Multi-Iteration Usability Testing of the U.S. Navy's Performance Management System

The U.S. Navy has undertaken the second of two iterations of usability testing for the Navy's Human Performance Feedback and Development (HPFD) and ePerformance system. This second of two iterations included 34 officer and enlisted supervisors and nonsupervisors in usability testing conducted at three Navy locations—Naval Meteorology and Oceanographic Center (NAVMETOCCEN) Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia; USS HOWARD (DDG 83) in San Diego, California; and the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in Arlington, Virginia. Each participant completed a usability test scenario in addition to pretest and posttest surveys designed to obtain Navy personnel's subjective impressions of the HPFD and ePerformance systems. Results from analyses comparing data from Iteration 1 (reported in Schwerin, Dean, Robbins, Bourne, & Reed, 2006) and Iteration 2 (reported in Dean, Aspinwall, Schwerin, & Kendrick, 2006) show an overall reduction in user burden (e.g., fewer errors and less time to complete usability tasks) and increased us...