ENG

3050
Fall 2015

To

Dr. Vytautas Malesh
From
Rachel Budry
Date
October 22, 2015

Subject
Results of User Testing for WikiHow Instructions

I have completed user testing for my WikiHow instructions. The results of my
testing show that there are a few minor changes that need to be made to my
instructions, but overall they are well written and easy to follow.

Introduction
For any individual who is part of a Greek organization, learning how to make your
own professional-looking Greek lettered shirts is an extremely useful skill. Greek
lettered shirts are essentially just t-shirts with sewn-on Greek letters across the
chest, representing the Greek organization that you are a part of. Purchasing Greek
lettered shirts can be extremely costly, so making your own is a great way to save
money, as well as exercise your creativity. This instruction set gives a detailed
procedure for making Greek lettered shirts.

Objective
The purpose of writing these instructions is to guide the user, primarily college
students who are in Greek organizations, to make their own Greek lettered shirts.
The instructions need to be specific and clear enough such that a range of users can
follow them, whether it is an experienced user or a novice user. Testing the first
draft of my instructions will give me feedback on the understandability of my
instructions, so I can improve them for the final draft.

Method
Due to time and money constraints, the users did not actually produce a final
product, but they were asked to read the instructions and fill out a questionnaire as
if they were going to produce one. An understandability test was constructed,
consisting of three Likert-Scale questions, followed by three open ended questions
in order to receive ample feedback on the instructions. The questionnaire will be
given to three users, each with different levels of experience with sewing Greek
lettered shirts.

1. Subject 1: A member of a Greek organization who has both seen someone
else make Greek lettered shirts, as well as made their own Greek lettered
shirts. This subject was the experienced user.
2. Subject 2: Someone who has moderate experience using a sewing machine,
but has not sewn Greek lettered shirts. This subject was the partially
experienced user.

Dr. Malesh 2
October 22, 2015


3. Subject 3: Someone who has never used a sewing machine, and has no
experience with Greek lettered shirts whatsoever. This subject was the
novice user.

Test Results
The testing gave me good feedback on my instruction set. Overall, the test subjects
all felt confident that they would be able to successfully complete the task using my
instructions. They also felt that the instructions were easy to read, and that the
pictures included were helpful in understanding each step. Subject 2 felt that the
steps were, clear and concise, easy to read.

Suggestions made by the test subjects:

1. Subject 1: The experienced user recommended that pictures could be added
to two of the steps (Step 3, bullets 1 and 2) in order to make the steps easier
to follow. He also suggested that I clarify Step 4, bullet 1, in order to avoid
any confusion about the placement of the plastic bag.
2. Subject 2: The partially experienced user had no problems with the
instructions, and had no further recommendations.
3. Subject 3: The novice user found that the steps were helpful, and covered
things he would not have thought of. He did recommend that some steps be
broken down into more bullet points, as some of the bullet points contained
too much information.

Conclusion
Some changes were made to the instructions based on the feedback given by the test
subjects. Based on the feedback from the users, the following changes were made to
the instruction set:

1. A photo of the zigzag stitch option on a sewing machine was added to Step 3,
bullet 2.
2. A photo of the letters pinned together was added to Step 3, bullet 1.
3. Information was added to Step 4, bullet 1, so the location of the plastic bag is
more specific.

After looking over the bullet points, there does not seem to be a bullet point that can
be split into two separate bullet points, as they are arranged in such a way that each
bullet point represents a particular sub-step of the process. Therefore, although
some bullets may be rather bulky, they were left as is. I would rather the bullets be a
little bulky than remove pertinent information.

Dr. Malesh 3
October 22, 2015


Appendix: User Test Questionnaires

A. Subject 1 Questionnaire
I am seeking volunteers to test my instructions on How to Make Greek Letters on
Shirts, which I have written for my technical communication class. The purpose of
this questionnaire is to test the usability of this set of instructions, and improve the
areas that cause confusion. If you are interested in participating, please respond to
these questions honestly and as thoroughly as possible. It should only take you
about ten minutes or less to complete this test. I am glad to answer any questions
you may have about this test.

