User Validation Assistant

The User Validation Assistant is a specially designed set of forms and checklists to guide projects in the domain of Information Engineering (whether sponsored by the EC or not) and other projects within the Telematics Application Programme through the process of user validation planning.

The UVA currently exists in two versions. One is for downloading, and you can either go to the BASELINE File Archive or download an RTF version of the Usablity Validation Assistant from here.

In the description of the UVA, below, the different pages are indexed as separate, downloadable html files. So if you only want one or two pages, or just want to take a look, please follow the links in the section of this page called Structure of the User Validation Assistant..

Start user validation planning early in the development process. The User Validation Assistant focusses your attention on the essentials of the user validation process. The forms are structured in such a way that you will be able to collect the information on which you base the planning of user validation activities. It is not intended that you fill all forms during one sitting, but that you reconsider, improve and complete your planning information. Writing your user validation plans and reports will be facilitated because the filled in forms and checklists will summarise for you the necessary information.

BASELINE collects information about user validation planning and results of these activities. Taking into account the confidentiality of each consortium, these results are pooled to create reference values and information about the cost and benefit of user validation activities. These results provide a measure against which you can compare your own validation processes and results, or set targets for the development of new applications.

We welcome the return of completed User Validation Assistant forms, and questions on user validation sent to the BASELINE Email Helpdesk (baseline@acm.org). Partial delivery of user validation plans and results is better than no delivery!

You will be periodically provided with a summary about user validation activities in Information Engineering. This information is contained in our quarterly BASELINE electronic newsletter available elsewhere on our website.

Structure of the User Validation Assistant

Please don’t forget that your questions, however trivial they may appear to you, are always welcome at the BASELINE Email Helpdesk! The form is divided up into the following sections. Each is presented as a separate page with a back link to this page.
• Mandate and Contact Information: Allocation of responsibility for the reporting of user validation in the project.
• Information About the Project and the Electronic Information Application: this section is designed to help you translate your general project objectives to your user orientated objectives, and should be filled out as quickly as possible. Many projects will have hammered out these issues before the project started. It should be easy to cut and paste this information from your technical annexe or other planning documents
• Evaluation Scenario: The focus of user validation and the phase where it will take place should be determined here.
• Users / Tasks / User Environments: This information should be available within the first few months of the project’s lifetime, before design specification has started. The items on these pages can be used as checklists that you have considered all the really important issues.
• Allocation of Users and Tasks to Work Environments: This is a table which assists you in identifying which user groups carry out which tasks in which work envrionments. Useful for planning evaluation scenarios.
• Quality Factors, Evaluation Criteria, and Method: You will find a suggested list of quality factors on which to base your validation plan. Base your choice of evaluation methods on the quality factors you have specified. If you are not familiar with the existing evaluation methods consult the ELPUB 105 Usability Study for a comprehensive overview.
The downloadable versions of the UVA form also ask you to provide the project deliverable which contains the User Validation Plan, and to provide the project deliverable which contains the User Validation Results. There is also a Form Evaluation Page. These items are not reproduced in this html version.

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