Usability lab

A usability lab is a place where usability testing is done. It is an environment where users are studied interacting with a system for the sake of evaluating the system's usability. A usability lab is a place where usability testing is done. It is an environment where users are studied interacting with a system for the sake of evaluating the system's usability. Depending on the kind of system that is evaluated, the user sits in front of a personal computer or stands in front of the systems interface, alongside a facilitator who gives the user tasks to perform. Behind a one-way mirror, a number of observers watch the interaction, make notes, and ensure the activity is recorded. Very often the testing and the observing room are not placed alongside. In this case the video and audio observation are transmitted through a (wireless) network and broadcast via a video monitor or video beamer and loudspeakers. Usually, sessions will be filmed and the software will log interaction details. Usability is defined by how effectively users can use a product, a brochure, application, website, software package, or video game to achieve their goals. Usability testing is a practice used within the field of user-centered design and user experience that allows for the designers to interact with the users directly about the product to make any necessary modifications to the prototype of the product, whether it be software, a device, or a website. The purpose of the practice is to discover any missed requirements or any kind of development that was seen to be intuitive but ended up confusing new users. By testing user needs and how they interact with the product, designers are able to assess on the product's capacity to meet its intended purpose. Usability labs help optimize UI designs, work flows, understanding the voice of the customers, and understanding what customers really do. Through in-lab sessions at a specified location, designers, stakeholders and anyone else involved in the project, are observing the process of how a customer interacts with the current prototype. To understand user needs, engineers must observe people while they are actually using computer systems and collect data from on system usability. In-lab usability testing usually has small and specific sample sizes to better obtain qualitative data on the product. The participants cooperate with engineers to understand how the user interacts with the system being tested through hands-on testing.