Usability Testing: A Case Study

Usability testing is a technique for identifying difficulty that individuals may have using a product. Usability tests of the Washington State University (WSU) Libraries’ online public access catalog (OPAC), Article Indexes, Full Text, More, and Other Library Catalogs sections revealed problem areas. A task force used test findings to recommend solutions that led to the participation of the working group involved in designing search screens, the libraries’ User Education Department, and Innovative Interfaces Inc., the OPAC vendor. Solutions are currently being implemented.