Evaluate and Refine - Toolkit

The Hiser Element Toolkit

The Hiser Element Toolkit

Usability Walkthrough Tool

This tool is designed to enable usability specialists, or people involved in design projects, to conduct usability walkthroughs for newly-designed software user interfaces. This tool describes usability walkthroughs, with step-by-step instructions on how to go about conducting a walkthrough as well as descriptions and examples of scenarios to use during walkthroughs.

It provides guidelines for getting rapid user feedback on interface mock-ups.

Heuristic Evaluation Tool

A heuristic evaluation is sometimes referred to as a ‘discount’ usability engineering method. Discount methods are characterized by being inexpensive, quick, and easy to use relative to the more difficult and time-consuming ‘deluxe’ methods of usability testing and laboratory studies.

Heuristic evaluations can be applied to the user interface and the interaction between users and the system to uncover usability problems in a quick and effective manner. Usability specialists examine the interface and judge its compliance with recognized usability principles or ‘heuristics’. This evaluation can then be used to improve the system's usability as part of an iterative design process.

This tool provides comprehensive instructions on how to evaluate an application.

Support tools

  • Checklist of Heuristics
  • Definition of GUI Heuristics
  • Definition of Web Heuristics
  • Log Sheet
  • GUI Heuristic Evaluation Report template
  • Web Heuristic Evaluation Report Template
  • Heuristic Evaluation Report template client copy (minus instructions)
  • Heuristic Evaluation Report Example
  • Heuristic Evaluation Severity Rating Guide

Usability Testing Tool

Usability testing is a means of evaluating how well a particular system meets its usability criteria. With real users and real tasks, it is the most accurate way to collect data on:

  • Users’ perceptions of an application
  • How well an application performs.

This tool is designed to enable usability specialists, or people involved in design projects, to conduct usability testing as an evaluation technique. This tool describes usability testing, and provides step-by-step instructions as well as referring you to template support tools.

Support tools

  • Usability Testing Plan Template
  • Usability Testing Plan Checklist 
  • Usability Measures for Evaluation
  • Task Prioritization Table
     
  • Questionnaire 1
  • Questionnaire 2
  • Questionnaire 3
  • Log Sheet 1
  • Log Sheet 2
  • Consent Form Template
  • Consent Form Sample
  • Observer Invite Sample
  • Observer Invite Template
  • Participant Invite Sample
  • Participant Invite Template
     
  • Observer Briefing Script Sample
  • Observer Briefing Script Template 
  • Facilitator Briefing Script Template
  • Facilitator Briefing Script Sample
     
  • Post Observation Questionnaire Template 
  • Usability Testing Evaluation Report Instructions
  • Usability Testing Evaluation Report - Short
  • Usability Testing Evaluation Report – Long 
  • Usability Testing Recommendations Tracking Form