Memorandum

To: Professor Malesh

From: Donald DeKeyser
Date: 3 March 2016
Subject: User Test
Introduction
User tests were conducted to determine the usability of a Wikihow article. The Article
was created in response to a community members request for directions on how to use nested
function in Microsoft Excel. The document provides directions for creating a useful nested
function that determine whether a student is eligible for a scholarship. The task provides an
opportunity for the user to become familiar with and learn how to use nested functions.
Testers were given a laptop and asked to complete the task by following the instructions
detailed in the document. Their work was saved for later review. Testers were observed while
completing the task and were given a survey after the task was completed. The testers questions
were only answered if was not and or should not have been addressed in the document. The
purpose of this was to preserve the validity of the test results.
Objective
1. Determine whether users of any level of proficiency with excel would be able to
effectively use the directions.
2. Identify ways to increase the documents usability, e.g. improve wording, change order of
steps, etc.
3. Determine whether the images in the document effectively provide context and increase
the users understanding of the task.
Method
Tester 1:
Average skill level with Excel
Uses Excel regularly

Tester 2:
Low skill level with Excel
Had not used Excel in multiple years

Tester 3:
Above average skill level with Excel
Uses Excel infrequently

After all three testers had agreed to test the document; they were provided with a laptop
and told to follow the instructions found in the document completely and as quickly as they were
able. They were encouraged to voice concerns and ask questions about what they found

confusing. Their questions were only answered if it was not related to the usability of the
document, e.g. questions about computer issues.
Testers were given as long as they needed to complete the task. Throughout the test an
observer took notes on what parts of the document gave the testers trouble along with their
recommendations on how to fix the issues. Upon completion, they were given a five question
survey to complete. The Excel spreadsheets the testers created and their surveys can be found in
Appendix A.
Results:
Tester 1 (Average skill, regular use)
Tester 1 completed the task in approximately ten minutes. He seldom asked for assistance
or explanations.
Objective 1: As an Excel user of average skill, tester 1 had very little trouble
understanding the instructions. The basic Excel functions described in the document
were familiar to him. He did not have experience with nested functions but quickly
understood them after reading the document.
Objective 2: Tester 1 recommended that Step 14 be assimilated into the Steps 8, 10 and
11. Step 14 explains how to change the formula to include absolute values for the
scholarship thresholds. Tester 1 pointed out that it would be easier for users to understand
the purpose of absolute cell values if they were included along the way. He also pointed
out the primary actionable sentence in each step should be bolded.
Objective 3: An issues with the captions on the first two images was pointed out by Tester
1. Due to the small size of the images caused the captions to cover the majority of the
image, rendering it impossible to see without clicking on it. He recommended that the
size of the images be standardized.
Tester 2 (Low skill, years since last use)
Tester 2 completed the task in approximately thirty minutes. He frequently requested
assistance and needed to be reminded to read and follow the instructions.
Objective 1: As an unskilled Excel user, Tester 2 found it difficult to understand the
instructions. While on Step 8, he tried to copy the data from the example image into his
document, instead of using his own data. While on step 15, He tried to copy and paste the
formula instead of using the drag down function. He recommended that the document
specifically warn users against these errors.
Objective 2: Tester 2 recommended that Step 4 should clearly state that the scholarship
reference data must be entered into the spreadsheet before the formula is written.

Objective 3: Tester 2 recommended that the changed/newly added items should be

highlighted in the images. He also recommended that the text in the images should be
larger.
Tester 3 (Above average skill, infrequent use)
Tester 3 completed the task in approximately five minutes. He did not ask for any
assistance during the test.
Objective 1: As an Excel user of above average skill, Tester 3 had no issues
understanding the instructions.
Objective 2: Tester 3 made the same recommendation as Tester 1 about absolute values.
He also noted a grammatical error in step 5.
Objective 3: Tester 3 complained of the same issue as Tester 1 regarding the captions
obstructing the images.

Conclusion
The document was very useable for excel users of average or higher skill level. Users of
lower then average skill level had significant difficulty completing the task. To fix this, the
following changes will be made.
1. A warning will be added to step 8 to inform the user that they must use their own data
2. A warning will be added to step 15 to inform the user that they cannot copy and paste the
formula.

There are multiple usability issues in the document, including grammatical errors, Issues
with the order of steps, and the clarity of the instructions. To fix these issues, the following
changes will be made.
1. Step 14 will be deleted and steps 8, 10 and 11 will be altered to include instructions for
proper use of absolute values.
2. The primary action required by the step will be bolded
3. Step 4 will clearly state that the reference data must be entered into the spreadsheet
before the formula is written.
4. The word "show" in step 5 will be corrected to "shown"

Testers consistently found issues with the images for a variety of reasons, including size,
content, and caption issues. To fix these issues, the following changes will be made.
1. Captions will be removed from any and all images
2. The content being referenced in the step will be highlighted in the image.

3. The text in the images will be made larger

Appendix A
Tester 1 spreadsheet

Tester 2 spreadsheet

Tester 3 spreadsheet

Tester 1 survey

Tester 2 survey

Tester 3 survey