Usability Studies

[Jonathan Gardner]

Okay, so I dropped $30 an got a book on usability studies and how to make 
software more usable. I haven't had time to peruse the whole thing, but the 
first chapter has got me excited, and I've set a goal to start a movement 
in Fedora to actively make Fedora more usable for both Aunt Tillie and Eric 
Raymond, and everyone in between.

On my own accord, I am going to begin doing some usability studies with my 
wife with some software that I enjoy using and am familiar with. I will 
then branch out and solicit test subjects and subjects to test from the 
community. I will work out the details and figure out what works and what 
doesn't.

My goals are:
1) Develop a system of developing usability tests.
2) Develop a system of recruiting and retaining test subjects who represent 
the community or target audience on the cheap.
3) Develop a system of obtaining, analyizing, and publishing the results.
4) Develop a system of cooperating with the developers so that the results 
have maximum benefit for their projects.

If you are already doing something like this, I would like to know about 
your experiences. Are there some people at RedHat actively working on this? 
Are there people in the various software communities that are doing this? 
Do you know where I can go for more information so that I can stand on the 
shoulders of giants rather than walk in their shadows? Please let me know 
if you know about anything related to this. I am particular interested in 
community, non-profit usability studies.

-- 
Jonathan Gardner
jgardner at jonathangardner.net