These case studies link to sites and provide sample use cases. The idea is to practice usability testing on these commercial sites.
To use the case studies, pick a site and a task. One person should attempt to carry out the task (with absolutely no assistance or communication from others) while others watch and note any problems that the person comes up against.
Note that not all of the tasks are possible. If a task is not possible using the information on the site, then the task is considered "completed" when the user realises that they've got as far as they can.
Some useful questions to ask (bearing in mind that a usable site is one in which the user can attain their goal easily, quickly, and pleasantly) might be:
- Did the user achieve the goal (or find it definitely wasn't possible) or simply give up?
- Did the user find it difficult to achieve the goal?
- How long did it take to complete the task?
- Was the user annoyed by the site, even when it worked okay?
The answers to this checklist, along with the specific problems encountered, could provide a very rough assessment of the site's usability. Obviously if you are developing a significant site, you will need to ask more detailed questions.
Internet Movie Database
Use case: Find out which films Christopher Lambert was in during the 80s. Then pick one of these and find out if it is available on DVD or not.
CDNOW
Use case: See whether Enya has released an album recently. Supposing you then are interested in purchasing one of Enya's albums, try to sample the tracks to find out whether you'll like it. Finally, find out how much it would cost to purchase it, bearing in mind that you live in the UK.
Anime Web Turnpike
Use case: Find out what on earth this site is about. If you manage that, imagine that you enjoy detective stories. Based on that, try to find anything in the topic covered by the site that might potentially interest you.
theCounter global stats
http://www.thecounter.com/stats/
Use case: Try to discover what screen resolution is most common among Web users, and how many colours their screens can display. Then try to find out how accurate this information is likely to be - what methodology was used to obtain the statistics, and whether this is likely to cause some bias.
Elfwood
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/
Use case: Imagine you have just stumbled on this site. Find out what it is about. Then try to find a good colour picture of a female elf. (By "good" I don't mean subjectively; I simply mean one which appears reasonably professional. In other words, it should look more likely to appear on the cover of a novel, than scribbled on the cover of a kid's exercise book. Hint: elves look similar to humans, but with pointed ears.)
useit.com
Use case: Try to find articles relevant to the use of Web hyperlinks. Imagine you are particularly interested in link colours and underlining. If you find these, also look for links to other Web sites that might include that sort of information.
TerraServer
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/
Use case: Try to find satellite pictures of either New York or London. Try to find a recognisable place (e.g. Statue of Liberty - not the view on the front page, though :).
Larabie Fonts
Use case: Try to find an LCD-style font (several if possible). Also try to find out how you should download and install the font.
