Usability Testing

Testing and Evaluating the User Experience

The USERLab provides an environment where participants in an evaluation can be observed while they interact with a game or website. Generally speaking, two video feeds are taken: one is of the participant's face and/or hands; the other is a record of what is going on on the screen. Once the evaluation session is over, these feeds can be combined into one picture-in-picture presentation. The Usability Research Centre consists of three rooms: The Studio, where participants play the game or use the website. The studio can be configured as an office environment, or a lounge, depending on the type of product under evaluation; The Control Room contains a special-purpose PC where video feeds of the session are collected; The Observation Room, which is a larger room containing two data projectors, each of which displays one of the video feeds.

Up to twenty observers can be accommodated here. Background: The Games Computing and Creative Technologies (GCCT) School at the University of Bolton offers an innovative portfolio of courses in the new media field. These courses include Computer Games Software Development, Games Design, Multimedia and Website Development, Special Effects Development and Sound Engineering and Design.

As part of our wide-ranging strategy to forge links in the games and new media industries, the School has pioneered USERLab, a unique facility which seeks to aid games developers and website designers in assessing the usability of their products. USERLab forms one part of a broad strategy being pursued by the School to support industry-focused research into new media.