President, Phillip Scarborough
is a seasoned usability engineer,
with over a decade of experience.
 

Web Site Design, Usability, Documentation		            
          

 

  Phillip Scarborough
        President
       
 
What is Usability?

Usability studies both ease of use and usefulness of Web sites and software interfaces, measured against a set of standard rules, or "heuristics," that were developed from research with actual users.
Why Usability?

Usability testing collects data from real users, not just internal interested parties. Users determine the success of a user interface, so usability is vital for the success of Web sites and software.

 
       
  Usability Services Recently Updated
 

Click here to see the
Top Ten Usability Mistakes.		 The following PTS Usability Services can be implemented
individually on in any combination to provide the most
effective usability engineering program for your organization.
See Phillip's resume here.		  
       
 
"Heuristic" Evaluation

Want your Web Site evaluated by an expert?

Heuristic evaluation is a systematic inspection of a user interface design for usability, usually conducted by a professional usability engineer. Heuristic evaluation is based on a standard set rules, or "heuristics,"  developed from years of usability research. 

The purpose of heuristic evaluation to find the major usability problems in the interface design. Heuristic evaluation can be independent, but is often followed by usability testing with real users.

Click here to see PTS Evaluation Examples.

  
Usability Testing

Want you Web Site tested with real users?

Usability testing measures a user interface's ability to accomplish the goals of a user and focuses on the tasks actual users will try to accomplish with the interface.

Usability testing is conducted either in a usability lab with video cameras, or less formally, with portable video equipment, or mock-ups of an application or Web site.

Results are reported as "Quick Results" for rapid development changes, followed by a written report of findings and recommendations.

  
     
 
Usability Focus Groups

Want your Web Site evaluated by a focus group?

Usability focus groups examine the usefulness and ease of use of a product, rather than how to market and sell a product.

Focus groups produce real-life ideas and opinions in a moderated environment.

A usability engineer moderates the session and encourages participants to bounce ideas around, similar to real workplace interactions.

Results are reported as "Quick Results" for rapid development changes, followed by a written report of findings and recommendations.

  
Usability Training

Want to learn how to conduct usability testing?

Usability training is for those clients who wish to learn usability skills for initiating usability engineering programs in their own companies.

A mentoring component can be included so that client personnel can gain experience designing and implementing usability engineering projects.

Mentoring can be supplemented by usability seminars to teach or evangelize usability throughout the client's organization.

Usability mentoring makes it possible for clients to reduce future usability costs.

  
     
    Contact PTS to discuss any of these services.  
       
Professional Papers
       
 

 


How Usability Engineering Can Improve
Clinical Information Systems

A paper coauthored by Phillip
Scarborough delivered at  UPA 99
describing how usability can
improve clinical information systems.

  


A Comparison of Three Methods for the
Usability Evaluation of Web Sites

A paper coauthored by Phillip
Scarborough delivered at ErgoCon 98
comparing three methods for the
usability evaluation of Web sites.