The Project

I had to conduct a moderated think aloud protocol to examine the usability of the UNT Bookstore website. The goal of the project was to examine how a typical user would view the site and what impressions they would get based on the user interface. The deliverable consisted of a paper that made recommendations based on the user observations.

The Process

The choice of website was determined by the instructor. Prior to the think aloud, I had to use the website as though I was the user. I created tasks that I thought were typical of someone that might use the UNT Bookstore website. Most of the tasks were simple and required to user to utilize different aspects of the site.

Rather than select a typical student for the think aloud, I decided to use a non-traditional student to gain a different viewpoint. I presented the user with 3 different scenarios. As she performed these tasks, the participant would describe the thought process behind her actions. My role was only to serve as a facilitator during these tasks and simply record information.

After each task, I would ask the user questions and record any observations or feelings. I paid particular notice to how long the tasks took to complete and how the user felt at the end of each.

I compiled the results of the think aloud in to a report to be delivered to my professor. I made particular efforts to include diagrams that coincided with the user’s observations. Diagrams were annotated so that the information would be more impactful and easier to understand.

The Results

I successfully completed this project and provided a deliverable that effectively summarized the observations of my user. The skills that I have gained from this activity, creating user tasks, conducting a think aloud protocol, and summarizing the findings, have provided significant benefits in my current position. My team’s current assignment is to create a new interface for a financial institution’s back office workers. While the designers have created mockups for the new user interface, it is my task to create and conduct the think aloud protocols for their designs. This is something that will be repeated in multiple phases of project development. Due to the experience gained from this academic assignment, I have been able to rapidly produce effective think aloud protocols that assess user impressions and provide valuable feedback for my designers.