Evaluate

Continuously evaluate the design artifacts.

Summary

In the human-centered development process, the evaluation ideally takes place parallel to the development, so that the results of the evaluation are incorporated directly into the development process and thus contribute to the improvement of the product (formative evaluation). The evaluation can therefore already be started in the design phase. This is done, for example, by testing the prototypes with representative users. If, on the other hand, the finished application is evaluated only, this is referred to as a summative evaluation. Also, an evaluation can be the starting point for a project, for example, if an old system is to be replaced or improved. In all cases, it is important to conduct the tests with representative users.

Result

In most cases, the results of an evaluation are qualitative and contain strengths, weaknesses and improvement potentials of a prototype or an application. With Usability Tests or Questionnaires there can also be quantitative results, e.g. in the form of a concrete numerical value for usability (system usability scale) or time specifications for the duration of a task.

Questions to be answered in this phase

• Where do users have problems interacting with the application?
• How can interaction problems be solved?
• How good is the usability or user experience of the application?
• How do users view the application?