Table 1.

Usability techniques defined and typical testing locations.

Technique	Description	Location
Card Sorting	Allows users to provide input on grouping content. They are asked to sort note cards that list content areas in a way that makes sense to them. Conducted during planning stages.	Flexible
Contextual Inquiry	Visit typical users in the environment where they would interact with the product. Used to gain insight on how the product should be designed to meet the needs of the audience. Conducted during planning stages.	Participant’s environment (home, office or anywhere they’d interact with the technology)
Participatory Design	Including users and other stakeholders in the process of planning the initial design. May start with initial exploration of the problem(s) being addressed by the potential product. May involve paper mockups of screens etc. Conducted during planning stages.	Flexible – often a conference room with access to white boards.
Eye Tracker	Device used to track and record eye movements when viewing an interface. Good for determining whether users are examining the UI in ways that may not have been expected or if they are missing elements. Typically done after an initial version of the UI is complete	Usability Lab
Paper Prototypes	Simple method for getting user feedback via paper-based wireframes. Conducted during design/testing phase.	Flexible
Remote Testing	Indirect usability testing – software may be used to record a participant’s actions. Done when potential participants are not easily accessible. Conducted during design/testing phase.	Flexible, but special software may be needed.
Task-based Testing	Provide participants with list of key tasks and track steps taken and success rate. Can be used with Think Aloud. Conducted during design/testing phase.	Flexible – any location where they can access the technology.
Think Aloud (Talk Aloud/Cognitive Walkthrough)	Participants are told about the product and a set of tasks. They are asked to “think aloud” to verbally describe what they’re thinking, doing and feeling. Conducted during design/testing phase. May be repeated as the design is refined.	Flexible – any location where a version of the product can be accessed.
Heuristic Evaluation	Review of the interface based on a set of common usability principles. Typically each element of a user interface is evaluated on relevant heuristics and any concerns are ranked with an indication of their severity. Conducted during design/testing phase. Easy to do and often done iteratively	Flexible.