Presented at EDUCAUSE Annual Conferences and Usability Development

Low-cost usability testing is a useful technique for improving a Web site's organization and function. This technique is especially effective for universities using content management systems to distribute site content responsibilities. Learn how you can use these simple techniques to improve your campus's Web presence.

Kuali Rice integrates workflow, a lightweight service bus, and centralized notification within an easy-to-use, enterprise class, development framework. The suite enables agile development so that developers can react to end-user business requirements in an efficient and productive manner, allowing them to focus on producing high-quality business applications.

Working in pairs, participants will be led through an informal usability test based in part on Steve Krug's excellent script in "Don't Make Me Think" (www.sensible.com). One participant (the "user") will leave the room while the other participant (the "owner") is interviewed about the site's overall goals and key user tasks (apply for admission, find a news release, find out who teaches Chemistry 101, and so forth).

When the user returns, he or she will be asked to "think out loud" while using the site and attempting the tasks defined by the owner, who will be able to watch and listen but not comment. After a discussion with both participants about the experience, the roles will then be reversed. In addition to live user feedback about their sites, participants (and observers) will learn a simple but effective method for improving their sites--and their own Web development skills.