The Human Factors Lab at the Learning Systems Institute harnesses the most advanced technology to further research. From the interactive whiteboard to audio/video recording and editing, and usability testing, the opportunities with this lab are abundant.

Usability Testing
From a usability stand point, the Human Factors Lab is essential. From paper prototyping to beta testing, this lab makes it possible to design, implement, and test current research projects.

Any project currently in research & development in the Learning Systems Institute has access to the lab for usability testing. In the past, the lab has been used by both undergraduate and graduate students completing research studies for their curriculum.

Focus Groups
The lab is a place to archive meetings and focus groups. Focus groups are used to gain insight into the user's feelings about a specific product or interface, typically by speaking about it and testing it first-hand. Focus groups are held with a group of six to nine people as well as a moderator to keep them on track. Focus groups are an important aspect of the design process as well as after implementation of a product.

Presentation Recording
Presentations are also recorded in the Human Factors Lab and can be both audio and video, for reuse on websites, promotional CDs, and for in-house documentation.

With the whiteboard, video projector, and audio/video recording devices, it is possible to turn any presentation into a multimedia experience. The presenter has control over the presentation software via the whiteboard and can even make special notes directly (digitally) on the whiteboard. This is essential when explaining something about a certain project or drawing more attention to a certain area.

Experimental Studies
With our equipment, it is possible to conduct experimental studies. Experimental studies allow researchers to take a different angle while conducting a study. During these studies, the user's on-screen actions are recorded onto the computers hard disk. The A/V equipment also allows us to record the user´s facial expressions, body movement and posture.

This is an important aspect because often researchers are examining the user´s interaction with a certain program or interface. Experimental studies differ from usability tests because researchers are often more interested in how the test subject interacts with certain software and not always interested in completing a set of tasks, i.e. usability test.