DIS offers agencies a ready-to-use Web usability labJanuary 2006

DIS offers agencies a ready-to-use Web usability lab

Websites play an important role in helping state agencies provide better service to the people they serve - and as more and more citizens use the Internet, they expect government Websites to offer convenient access to organized and understandable information about services.

To help agencies improve the functionality and usefulness of their Websites, the Department of Information Services (DIS) has created a usability lab that agencies can schedule and use to conduct their own Website studies.

Conducting a usability study in a lab setting:

• lets you observe and record a typical user's behavior in a controlled environment to see what does and doesn't work for them.
• provides you with the location and all the technical equipment you need.
• enables your Web designer to consider who their users are, how they use the site, the technology they use, and design or redesign the site based on that information, rather than on his/her assumptions as a Web designer.
• provides your stakeholders with an opportunity to observe the study and gain valuable insight for creating and improving content.

DIS provides you with hands-on usability lab equipment training at its Lacey location prior to the testing, and technical support before and during the testing. To ensure a successful study, DIS requires customer agencies to either receive formal usability training or engage with a usability consultant prior to conducting a study in the lab.

Usability testing provides you with data about how well typical customers can find what they need without assistance, understand what they find - and if they're successful, how long it takes. Based on the user data, you can make improvements to your site.

During a usability study, you or your usability consultant serves as the study moderator. The moderator hands a series of written tasks to a typical user of your Website. For each task, the participant must find information on your site. For example, a task might include a scenario, such as "You have a question on your bill. Find someone who could answer your question." While the participant searches for the information, your designated note-takers, who are agency employees or consultants, document their comments, actions and performance.

"We built the lab not only to conduct ongoing Web usability studies for each of our Web properties here at DIS, but also as a resource for other state agencies with an interest in conducting their own usability studies," says Cheryl Dunbar, DIS Web Usability Specialist. "We now offer a ready-to-use test lab with all the equipment needed to conduct a usability study in a controlled environment.

"Our usability lab, which is located in Lacey, is set up so that our agency customers can conduct the test in one room on a computer with Internet access. In a separate room, via a live feed, invited observers can watch and hear the test participant on a split-screen computer monitor."

The split-screen computer monitor lets observers witness on one screen the body language and facial expressions of the participant, and hear everything that is said as they use the Website. On the second screen, they see what the participant sees on the Website, including the actual movement of the cursor as the participant moves the mouse to search for information. This combination view allows observers to follow the participant's thought processes and actions, and discover why some items are easier to locate than others.

The Department of Licensing (DOL), which offers its customers 30 online services that range from paying for vehicle license tabs to renewing professional and business licenses, recently used the DIS lab to conduct two separate usability studies on its Internet site as part of a site-wide redesign. "DIS supplied the location, all the equipment, and the training to use the equipment, which made it so much easier for us to focus on conducting the actual studies," said Portia O'Callaghan, DOL's Web Usability Manager. "In the end, we collected excellent data from our users. We plan to conduct one more usability test in the DIS lab before we launch our new Website."

More about the DIS usability lab
To schedule the usability lab, you must first enter into a service level agreement with DIS. First-time DIS customers will need to establish a customer service agreement (CSA) with DIS. To determine if your organization has a CSA with DIS, visit the DIS Website.

Usability lab fees - Effective March 1, 2007

Shift A - Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM




Shift B - Monday through Friday, 12:30 PM - 10:00 PM




Walk-thru and/or Pilot shift - Monday through Friday 8:00 - 5:30 PM


To schedule the DIS usability lab, or for more information or questions, contact Cheryl Dunbar at 360-725-5305 or CherylD@dis.wa.gov.