MEMORANDUM
To: Professor Malesh
From: Aldina Ketanovic
Date: March 4, 2017
Subject: User Testing
Introduction
The Wikihow instructions, How to use else and elseif commands in MATLAB?, focused on the
entry level use of the else if and else commands in MatLab coding. User testing was conducted
by User A who was had no prior knowledge, User B who was intermediate, and user C who was
novice using the survey method and interview method. User testing concluded that the User B
found the instructions very useable with little to no adjustments, while User A and User C needed
more visual aid and further explanation.
Objectives
The objective of the testing was to assess the:
1. Organization and clarity
Focusing on the usability in navigation throughout the set as well as the clarity of the
information given.
2. Testers usage
Focusing on the testers questions and hardships faced through the instruction set
3. Test effectiveness
Focusing on the testers ability to gain knowledge on the task given based off the
instruction set.
4. Visual Aid
Focusing on whether the images are useful or hinder the ability for the tester to complete
the instruction set.
Professor Malesh
2
March 4, 2017
Method
The methods used for user testing included a survey followed by an interview. Both tests took
into account qualitative and quantitative data. The survey was used to get an idea of where they
lie, while the interview was conducted to gain more in-depth details on the hardships and
positives brought through the document. Both forms of testing relied on the time constraint and
user experience. The users that were tested were of varying degree and included:
1. User A: A nutrition major who was completely foreign to the use and application of
programming.
2. User B: An intermediate tester, majoring in civil engineering, who took a course
specifically related to the use of MatLab.
3. User C: A novice tester, majoring in civil engineering, with minimal programming
knowledge.
This instruction set was geared more towards the novice users which is why the test was not
conducted on any expert users.
Results
The results concluded as such.
1. Organization and clarity
User A (no knowledge)
Found that the instructions were well set up, however required more detailed
explanations.
User B (intermediate)
Found that the instructions were organized very well and were clear.
User C (novice)
Found that the instructions were very well organized, however they were not
clear, requiring more details within the steps.
2. Testers usage
User A (no knowledge)
Found a difficulty with the lack of detail within various steps, taking longer to
complete the task.
User B (intermediate)
Found no hardships throughout the instructions.
User C (novice)
Found a difficult start and needed more clarity within the first few steps.
3. Test effectiveness
Professor Malesh
3
March 4, 2017
User A (no knowledge)
Strongly does not feel confident in writing future codes, did not get enough basic
information.
User B (intermediate)
Never performed code using these commands but feels confident in ability to
write it.
User C (novice)
Does not feel confident with this specific set of instructions to write future codes.
4. Visual aid
User A (no knowledge)
Requires more aide to navigate through the program.
User B (intermediate)
Found that the amount of images used was ideal.
User C (novice)
Requires more images on how to run the code in the end.
Conclusion
After a conference of various classmates on February 22, 2015, the instructions were considered
well-organized, however there were clear flaws that needed to addressed. Users showed a need
of extra visual aid within the steps. The need for further detailed instructions especially in the
beginning was called to attention. For more detail on users requirements see Appendix A: User
Data.
These considerations were taken into account. Both the detail in the beginning of the
instructions and further visual aid was added within the current instruction set. Ultimately the
instruction set was still deemed a stub after the edits and critiques were taken into account. While
the instruction set was improved for entry level programmers, this set of instructions failed to
meet the need of the discourse community, WikiHow.
