Usability Pretest Questionnaire

Definition

A usability pretest questionnaire is a testing work product consisting of an organized list of questions that are answered by the test participants and that are used to address specific test objectives prior to system usability testing.

Objectives

The typical objectives of a usability pretest questionnaire are to:

• Ascertain a test participant's initial impressions about a work product's usability and utility prior to using it.
• Establish a test participant's level of knowledge and expertise about a work product prior to using it.
• Qualify a test participant's for inclusion within a specific test group corresponding to a specific type of user.

Benefits

A usability pretest questionnaire typically provides the following benefits:

• It enables the user experience team to evaluate and understand the usability test results in light of the test participant's pretest state.
• It enables the user experience team to ensure that each test participant performs the appropriate test procedure based on his/her inclusion in the appropriate test group.
• Having the test participants' expertise documented enables the user experience team to respond if a member of the development team challenges the test results by arguing that a test participant was not qualified to test the work product.

Contents

The typical contents of a usability pretest questionnaire include questions regarding a test participant's:

• Initial Impressions:
  • Does the work product appear easy to use?
  • Does the work product appear useful and relevant to the user's tasks?
  • Does the work product appear cost-effective?
  • Does the work product use understandable terminology?
  • Is the work product similar to previously-used work products?
  • Is the work product intuitively organized?
• Knowledge and Expertise
• Test Group Qualification

Stakeholders

The typical stakeholders of a usability pretest questionnaire are:

• Producers: Test Participants
• Evaluator: User Experience Team
• Approvers: Not applicable
• Maintainers: Not applicable
• Users: User Experience Team

Phases

• Initiation: Completed
• Construction: Completed
• Delivery: Completed
• Usage: Maintained
• Retirement: Archived

Preconditions

A usability pretest questionnaire typically can be started if the following preconditions hold:

• The usability testing section of the project test plan is completed.
• The user experience team is staffed and trained in usability testing.
• A work product under test is available for usability testing.
• A test participant is available for usability testing.

Inputs

The typical inputs to a usability pretest questionnaire include:

• Work products:
  • Project test plan for usability test plans.
  • Work product under test
  • Work product under test standards
  • User interface design standards
• Stakeholders:
  • Test participants

Guidelines

• Base the questions on the usability test objectives.
• Questions should be simple, understandable, concise, precise, relevant, and to the point.
• Questions should not require a long response from the test participants. Where practical, use multiple choice questions instead of essay questions that require the test participant to write free-form responses.
• Ask numerical questions in terms of ranges because poeple are often reluctant to provide exact personal details, such as age or salary.
• Internally test and revise the questionnaire before using it in actual practice.
• The questionnaire can ask the test participant to define important terminology used in the work product.

Conventions

A usability pretest questionnaire is constrained by the following conventions:

• Content and Format Standard
• MS Word Template
• XML DTD
• Inspection Checklist

Examples

• Example Usability Pretest Questionnaire