Print versionIntroduction to user experience testing
One of the primary aims of this testing project was to determine whether any degradation in Internet performance, caused by the inclusion of server based Internet content filters, would have a severe effect on the user experience in broadband Internet usage. Based on an earlier scoping study undertaken by NetAlert it was apparent that little previous research had been conducted to assess performance degradation and no work was found regarding the effect on users when accessing the Internet through a broadband service using server based content filtering.
The scoping study identified a number of techniques that could be used to collect feedback from users regarding their experience of using a broadband Internet connection with server content filtering turned on and off. The initial choice was to take advantage of the very large broadband user base available through the Telstra Broadband eLab in Launceston. This would use a remote survey tool to address a potential user base of around 200 users to obtain feedback on their subjective experience of using the broadband connection with and without server based content filters enabled.
However, due to technical limitations, it was not possible to use this methodology and hence a smaller scale test was undertaken and run out of the TestLab facility at RMIT. This testing used a well proven usability user based testing technique which provides rich feedback regarding a user’s experience when using a software application or web site. In this process the participant was required to attend the RMIT TestLab where they participated in running a number of test scenarios or tasks (with and without the Internet content filtering turned on) with a usability specialist (or host) sitting with them. At key times the host asked questions related to the performance of the network to determine the user reaction to any degraded performance. This process was video taped so that a permanent record of the session was obtained.
The user based methodology has the advantage that a considerable amount of information can be achieved using on a small number of participants from the main user demographics for the product.
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