Ease of navigation of website
• Are stories and photos engaging
We did our best to cover each of these goals by implementing each of them into our tasks. In the
post-test questions, we asked questions that would have the participants describe their
satisfaction to these goals.
Research Objectives
We provided questions and tasks to the participant that work to answer technical questions that
we felt were most important, based on what we were told by our client. These tasks lead the
participant to provide viable data. We narrowed down our focus to the following two objectives:
• Where is the reader's attention at most
• How the reader interact with the site
We felt that by answering these two questions will also cover the previous stated questions.
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6. Methods
Test Types
The test type that we used for this report is a validation test. According to Rubin and Chisnell,
“The validation test, also referred to as the verification test, is usually conducted late in the
development cycle and, as the name suggests, is intended to measure usability of a product
against established benchmarks or, in the case of a verification test, to confirm that problems
discovered earlier have been remedied and that new ones have not been introduced” (35). We
decided to proceed with the validation test method because the Ram Page website is already up
and running for public use.
Testing Methods and Data
We brought the test participants to the usability lab and allowed each of them to freely navigate
the Ram Page website for ten minutes, with them knowing that they will be asked a number of
questions at the end of the time period. The participants signed the legal documents of release
forms. They were also asked pre-test questions, such as their classification and their current
familiarity with the Ram Page. During their free search, we urged the participant to think aloud
so we could gather information on the spot—instead of risking the participant forgetting about a
section or opinion on the page. The think aloud process is “A common technique to give
feedback in Usability sessions is the Think Aloud Protocol. This technique applies to moderated
as well as unmoderated testing. It involves verbalizing your thoughts, actions, and feelings while
performing a task. Think of it as a stream of consciousness narration in your own words” (Tester
Best Practices for Usability). Once finished, we proceeded to inquire what they liked and
disliked about the Ram Page.
Tools
• We chose to use the Eye tracking hardware and software because it will help” [g]ive you
the relative intensity of a user’s attention to different parts of your web page” (Eye
Tracking). One of our main goals pertaining to the usability tests is to see where the
participants focus on when viewing the Ram Page website, so the eye tracker is the best
method to collect the data of attention.
Tasks
The following are the tasks we asked our participants to do:
Task 1
Freely navigate the Ram Page website for ten minutes.
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7. Task 2
Read through the print edition of the Ram Page.
Questions
One the participants were finished free reading the Ram Page; we asked a series of questions that
would provide additional details that could not be gained from the eye tracker. The following are
the questions we asked:
Question 1
What were some of the things that you liked about the Ram Page?
Question 2
What did you not like about the Ram Page?
Question 3
Can you recall any of the advertisements?
Question 4
When looking at the online version of the newspaper, what grabs your attention first?
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8. Results and Discussion
We were able to test a total of four participants for the Ram Page website. While testing these
participants we gathered both quantitative data and qualitative data that provided insight about
the Ram Page. This data helped us gain insight on the goals provided by our client.
Positive Feedback
Visual appeal
• Each participant stated that the pictures on the Ram Page were very appealing. All the
participants tested stated that one of their favorite aspects of the Ram Page was viewing
the photos. All were able to easily access the photo gallery; participants #3 and 4 even
suggested that the Ram Page should include more pictures throughout the website. For
example, the volleyball tournament hosted here at Angelo State was not covered.
• The headlines on the homepage of the Ram Page website seemed to draw the most
attention. Viewers were constantly looking over the blue box at the top of the page.
• The colored boxes on the digital edition did in fact catch the eyes of the reader as
intended by the editor. For instance, participant #4 read thoroughly the article inside the
color box of the digital edition front page.(see Figure 1)
Figure 1: Colored box for print edition
Functionality
• The site was not confusing to navigate from page-to-page. All the participants were able
to access whatever section of news that they sought. None of the participants commented
on being lost or not knowing where to find a genre of article.
• They found the opinion page interesting, such as the restaurant review. Participant #1
stated that he enjoyed reading the restaurant reviews, because San Angelo is a “boring
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9. town” and he wanted to know interesting destinations. He also stated that "being in
college means not having much spending money, so having ratings such as 'price' was a
great insight on that particular restaurant."
• The sports section seemed to be a favorite of our participants. We understand this can be
because the four chosen participants happened to be sports fans. Nonetheless, each of
them enjoyed both photos and stories on sports.
Negative Feedback
Visual Appeal
• The font size made the Ram Page website difficult to read. All four participants
commented that the default font size made the website’s articles difficult to read.
Participant #3 even had to manually increase the font size up to 150% through the
Internet Explorer web browser.(see Figure 2)
Figure 2: Small Font
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10. • The event schedule was difficult for the reader to understand. Whenever a participant
would view the event schedule, they would instantly be confused to what the event was.
For instance, participant #3 was confused as to what the event tab meant by “physics”,
whether it was for a physics class or the event was related to physics. A description
within each event tab would be very helpful for those viewing the event schedule to find
whatever event they sought. (see Figure 3)
Figure 3: Confusing Event Schedule
Functionality
• The advertisements were proven to be ineffective. Each participant could only recall one
advertisement each. Two of which were political related and one was a skin disease ad. "I
remember the nasty hand that appeared next to the text I was reading." However, it is
understandable that the advertisements, for the most part, are beyond the control of the
Ram Page staff.
• Not one of the participants scrolled all the way down the page. Past the text there is
almost a whole page of just advertisements running down the right hand side. None of the
participants saw any of these advertisements.
• The participants felt like some of the events were not covered enough, such as the
volleyball team having a tournament.
• Only participant #4 accessed the digital edition of the newspaper without being asked by
our moderator. Participants #1-3 did not even see that there was a digital edition to be
viewed in the home page of the website.
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11. Works Cited
Rubin, Jeffrey, and Dana Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and
Conduct Effective Tests. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley, 2008. Print.
"Tester Best Practices for Usability Sessions." uTest University |. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
<http://university.utest.com/tester-best-practices-for-usability-sessions/>.
"Eye Tracking." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. <http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-
tools/methods/eye-tracking.html>.
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