A Model of Experience Test for Web Designers

Abstract

Usability is often regarded by the designer as a functionality test or a mechanic focused test. It seems to the designer that the usability may neglect or ignore aesthetic and visual aspects of web site design. This paper argues the limitations of traditional usability testing from the designer’s point of view by using the concept of user experience and levels of interactivity. The user experience comes to a more comprehensive and systematic concept to the designer rather than a test in functionality, and the levels of interactivity enables to understand the design elements from the user’s point of view. The correlation between the user experience and the levels of interactivity suggests a new conceptual model of testing called Experience Test that provides the way of evaluating the design elements in terms of the user’s quality of experience through using three aspects: visual, functional, and inter-communicational. A hypothetical prototype website of online shopping was developed and evaluated through the Experience Test. As a result, it shows a high possibility that the Experience Test enables to help the designer to carry out web site design in terms of the interactive user experience and to actively participate into the development process.