Usability Testing Essentials

Foreword

Steve Krug, Brookline, Massachusetts

In 2008, I decided to put together a panel at the annual conference of the Usability Professionals’ Association. The topic was Discount Testing by Amateurs: Threat or Menace?

At the time, I was about to go out on a limb by writing a book¹ based on the premise that everyone involved in creating websites should be doing their own usability testing.

Not surprisingly, the idea of amateurs doing the work of professionals was viewed by some members of the usability community as a potential threat to full employment and high standards, although these concerns were rarely discussed in public. So I thought it would be a good idea to bring the debate out in the open—preferably before I spent what promised ...