Script for Usability Study

Hello.  Our names are Mary, Susanne, and Shirley.  We are Masters students in the School of Information Management and Systems.  We’ll be working with you in today’s session.  Let me explain to you why we’ve asked you to come in today.

We’re here to test how easy it is to use our product, BookMarket, and we’d like your help.  BookMarket is designed to make it easy for SIMS students to get in touch with other SIMS students who are selling books.  It’s a site where a student can find used books to buy and post used books for sale.

Here is the BookMarket web site. (Show home page.)

You will be performing three tasks with a prototype of BookMarket. Since this is a prototype, we are testing how well our system works with users. Don't worry if the system gives you trouble. Any problems with the system will help us improve our site. Do your best, but don’t be all that concerned with results.

You may ask questions at any time, but I may not be able to answer them, since this is a study of the product and we need to see how it works with a person working independently.

Before we begin, I’ll ask you to complete a consent form.  When performing the test, try to think aloud, explaining what you’re thinking as you are using the site.  When you think out load, you will be giving us invaluable feedback about the good and bad parts of the site.

You may notice that _______ will be taking notes during the test. Don't let this distract you, since we are just recording your actions.If you feel uncomfortable at any time, you can stop the test.

Do you have any questions?  If not, let’s begin by having you sign the consent form.

There are a total of three tasks.  Are you ready for the first task?

Task One:

First, try to buy the book, GUI Bloopers. After you have finished this task, sell Modern Information Retrieval for $10. It is in "good" condition.(Give task card to subject). Here’s a card to remind you of what the task is.

You've completed Task One. Let's move on to the second task.

Task Two:

Use BookMarket to compare the available prices of Social Life of Information. Contact all sellers at once and offer to buy the book from whomever will sell it at five dollars below the lowest price.

You've completed Task Two. Let's move on to the final task.

Task Three:

Use BookMarket to post The Handbook of Usability Testing for sale. The condition of the book is "excellent." After completing the task, change the posting so that the revised book condition is "fair."

Thank you.  Now I'll ask you a few follow-up questions.

I'd also like you to complete this brief questionnaire.

This concludes today's usability test. Thank you for your help!