"C-Innovate’s enthusiastic, professional and adaptable approach to officer consultation and benefits management has been vital to the successful introduction of BlackBerry technology" - Kevin White, Project Manager, Northamptonshire Police. Kent Police usability testing
IT facts and figures
Platform:
Internet
Number deployed:
N/A
Applications:
Minor crime reporting
Software developers:
Thales, in-house
What the client needed
Kent Police wanted to conduct iterative public usability testing of their on-line crime reporting system as it was being developed. The key objective was to help ensure the system was easy to use so that members of the public could report minor crimes via the police website.
What we did
We conducted public usability testing with a representative cross-section of people from the local community, including people with a range of accessibility needs. Each participant attended a two-hour usability testing session during which they worked through a prepared crime scenario and attempted to use the crime reporting system to report a crime. A mixture of techniques were employed to elicit data from participants including administered questionnaires, semi structured interviews and a cognitive walk-through of the reporting process (where researchers worked alongside users to encourage them to vocalise their thought processes while they used the system).
What the benefits were
This research provided Kent Police with a rich supply of data that enabled them to identify and address key usability issues early on in the development process and save time and money on future system iterations. The testing also verified that a wide cross-section of Kent residents were likely to use the on-line crime reporting system and that it was accessible to disabled residents. The research also helped to illustrate to local residents that Kent Police are citizen focused and committed to meeting their needs.
What they said
“This piece of work was excellent. The report was well structured and easy to use. This coupled with the workshop has enabled us to address the key issues appropriately, as prioritised by the C-Innovate team.” – Fiona Brown, Technical Development Manager, Kent Police
