Communication is a key component of successful usability work. Usability practitioners who plan how they will communicate test findings have more success incorporating findings into design. This section discusses several ways to effectively convey test findings and suggests several options for teaching library staff about usability methods. Plan a communication program in the beginning and the design process will proceed smoothly. Novice usability practitioners commonly underestimate the amount of communication needed.

Obviously, usability practitioners must convey test findings effectively to the web designers and other stakeholders who are not direct participants in the testing. If the usability practitioners also act as the web designers, communication is reduced. The usability practitioners can choose from several methods to communicate findings, or results. Verbal, written or video formats are the most common methods used in library usability programs. Each choice has trade-offs in terms of time investment and formality.

Before discussing methods, a few words about usability findings. What is a finding? Usability practitioners must carefully distinguish among observation, opinion, and design recommendation when discussing usability results.

Here is an example of an observation, recorded in response to a test question asking the user to "Find an article on film noir for your English writing class" --

She typed the keywords "film noir" into the library catalog search box

Several possible opinions of this action might be --

Design recommendations for this scenario could be --

Always distinguish among these three kinds of findings, whether results are conveyed in verbal or in written form.

The quickest method to communicate findings, and the least formal, is verbal. For this method to succeed, the designers and programmers need to attend the test sessions as either observers or serve as the usability practitioners. Schedule a brief (perhaps thirty minutes) meeting at the conclusion of the last test so that the testing team can immediately summarize the key findings for that round. No written report or video is produced, except the notes individuals chose to scribble to themselves. Everyone shares their observations until the group reaches consensus on the major findings.

Speed is the most positive attribute of this method. On the negative side, there is no written report to share with staff not involved in the process, and over time the findings are subject to memory lapses of the participants. Even with these flaws, this is a great method for experienced staff engaged in very rapid prototyping, perhaps producing a new design iteration each week. Interestingly, it is also a great method for very novice practitioners who need practice drawing significant conclusions from the vast amount of data generated in a test session. During this debriefing session at the conclusion of the tests, team members learn their personal strengths and weaknesses in test interpretation without getting overwhelmed in excessive written reports or learning video editing software.

Written reports are popular in libraries. Bulleted lists, charts that record click paths of each user for each test question, and narrative summaries are examples of written report formats suitable for usability tests. Use color-coding to distinguish observation, opinion, and design recommendations. Written reports provide a reference point, useful when a several weeks elapse between design iterations or when anyone questions the purpose of design elements that appear in subsequent design iterations.

On the negative side, reports are time intensive to write and read. Choose a report format that captures the level of detail staff seem to require (it will vary by project and by institution). If staff habitually complain that they lack the time for testing, consider briefer reports. If staff habitually complain that they are not informed of the design work, consider more inclusive reports and save them to a shared file area. In general, discourage long, formal reports that run counter to the spirit of usability testing which is rapid and iterative. Focus on the test experience, not on the report.

Event-recording software is an easy and fairly inexpensive method to create videos of test sessions. Morae, produced by TechSmith, is a popular example of this software.^[2] Event-recording software records a video view of the user's facial expression, audio, and desktop activity during the test. This software lets you create one continuous clip of a test session, or string several brief segments together in a storyboard. Files are large; plan a shared file storage system to reduce the need to burn CDs. Remote viewing is a very attractive feature of event-recording software. During remote viewing people can observe tests in a separate room. Observers can easily come and go from the room, eat or drink, and talk amongst themselves without interrupting the test.

Like written reports, these video files are time consuming to create and view. However, a key video clip can convey user behavior better than a thousand written words and is worth the investment once the library clearly intends to incorporate usability into their design process.

While it is obvious that usability findings need to be shared, it is much less obvious that usability practitioners should be prepared to explain usability theory and methods to staff unfamiliar with usability. These techniques are new in libraries and require explanation. It can take up to a year for an entire library staff to become familiar with the methods, and until that happens plan to repeatedly explain various aspects of it. Staff and stakeholders who understand the underlying methodology are less apt to challenge usability findings. Findings are qualitative and open to interpretation. People unaccustomed to the methodology often misunderstand the work, which can slow down the process and cause unnecessary stress.

The most common criticisms to usability work include distrust that 3-5 users are enough, that paper prototypes are amateurish and childish, and that the detail in a task or test question is faulty, rendering all the findings invalid. All of this can be avoided with a well-designed communication strategy. It is helpful to note that these criticisms are common in any organization, not just libraries.

A multi-layered communication plan works best. Plan some events to provide an overview perspective on usability for all staff, and also plan to address specific issues with smaller audiences. In an overview information session, explain the process. Define specialized vocabulary like heuristic, paper prototypes, and iteration. Provide examples as often as possible. Many usability methods are best explained by example or illustration rather than lecture. Additional proven ways to provide an overview include performing a mock test at a staff meeting. Or, show two consecutive design iterations and discuss the test findings that influenced the second iteration.

One unique area of misunderstanding among librarians regarding usability testing involves the role of the test moderator. Because the test moderator neither teaches nor answers reference questions during a test, reference librarians may question the validity of the role because it is unlike reference librarian behavior. Jeff Rubin, in his book Handbook of Usability Testing,^[3] provides a good explanation of the validity of the test moderator role.

Several popular usability websites and books provide instructional material to counter the major common criticisms of usability. This content is particularly useful for smaller audiences. Jakob Nielsen's Alert Box e-newsletter at http://www.useit.com/alertbox/ offers brief explanations of usability basics. Popular newsletter issues include: Usability 101, Return on Investment, and Why You Only Need to Test With 5 Users. OCLC provides a concise treatment of heuristics that includes a chart listing fourteen heuristics and instructions for assigning severity and extent ^[4]. Steven Krug uses a graphic style to convey many usability tenants in his book Don't Make Me Think ^[5]. Color photocopies of key pages from his book can persuade unbelievers of the truthfulness that usability works with only 3-5 users. Keep several of these instructional pieces on hand to share at the appropriate moment.

In summary, usability practitioners have several methods to choose from when sharing usability findings. Choose the one that suites your organization and fits with the resources you have allocated for technology development.

Without effective communication of usability findings, usability testing will not impact the website design. A communication plan, including an instructional program for staff, increases the likelyhood of successful web designs.