Beyond the Usability Lab

2.5.2. Timeline

In addition to “how much,” it's no surprise that the next question we're often asked is “how long?” We know that it would be easiest for all if we just said “2 days” or “2 weeks,” but as the usability joke goes, we have to say that, again, “it depends!” The variable factors listed in the last section not only impact budget, but they also impact timeline. It also depends on how many people are working on the study at once. What we can do is give you a few different example studies based on past projects to give you an idea of timing of different kinds of projects. For the consistency of all examples, we set the timeline starting in January 2010.

Study A

• What: Test of two alternative designs for a wizard-like interface on ...