Part 1: Please highlight only one answer for each question.
Strongly
Strongly
Question
Agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree
I had previous knowledge
of this topic prior to
1
2
3
4
5
reading the instructions.
After reading the
instructions, I feel
1
2
3
4
5
confident that I could
complete this task.
The instructions were
easy to read and
1
2
3
4
5
understand.
The pictures included in
the instructions were
1
2
3
4
5
helpful to me.

Part 2: Please answer the following questions in as much detail as possible.
Were any of the steps confusing to you? If so, please elaborate.
Step 3 bullet 2, the zig zag stitch could be any number of stitches if you arent
familiar with a sewing machine, perhaps provide a picture of either the stitch or
what it looks like on a sewing machine.

What could I do to make these instructions easier to follow?
Provide a picture of a zig zag stitch for step 3 bullet 2, people may get confused as to
which stitch is which.
Maybe provide a picture of letters pinned together for step 3 bullet 1.

Do any of the steps contain too little or too much information? Please elaborate.
Step 4 bullet 1, specify where to place the bag.

Participant Name: Christopher Picard
Date: 10/17/15

Dr. Malesh 4
October 22, 2015




B: Subject 2 Questionnaire
I am seeking volunteers to test my instructions on How to Make Greek Letters on
Shirts, which I have written for my technical communication class. The purpose of
this questionnaire is to test the usability of this set of instructions, and improve the
areas that cause confusion. If you are interested in participating, please respond to
these questions honestly and as thoroughly as possible. It should only take you
about ten minutes or less to complete this test. I am glad to answer any questions
you may have about this test.

Part 1: Please highlight only one answer for each question.
Strongly
Strongly
Question
Agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree
I had previous knowledge
of this topic prior to
1
2
3
4
5
reading the instructions.
After reading the
instructions, I feel
1
2
3
4
5
confident that I could
complete this task.
The instructions were
easy to read and
1
2
3
4
5
understand.
The pictures included in
the instructions were
1
2
3
4
5
helpful to me.


Part 2: Please answer the following questions in as much detail as possible.
Were any of the steps confusing to you? If so, please elaborate.
Steps were clear and concise, easy to follow.

What could I do to make these instructions easier to follow?
Nothing I can think of

Do any of the steps contain too little or too much information? Please elaborate.
No- very well articulated

Participant Name: Michele Budry
Date: 10/16/15

Dr. Malesh 5
October 22, 2015


C: Subject 3 Questionnaire
I am seeking volunteers to test my instructions on How to Make Greek Letters on
Shirts, which I have written for my technical communication class. The purpose of
this questionnaire is to test the usability of this set of instructions, and improve the
areas that cause confusion. If you are interested in participating, please respond to
these questions honestly and as thoroughly as possible. It should only take you
about ten minutes or less to complete this test. I am glad to answer any questions
you may have about this test.

Part 1: Please highlight only one answer for each question.
Strongly
Strongly
Question
Agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Disagree
I had previous knowledge
of this topic prior to
1
2
3
4
5
reading the instructions.
After reading the
instructions, I feel
1
2
3
4
5
confident that I could
complete this task.
The instructions were
easy to read and
1
2
3
4
5
understand.
The pictures included in
the instructions were
1
2
3
4
5
helpful to me.


Part 2: Please answer the following questions in as much detail as possible.
Were any of the steps confusing to you? If so, please elaborate.
No


What could I do to make these instructions easier to follow?
It was somewhat difficult to read the wall of text for a few of the steps. Break steps
down into smaller bullet points. Not a huge issue.

Do any of the steps contain too little or too much information? Please elaborate.
No. Most steps had helpful tips on things I may not have considered. This was
helpful.


Participant Name: Colin Phlypo
Date: 10/19/15