From Alison J. Head’s DesignWise: A Guide for Evaluating the Interface Design of Information Resources (1999, Information Age Books; ISBN 0-910965-31-5; Amazon | B&N.com)
To ask about the resource:
- What main tasks does the resource support?
- What level of users is the resource aimed at?
- Is the resource a tool for users with specific expertise (e.g. professional graphic artists) or is it a general tool?
To ask about the users and the setting:
- What tasks are users counting on getting done with the resource?
- What skill levels best describe the users (novice, intermediary, expert)?
- Is there a match between the resource’s purpose and the user’s needs from a resource?
- What training will be provided, in addition to the resource’s training features or guides?
- Will the resource be an end-user tool or will hands-on assistance be provided?
- Does the resource run on platforms that users are familiar with?
- What processing limitations about the user base can you identify?