Rohith Perumalla | 1/19/2018
An Usability Test Design for Apply Texas Version X.
This tool has been developed by UT Austin in collaboration with the ApplyTexas Team at the Board of higher education for the state of Texas. These systems were designed for high school students. It is accessed by students with the internet.
The goal of the tool is to allow students to apply to many schools through one interface to make the process simpler and faster, encouraging more students to apply to more schools in hopes to increase the number of students overall in higher education.
This tool is used by high school seniors around the country, though primarily the state of Texas, to apply for higher education. They need to be able to submit required information to all schools and also be able to apply to multiple schools. This experience should be stress-free and simple for the users.
Testing ApplyTexas Version X a we interface designed for the ApplyTexas platform that primarily functions to create a universal application for students to apply to any Texas university that is participating. The test will encompass recent ApplyTexas users and will requires a functioning prototype with high fidelity and high depth.
The main purpose of this test is to measure the usability and ease of navigation with the new interface. The goal is to ensure that the new interface is easier to use and reduces confusion and issues when applying using the ApplyTexas System. The overall goal of ApplyTexas Version X is to increase the number of students that are attending higher education, with a proper usability test and feedback from applicants changes can be made to minimize confusion and maximize applicants.
This test can be done either in one centralized controlled environment, or it can take place wherever applicants choose to perform the test. The controlled environment is preferred as outside factors that may cause distractions or discomfort can be controlled and will have minimal impact on the user experience compared to a test done in an uncontrolled environment.
Sessions will last around 30-45 minutes, where users will create their accounts for around 10-15 minutes. The remaining amount of time will be alloted for applying to schools. Following the creation of accounts participants will being the applications and some will be asked to apply to multiple schools and others only one.
Each participant will receive a computer with a keyboard and mouse; all equipment will be identical to minimize the influence of personal devices during the testing process. After the test, participants will be requested to fill out a survey regarding their experience.
Participants will range from high school students that have recently used the system. They will be grouped based off of school involvement and general personality traits to compare results between people to see differences in ease of navigation and use.
There will be 4 primary divisions: one group that starts with the current interface; then a group that starts with the new interface, one group that only uses the new interface, and one group tat only uses the old interface.