A web-based wizard for usability process modeling

Conducting a user-oriented test is not always an obvious task even for experienced usability professionals. Several usability processes like Nielsen [1] or Rubin processes [2] have been proposed, standards like ISO 9241-11 [3, 4, 5] for "Quality in Use" or CIF (Common Industry Format) [6, 7] for reporting the testing process have been adopted and a few tools exist to cover parts of those processes or standards. But current usability testing processes are still incomplete and mostly informal. They do not always specify for each step of the process, the actors, their roles and how they must perform their tasks. On the other hand, existing usability tools do not clearly illustrate the usability testing process they implement. They are indeed very useful to collect data during the "conduct phase" of the testing process, but they do not guide the tester through the tasks he has to accomplish; the tester basically decides what actions he must perform and then uses the tool to do so. RANA Wizuse aims to remove that extra cognitive load from the tester by defining and implementing a complete and easy to follow process that will guide usability testers throughout the empirical study. The tester will not have to remember what tasks to perform at any given stage of the usability study; the web-based wizard will remind and assist him. This report is submitted to fulfill the requirements for COMP7931-Major Report. The goal of the project was to clearly specify and implement the RANA web-based wizard for usability testing proces