Reference no: EM133114335

Qualitative Evaluation

This assignment is designed to enhance your ability to perform a comprehensive qualitative evaluation. It will help you build expertise in the area of usability studies using five strategies:

1. the silent observer
2. think aloud
3. constructive interaction
4. questionnaire
5. interview

You will perform a critical analysis of the usability of a well---known software system such as Microsoft Word, a website such as Amazon.com, or a device such as the iPad. The immediate purpose of this assignment is to give you experience at
• preparing the pre---usability study conditions.
• working with subjects to make them familiar with the purpose of the study and the role that they play.
• conducting and moderating a usability session based on various evaluation strategies.
• analyzing and compiling the results of a usability study, and preparing an informative report for decision makers.

You will deliver a technical report written to the imaginary vice president of the company that has requested the usability study. Assume that you are a third---party company that has been hired to evaluate the product of this company, and the report you provide will impact the decisions made on the final outcome of the product. Therefore, this report must be detailed and needs to include your observations, the findings, the major problems detected, and some design recommendations for the product.

As mentioned above, the selection of the system to be evaluated is up to you. The only restriction is that the system, be it hardware or software, will need to be widely used, and a wide range of familiar users for it must be found in the general population. If you are not sure whether your system would qualify as such a system, you can discuss it with your instructor.

The report that you provide will need to include the following sections. In total it should be at least 10 pages (~2500 words) and at most 15 pages (~3750 words) long in Times New Roman 12---point font.

Section 1. Scenario
Give a very brief reminder to the VP of what the system is and why the system is being evaluated. Clarify the purpose and scope of the study.

Section 2. Methodology
Explain in detail the process that you performed in order to complete the usability studies. This will need to include every step of the process that was performed from the pre---evaluation steps, including approaching the subjects through to the details of how the gathered observation data were analyzed. Provide a copy of the questionnaire you used, and justify how you defined the questions.

Section 3: Observations
Provide a summary of the observations made through the evaluation process. This needs to be different from your subjective judgment and interpretation of the results.

Section 4: Interpretation
Identify the pros and cons of the system, and justify your conclusions using the observations made. This section will include your subjective interpretation of the observations.

Section 5: Suggested Improvements
Describe the five required changes that you would make in the product. Back these up with the information provided in Sections 3 and 4.

Attachment:- Qualitative Evaluation.rar