User Experience and User Interface Design - The Graphic Design: Reference and Specification - page 174

prototyping tools
Blasmiq: www.balsamiq.com/
Adobe Fireworks: www.adobe.com/products/fireworks.html
Invision: www.invisionapp.com/
Fieldtest: http://fieldtestapp.com/
Usability Testing
Usability testing is a technique used during the design phase and helps evaluate the
usefulness with potential users. Usability testing is a method of user research typically
occurring after an artifact (i.e., a wireframe or visual design comp) has been created.
Usability testing is conducted by a designer—in a controlled setting—with a specific set
of goals that need to be accomplished.
5 trUths aboUt Usability testing
Reminds designers that they aren't the user: Usability testing will remind people that dif-
ferent people can interpret the same experience very differently, and often the people
testing the site do not think the same way a designer thinks.
Testing a little is always better than not testing: Even if a design is tested with one user,
it's better than not testing at all. Usability testing, even with just one person, can reveal
previously unseen problems with an experience.
Test early, test often: The more a design is tested, and the earlier it gets tested, the
sooner a designer can gain insight and make adjustments to the experience.
Testing helps inform a decision: Testing a design will yield priceless insight. The insight,
combined with the experience and judgment of a designer, will help designers and stake-
holders make more informed decisions about a particular experience.
Reaction from a real user trumps everything: No amount of research, data, or design
knowledge will ensure that a given design will be successful. Until people actually use
the website, everything is based on thoughts and assumptions. User feedback gained
during a usability session will help improve even the most well-intentioned experiences
by validating some design decisions and by pointing out areas where the design must
be improved.
User Interface Development
To create a working user interface a front-end (user interface) developer uses the visual
design as construction plan to build the actual experience in code. The constructed user
interface will support the exchange of information by giving the user a way, via the inter-
face, to interact with back-end processes and databases.