"Carol Barnum has done a wonderful job of distilling her research, consulting, and teaching experience into this very lively, practical book on how to do usability testing. You get up-to-date, step-by-step help with lots of variations to suit your own situation. You see each part in action through the running case study. If you have a global market, you'll especially want the chapter on international usability testing. This is a great addition to the usability toolkit." ---Janice (Ginny) Redish, Charter member of the UPA, author of Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works<BR><BR>"Carol is a rare breed, both an academic and a practitioner. Her voice of experience comes across clearly, backed by references that illustrate where and who our methods came from. Newcomers to usability testing will find a solid introduction; while those more experienced will find unexpected insights into the field."---Carolyn Snyder, Snyder Consulting<BR><BR>"What makes so many products so difficult for the average person to use?" Carol Barnum addresses this problem in her introduction to this book. Too many perfectly functioning products are being returned because they are not usable---thorough usability testing is the key to building usability into products from the ground up. But what do we do if under a strict budget and time constraints? How do we properly prepare, test, analyze, and measure across a multitude of cultures, generations, and countries? There are many different testing methods and numerous situations in which to test; however, all are grounded in the same basics of usability testing.<BR><BR>Usability Testing Essentials presents a practical, step-by-step approach to learning the entire process of planning and conducting a usability test. It also explains how to analyze and apply the results and what to do when confronted with budgetary and time restrictions. This is the ideal book for anyone involved in usability or user-centered design---from students to seasoned professionals.<BR><BR>Provides complete details about usability testing---a crucial part of every product's development<BR><BR>Presents a step-by-step approach to the entire process of planning and conducting a usability test---an essential component to designing usable products<BR><BR>Follow-up to Usability Testing and Research (Longman, 2001)---winner of the highest-level award from the Society for Technical Communication