Memorandum

To: Ms. Enger

From: Marcie Kohler , Katie Krebsbach , Jesse Morrow , Ryan King , Mike Slotten
Subject: Usability Test Report
Date: 12 November 2010

This memo we are writing includes the usability test report. In this report we will discuss the
usability test we made, the test subjects we chose and why we chose them, our objectives for our
test, the methods we used to conduct our test, and our outcome of our simulated usability test.
We have broken down our report into different categories so it is easier for you to follow.

Introduction
Our assignment for our English 320 class in Unit 3 is to create a fifteen step set of directions.
We wanted to make a set of instructions that we as college students could relate to. So we
thought that creating instructions on how to tap a keg would be appropriate for the average
college student. Although this was our target audience initially, our instructions can be used by
anybody who wishes to obtain a keg. Our target audience also includes you, our instructor, Miss
Enger.

Objectives
Our objectives included how we were going to communicate our instructions with our reader and
how our test will give us feedback.
 Assist anyone who is trying to tap a keg properly
 Write an easy to understand and appealing set of directions
 Communicate how to tap a keg to all that read the instructions
 Use our results to improve our instructions
 Create user friendly instructions

As a group our objectives are:

 Communicate effectively with each other
 Distribute tasks evenly and efficiently
 Complete this assignment as a team to the best of our ability

Methods
Our initial meeting discussion had us learning more about each other and our common interests.
We decided on a topic we could all relate to and found interesting. We decided on our topic of
how to tap a keg. We contacted Miss Enger for approval, as we were unsure that our topic was
suitable. After being approved we had to start researching our topic. The process of researching
our topic included watching videos, talking with local business representatives, and researching
online resources. We also thought of different ways we can display our instructions. We decided
on a combination of using visual and written appeal.

Our usability test is designed to tell us if the decisions we made were correct for this assignment.
Our results will give us constructive feedback so we can improve our instructions.

Our usability test subjects were chosen very carefully based on many characteristics. We wanted
individuals that had no prior experience in tapping kegs. To make the results more balanced, we
choose a male and a female. We choose our subjects to be young adults because it’s the age
group easiest for us to relate to and easy to access. We wanted reliable and honest individuals to
give us feedback that will help us improve.

We emailed our usability test and consent form to our participants. We choose this setting
because it’s a similar situation to where they would tap their own keg. This way they can also
perform our test whenever it is convenient for them. The email gave them directions on how to
give feedback after reviewing the instructions. Their constructive criticism helped us to develop
and improve the usability of our instructions.

Results and Discussion

Through our testing process we learned where we could improve our instructions. Our test
subjects found multiple things we did well and also things that need improvement. Subjects
found the background information helpful, as they had no prior knowledge of our subject. This
made it easier to understand our instructions. After reading the background information, they felt
like they had more knowledge and could understand our instructions more clearly.

One aspect we wanted to improve on was our graphics. We made it more visually appealing by
adding more pictures to appeal to all learning types. Our pictures helped the readers visualize the
steps as they were reading them.

The readers liked the way we broke our instructions into different categories. We had the
background information which we previously discussed, preparation of the keg, the tapping
process, and how to return the keg. Our readers found it easier to navigate through the process by
having these different headings.

Our readers found some difficulty with the terms we used. We took this into consideration and
we changed them to make them more user-friendly. This was the only major concern they told
us.

Conclusion
After conducting our usability test, we learned that not everybody learns in the same way. This is
why we included both graphics and written instructions. By doing this, our instructions will
appeal to more types of readers. We didn’t want the language and terms we used to be confusing
or misleading. We identified that the users would want quick and easy instructions, so we made
our instructions condensed and easy to understand.