ENGLISH 3050

ASSIGNMENT #4 USER TEST REPORT MEMO[1] (15 points)

Rationale: An excellent way to evaluate the usability of a draft of a technical document is to conduct a user test in which you give your draft to members of your target audience, asking them to use it in the same way that your target readers will use the final draft. In the workplace, user test reports are often presented in memo form.

Assignment. For this assignment, you will first conduct a user test of a nearly finished draft of your set of technical instructions from Assignment #3 (see Research). You will then report the results of your user test in a 3-4 page memo (see Format). For this assignment, the audience for your memo is the class instructor.

In order to conduct a user test and write a report memo successfully, you will need to look carefully at the sample research designs and user reports in Anderson, Chapter 16.

Research. Conducting a user test is primary research. For your test, first identify 2-3 people to serve as your test readers and arrange for them to work independently. A good strategy for choosing test readers would be to choose a novice reader, an experienced reader, and a reader who is somewhere in-between.

Design a method and instrument to collect usability data from your target readers. If you can, arrange for a performance test, where readers will actually perform the process in your set of instructions (Anderson, Chapter 16, pp. 432-434). You can design an observational instrument to collect data from a performance test (Anderson, Chapter 16, p. 434). If it is not feasible to arrange a performance test (e.g., if your instructions describe how to perform an autopsy), arrange for a location test or an understandability test (Anderson, Chapter 16, pp. 435-436). You can design a questionnaire or interview instrument to collect data from a location or understandability test. Include your data collection instrument as an Appendix to your memo(see Anderson, pp. 323-326).

Format. Your user report should be written in memo format (Anderson, Chapter 22, pp. 550-552). Your memo should then take the form of an empirical report of your user test (Anderson, Writer’s Reference Guide, pp. 580-590), with an introduction, objectives, method, results/discussion, and conclusion. Each section should be organized to move from general statements tospecific descriptions and details; this maintains a descending order of priority throughout. Your sections of the memo/report might look like this:

  • Introduction. Remind your readers of the topic and target audience (professional or general) of the technical instructions you are testing.
  • Objectives. Identify the objectives of your user test.
  • Method. Describe your test readers and why you chose them. Describe the type of user test you designed as well as your procedure and instrument for gathering information from your readers. Remember that the purpose of the method section is to persuade your readers that you have carefully and effectively tested your set of instructions; therefore, the more thorough and detailed your method section, the more persuasive it will be.
  • Results and Discussion. Report the results your test produced. Be quite specific in this section. This will be the most lengthy and detailed section of the memo/report and should contain such information as where your testers had difficulties and what your testers said about the instructions.
  • Conclusion. Tell what you learned overall from your test and indicate the specific revisions you will make as a result of what you learned.

Rubric. Assignment #4 will be worth a maximum of 15 pointstoward your final grade in ENG 3050. The following rubric will be used to evaluate your user test report memo:

______Audience and Purpose -- 2 points

  • The relevant audiences were considered throughout the project -- test readers for the research, and the instructor for the memo.
  • The user test collected useful information for revising the technical instructions as described in the memo.

_____Research -- 4 points

  • The proper type of user test was chosen (performance test, location test, understandability test).
  • The test readers were well chosen.
  • The instrument is well-designed to collect usability data from test readers.

______Memo Content andOrganization -- 5 points

  • The introduction and objectives are clear and concise.
  • The user test report maintains a descending order of priority in each section.
  • The method section is detailed and persuasive, providing sufficient information for the reader to see that the technical instructions were effectively tested.
  • The results/discussion section presents the usability data in detail, identifying the specific places where test readers had difficulty following the instructions.
  • The conclusion section describes the revisions that will be made to the instructions.

______Format -- 2 points

  • The user test report is written in memo format.
  • The user test report follows the structure of an empirical report, with introduction, objectives, method, results/discussion, and conclusion.
  • Any sources are properly cited and documented in APA style.

______Grammar and Style -- 2 points

  • Grammar and mechanics are correct, and style is appropriate for a professional audience (the instructor).

[1] This assignment is based on Project 9 in Anderson (2011, pp. 698-699).