Two shifts in the technological landscape -- the era of "big data" and the popularity of Agile software development methodologies -- have made users (and specifically data about them) central to the development process and broadened the definition of user-centered design and usability testing. This paper briefly describes the impact of these shifts on the usability practice. Rudimentary data types useful to usability practitioners are introduced, as well as helpful data tools and required skills. The paper concludes with a list of methodological and pedagogical gaps that should be addressed.

This case study was created to analyze the methodology and procedures used during a pilot study on mobile usability and preferences conducted at a small Midwestern state college. The pilot study set forth to test features of the pre-redesign University of Wisconsin-Stout website as seen through the screen of a mobile device and then ascertain what students wanted to see in a redesigned version of the mobile interface. The findings of the pilot study were less surprising to the researcher than the problems encountered during the research itself. Future researchers would be well advised to attend to passing trends in mobile technology, as well as avoiding limitations on sample size caused by choice of delivery method and choice of user pool.

In this paper, I review the findings of ongoing research in usability and user experience analysis. In particular, I first discuss how real designers and usability evaluators in their own workplaces use findings from usability testing to drive design decisions within a decision-making space. Second, I investigate how designers and evaluators consciously or unconsciously alter raw usability findings when they develop their recommendations. Finally, I explore what these findings might mean for usability education. Ultimately, I ask if these usability evaluators and designers do what we think usability evaluators and designers should be doing.