Report Formats

It is advantageous to use a standard format for writing up usability reports. The reasons for this include:

• Your clients will be familiar with the layout of information in your reports
• The structure acts as a checklist in case you've missed something out
• Reports from different labs are comparable
• There is a common consensus as to what should appear in a report.

The Common Industry Format (CIF) is due to become an international standard, and you can download version 1.1 (public domain) CIF on IUSR or the US standard version 2.02 (for around $18.00) for purchase.

An older format was proposed in 1992 by the EC MUSiC project, and has since been modified and extended in the light of usage. Versions of this format are public domain and are available from the Baseline web site, in both .doc and .rtf formats. [Baseline report format]

©UsabilityNet 2006. Reproduction permitted provided the source is acknowledged.