Web Site Development - Web Development and Design Foundations with XHTML - page 419

level of W3C WCAG 2.0 compliance. A report is displayed with items correspon-
ding to the guidelines listed at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20. Print out the
browser view of the results page to hand in to your instructor. ( Note : If you have
published pages to the Web, try validating one of them instead of your school's
home page.)
4. NetMechanic offers a free sample of its HTML Toolbox Application at http://www
.netmechanic.com/products/HTML_Toolbox_FreeSample.shtml. Visit this site and
test your school's home page. After the test is run, a results page will be displayed
with ratings related to link check, bad links, HTML check, browser compatibility,
load time, and spell check. Each category has a link to a detailed display that
describes the types of errors found. Print out the browser view of this results page
to hand in to your instructor. ( Note : If you have published pages to the Web, try
validating one of them instead of your school's home page.)
5. The Dr. Watson site offers free Web page validation at http://watson.addy.com. Visit
this site and test your school's home page. After the test is run, a report is displayed
with categories including server response, estimated download speed, syntax and
style analysis, spell check, link verifications, images, search engine compatibility
(see Chapter 13), site link popularity (see Chapter 13), and source code. Print out
the browser view of this report page to hand in to your instructor. ( Note : If you
have published pages to the Web, try validating one of them instead of your
school's home page.)
6. Perform a small-scale usability test with a group of other students. Decide who will
be the “typical users,” the tester, and the observer. You will perform a usability test
on your school's Web site.
● The “typical users” are the test subjects.
● The tester oversees the usability test and emphasizes that the users are not being
tested—the Web site is being tested.
● The observer takes notes on the user's reactions and comments.
Step 1: The tester welcomes the users and introduces them to the Web site they will
be testing.
Step 2: For each of the following scenarios, the tester introduces the scenario and
questions the users as they work through the task. The tester should ask the users
to indicate when they are in doubt, confused, or frustrated. The observer takes
notes.
● Scenario 1: Find the phone number of the contact person for the Web develop-
ment program at your school.
● Scenario 2: Determine when to register for the next semester.
● Scenario 3: Find the requirements to earn a degree or certificate in Web develop-
ment or a related area.
Step 3: The tester and observer organize the results and write a brief report. If this
were a usability test for an actual Web site, the development team would meet to
review the results and discuss necessary improvements to the site.
Step 4: Hand in a report with your group's usability test results. Complete the
report using a word processor. Write no more than one page about each scenario.
Write one page of recommendations for improving your school's Web site.