The Usability Assessment Service provided by Springwater Software Ltd involves:

	Carrying out a Context Analysis to define the context in which the application is used.
	Drawing up a statement of the Usability Goals of the application.

	Using a variety of Assessment Methods to measure the usability of the application.
	Establishing a List of Recommendations for improvements.
	Providing a Report and Presentation to the client.
	Drawing up an Action Plan.

The Role of Usability Assessment in Software Development

Cost and Contact Details

1) Context Analysis

A fundamental part of the usability assessment is developing an understanding of the end users and the situations in which the application will be used. The role of context analysis is to develop this understanding.

Context Analysis includes establishing information about the following:

	The intended users of the system.
	The tasks that the system is designed to help the users achieve.
	The technical environment in which the system is designed to operate.
	The business context or organisational environment for which the system is designed.
	The standards that the system should comply with.

2) Usability Goals

As a basis for the usability assessment service we will draw up a written statement of usability goals. This will be a high level definition of what "usability" means for the particular application being assessed. The analysis involved in the usability assessment will be dependent upon determining how well the application meets these usability goals.

3) Assessment Methods

Springwater Software is able to use a variety of assessment methods within the usability assessment service and these will be used in combination to tailor the service to meet the needs of the client. The choice of assessment method will be determined by financial and time constraints, the stage of the development lifecycle, and the nature of the application to be assessed.

4) List of Recommendations

The purpose of the usability assessment service is to enable our clients to increase the quality of the usability of their software. This means that not only do we make a judgement about the usability of the application involved but we also develop ideas and suggestions for actions that you can take to improve this usability. Therefore after the assessment has taken place we use the results to draw up a list of recommendations for further action.

5) Report and Presentation

At the end of the usability assessment service we will provide you with a comprehensive written report and a presentation of our findings. We believe it is important to effectively communicate our conclusions from the usability assessment to you.

6) Action Plan

The objective of the usability assessment service is to enable our clients to increase the quality of the usability of their software. This involves, not just providing recommendations for improvements, but also advising on how to achieve those improvements. This is the role of the action plan. Springwater Software will work together with you to draw up an action plan which will state how the various tasks required to meet the recommendations will be carried out.