Mashoor, I'm guessing that you make a report and then mail/ hand it out. *If* that's the case, then there's a simple solution. The issue with preparing a report and mailing it out to stakeholders is that there is a slim chance that it will be read by all. Taking print outs and personally handing them over to each of them doesn't help either.
If you want to make sure all stakeholders not only go through it entirely, but also understand well what's in it , then try shifting to presentating the report. You can keep the deliverable as a doc if you like. I would recommend changing to a presentation format instead since it's better suited for presentation. As Angela mentioned, filter out the stuff they dont want to know about. Post report creation, try and figure out with them what is it that they want to see in there and what is it that they don't. By all means, suggest a structure for the report that you think would work well with them, but then modify it according to how they want it. Once you are ready your presentation, send out a meeting request and make sure you get all or as many stakeholders as you can to attend. As opposed to probably only a few stakeholders reading the report and making limited sense out of what is in it, the presentation ensures that: 1) Everybody goes through the report, from beginning to the end, since you're presenting it to them. 2) They can make better sense of what the report contains since you're there to discuss the details and address their queries right away. 3) There is better appreciation of your research findings and recommendations. Equally important, you get to equally appreciate why it is that they can not incorporate certain recommendations, what ever the reasons may be- conflict with business goals, time/ technical constraints? By the end of it all, everybody walks out with a better understanding of the report and a better understanding of what should be done next. Hope this helps. I've mentioned some tips on creating usability test reports besides others in this presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/ConeTrees/tips-for-effective-usability-testing-in-india. This is in context to India but I would think most of the tips should come in handy regardless of where you are located. - Abhay -- Cone Trees- User Research & Design http://www.conetrees.com http://www.twitter.com/conetrees http://www.theuxbookmark.com http://uxbookclub.org/doku.php?id=new_delhi http://www.slideshare.net/group/web-accessibility On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 6:29 AM, Angela Arnold <[email protected]>wrote: > In my experience, usability reports go largely unread. The business > wants to know the quick wins as well as the longer term issues, but > they need to be easy to digest, engaging and prioritised: filter out > the stuff people dont need to know right now. As a UX designer > working in an agile environment, I try to save as much time as > possible, by taking screenshots to sessions for my observers to > annotate. I take developers, BAs and business owners to the sessions > to give them an overview of the main issues. I bring the screenshots > back into work and get them straight onto the wall. Whilst the > feedback is clear in my mind, I stick large index cards up next to > the screens highlighting the major issues, and include some quotes > from users. My main objective is to engage the development team > enough to read these snapshots. We always record our sessions on > video, so if we need to look back or really highlight something, a > quick video showcase can provide compelling evidence. These screens > provide a quick and easy way to communicate with the team and give a > quick round up of the major issues. They can also stay up on the wall > and act as a reference to decisions made earlier in the project. > Meanwhile I can go about implementing change rather than trawling > through video and audio material and writing long reports. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44960 > > > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [email protected] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
