Morae Usability Testing

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MORAE SIX MONTH ROAD TEST

A REPORT FROM: Rob Tannen, Director of Human Factors at Electronic Ink

Electronic Ink, a leading user-centered technology design firm, began using Morae software approximately six months ago as the primary data and video capture system for our Usability Lab. What attracted us to Morae was its ease-of-use, price and functionality, and, perhaps most importantly, its convenience in set-up and use compared to traditional analog and digital video capture systems. When conducting Usability testing, it is imperative that our software is as unobtrusive and easy to use as possible.

Our Human Factors team compiled highlights and insights from our experience working with Morae over the last six months. While our feedback is positive, we have suggestions for improvements that have been shared with TechSmith.

Initial Installation:

The set-up and configuration of Morae was relatively fast and simple. We used the "full" installation for our Usability Lab- Morae Manager, Recorder and Observer—with one computer in our participant room running the Manager and Recorder software to record users' activity, and another dedicated PC in the observation room running Morae Observer. We use a Logitech Quickcam for Notebooks Pro with a built-in microphone, and find it small and unobtrusive in the way it attaches to a desktop monitor during sessions.

Usage:

Electronic Ink conducted a dozen usability tests, totaling approximately 100 participant sessions, utilizing Morae for various clients, including testing Web sites, prototypes and software applications. We have also found that Morae can be used for documenting sessions with paper prototypes. Our Design team creates Wireframe prototypes - black and white pages that document information architecture, labeling and content.

We then save the pages in Adobe Acrobat and create embedded links within each page to link to other pages, simulating a low-fidelity click-through site. This capability also adds a sense of realism to the testing for the participants, while still benefiting from efficiency of paper prototype design. We can then use Morae to capture user feedback and behavior related to taskflow, terminology and navigation, and use that information to improve the next iteration of Wireframes.

Creating Highlight Videos:

Until our upgrade to version 1.1 about a month ago, creating the production videos was Morae's weak spot. We had experimented with several of the available video formats in the previous version, and were challenged to find the best balance of video quality, file processing time and video player compatibility. With the addition of a .WMV (native Windows Media Player) format, we no longer have to deal with those decisions, or worry about providing codec files to our clients.

Observers:

Our clients who have experienced usability testing either live through Morae Observer, or subsequently via highlight videos are very impressed. While Electronic Ink possessed these sharing capabilities before with our traditional video system, Morae has improved the speed and ease of creating and sharing files within organizations. Video files are viewable on CD-ROM or stored on a networked drive. Moreover, using .WMV format for the video files eliminates media player compatibility issues and makes it easy for our clients to view the files.

After six months of use, Electronic Ink has found Morae to be the most usable of usability testing systems. It allows us to set-up and run tests more efficiently, capture keystroke level data, and provide our clients with quick-turnaround of high-quality video footage so that they can understand and share the value and impact of the testing.

About Electronic Ink:

Founded in 1990, Electronic Ink pioneered the development of a user-centered design process and set a standard for the technology industry. A leader in technology, design and usability, Electronic Ink has helped many FORTUNE 500 companies effectively tighten the communication gap between their technology and its users. Electronic Ink is a privately held corporation with offices in Philadelphia, PA and London, England. For additional information about Electronic Ink, please visit www.electronicink.com.

To find out more about Electronic Ink and Usability testing, contact Rob Tannen, PhD, Director of Human Factors at RTannen@ElectronicInk.com or 215.922.3800.

TechSmith Corporation was founded in 1987 and is located in Okemos, Michigan. TechSmith provides practical business software tools to capture and manipulate images, voice and video from Windows desktops. The company's flagship software packages, SnagIt and Camtasia Studio, enable customers to create visually enhanced content for teaching, training, Web sites, documentation and business presentations. Morae is the first and only all-digital solution for recording and analyzing human-computer interaction. TechSmith products are used by 99% of the Fortune 500. For additional information, visit www.techsmith.com.

TechSmith is a registered trademark. Morae is a trademark of TechSmith Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

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