Re-engineering the usability-testing process for live multimedia systems

摘要

Purpose - This paper seeks to present a comparative study of the traditional usability-testing process and the re-engineered usability-testing process for live multimedia systems. Design/methodology/approach - Provides an overview of current usability-testing techniques and usability laboratory configurations, and identifies some gaps in the traditional usability-testing approach. Findings - Traditional usability-testing procedures are suitable for testing systems in the static environment but prove to be sub-optimal in testing systems for dynamic (real-time) environments. Originality/value - The traditional set-up is compared with innovative laboratory configuration, which consists of three computer systems: the test system in the middle augmented by two systems on either side that function as the scenario presenter and the data collection system. The re-engineered usability-testing process streamlined usability experiments and reduced the task completion times.