ISTQB CT-UT flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Formative usability testing

Testing performed during design and development to discover usability problems and inform design changes. Results guide iteration rather than judging final quality against fixed targets.

Summative usability testing

Testing performed against predefined usability metrics and goals to determine whether the product meets them. It produces measurements rather than design recommendations.

Think-aloud protocol

A technique where participants verbalize their thoughts while performing tasks, revealing expectations and confusion. It can slow performance, so avoid it for precise timing measurements.

Heuristic evaluation

An expert inspection where several evaluators independently check an interface against recognized usability principles, then consolidate findings and rate their severity.

Cognitive walkthrough

A task-based inspection focused on learnability, checking for each step whether users will attempt the right action, notice it, and understand the resulting feedback.

Single Ease Question

A one-item post-task rating asking how difficult the task was, typically on a seven-point scale. It is quick to administer and tracks perceived difficulty per task.

Unmoderated remote testing

Automated testing where participants complete tasks without a facilitator, often at scale. It gives larger samples but no probing or clarification during the session.

Usability test pilot

A trial run of the full session with a colleague before real participants. It validates tasks, timing, recording, consent, and environment set-up.

Observation room separation

Placing observers apart from participants, behind a one-way mirror or video relay, with audio muted into the test room so observation does not cue or distract the participant.

Test environment reset

Clearing cookies, history, cached credentials, and prior session data between participants so each starts from a comparable state and earlier activity does not bias results.

Realistic test data seeding

Populating accounts and databases with representative content and permissions before sessions so tasks fail for usability reasons, not because data or access is missing.

Informed consent for recording

Obtaining documented participant permission before capturing audio, video, or screen activity, covering purpose, retention, anonymization, and the right to stop recording.

Moderator kit contents

The prepared materials for a session: script, task cards, timing tool, observation and severity forms, consent forms, incentives, and a printed backup of the script.

Effectiveness efficiency satisfaction

The three ISO 9241-11 usability measures: whether goals were achieved, the resources used to achieve them, and the user's subjective response in the specified context of use.

System Usability Scale

A ten-item questionnaire producing a zero-to-one-hundred usability score. It is a relative benchmark, with scores around sixty-eight often treated as average.

Recognition over recall

A design principle favoring visible options and context over requiring users to remember information from earlier screens, reducing cognitive load and errors.

Progressive disclosure

Showing only the information and controls needed for the current task, with advanced options revealed on demand, to reduce complexity and cognitive load.

Perceived performance thresholds

Rough response-time bands shaping perceived responsiveness: about 0.1 seconds feels instant, 1 second keeps flow, and 10 seconds is the limit before attention drifts.

Context of use

The combination of users, tasks, equipment, and physical and social environment in which a product is used, which determines whether a design is actually usable.

POUR principles

The four WCAG foundations: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Each success criterion maps to one or more of these principles at conformance levels A, AA, or AAA.

Text contrast minimum

WCAG AA requires at least 4.5:1 contrast for normal text and 3:1 for large text, ensuring readability for users with low vision or color deficiencies.

Keyboard trap

A failure where keyboard focus enters a component and cannot leave using standard keys. WCAG requires a documented way to move focus away.

Accessible name

The programmatic label a screen reader announces for a control, derived from visible text, labels, alt attributes, or ARIA. Missing names make controls unusable non-visually.

Screen reader browser pairing

Accessibility results depend on the specific assistive technology and browser combination tested, such as NVDA with Firefox or VoiceOver with Safari.

Reflow at 400 percent

A WCAG requirement that content remain usable without two-dimensional scrolling at 400 percent zoom, equivalent to a 320 CSS pixel wide viewport, with limited exceptions.

ISO 9241-11

The standard defining usability as effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction achieved by specified users pursuing specified goals in a specified context of use.

ISO 9241-210

The standard for human-centred design of interactive systems, describing an iterative cycle: understand context, specify requirements, produce design solutions, and evaluate.

ISO IEC 25010

The SQuaRE product quality model defining characteristics such as functional suitability, performance efficiency, usability, reliability, security, and maintainability with sub-characteristics.

WCAG 2.2

The W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2, providing testable success criteria organized under the POUR principles at conformance levels A, AA, and AAA.

EN 301 549

The European harmonized accessibility standard for ICT procurement, which incorporates WCAG success criteria for web content along with requirements for software and documents.

Usability risk formula

Usability risk is assessed as the likelihood of a usability problem occurring multiplied by its impact on users and the business, used to prioritize mitigation.

Problem severity rating

A rating combining how often a problem occurs, its impact when it occurs, and whether users can work around it, used to rank findings for fixing.