Also, seeing is believing. So if you anticipate needing to convince management, you'll definitely want to tape the test sessions. Put together a persuasive set of excerpts from the tape to back up your test findings. While a standard video camera will suffice, you can also rent or buy specialized usability testing equipment. If the usability testing equipment is installed in a permanent testing facility, observers may be able to work behind one-way mirrors so that the tester isn' t distracted by the feeling of being watched.
People often assume that usability testing costs a great deal of money.
Building a permanent usability-testing lab can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even a portable lab can cost many thousands of dollars. You don't have to expend a great deal of time on usability testing either. If time is an issue, examine only the parts of the design you're least confident about. Note potential trouble spots as the project is coming together. If you design these problem areas incorrectly, they will cost you more in the long run in redesign, recoding, and retesting.