introduction to usability
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
1
Eric F. Shaver, Ph.D.
May 24, 2010
Introduction to Usability … and a whole lot more
2
Overview
Introduction
Overview of Human Factors & Ergonomics
What is Usability?
UX, UE, & UCD - How Do They Fit Together?
Evaluation Methods
Additional Resources
3
Who am I?
Education
• University of Idaho
B.S. – Psychology
M.S. – Human Factors Psychology
– Risk compensation and personality differences: Identifying differences
between risk compensators and non-risk compensators.
• North Carolina State University
Ph.D. – Ergonomics Psychology
– Evaluating the influence of presentation modality on the
communication of pharmaceutical risk information in direct-to-
consumer (DTC) television commercials
Professional Involvement
• Affiliate Assistant Professor of Psychology (U of I)
• HFES
5
Benchmark Research & Safety (BRS)
Founded in 2000
Locations: Moscow, Boise, Portland, & Grand Junction
Educational backgrounds
• Psychology
Human Factors & Ergonomics
Experimental
• Engineering
Mechanical
Electrical
• Computer Science
• Anthropology
6
BRS – Work We Do
Human Factors & Ergonomics
Usability & User Experience
Web-Technology Development
Research
Product & Occupational Safety
Litigation Support & Expert Testimony
Training & Education
Program Administration
7
Overview of Human Factors
& Ergonomics (HFE)
8
What is HFE?
HFE is a unique scientific discipline that systematically
applies the knowledge of human abilities and limitations
to the design of systems with the goal of optimizing the
interaction between people and other system elements
to enhance safety, performance, and satisfaction.
In simpler terms, HFE focuses on designing the world to
better accommodate people.
9
Origins of HFE
Human Factors &
Ergonomics
Psychology
Anthropology
Applied Physiology
Environmental Medicine
EngineeringComputer Science
Statistics
Operations Research
Industrial Design
10
Industries Benefiting from HFE
Aerospace
Automotive
Chemical
Computer
Consumer products
Construction
Defense
Forestry
Health care
Manufacturing
Mining
Nuclear
Petroleum
Telecommunications
Textile
11
What Value Does HFE Add?
Increased• User experience &
engagement
• Ease of learning & use
• Satisfaction, trust & loyalty
• Repeat purchases
• Sales & market share
• Stock value
• Productivity & quality
• Safety & health
Decreased• Development costs
• Need for redesign & recall
• Support & services costs
• Training time
• Maintenance costs
• Accidents, injuries &
illnesses
• Lost workdays
• Error rates
• Absenteeism & turnover
• Labor costs
• Equipment damages
• Insurance rates
12
What is Usability?
13
Usability Defined
“Extent to which a product can be used by specified
users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness,
efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of
use.”
• “Guidance for Usability” - ISO 9241-11 (1998)
14
Usability Defined, cont.
“Usability is an approach to product development that
incorporates direct user feedback throughout the
development cycle in order to reduce costs and create
products and tools that meet user needs.”
• Usability Professionals' Association
But … is a “usable” website sufficient???
15
Not any more …
16
User Experience (UX)
“UX is about technology that fulfills more than just
instrumental needs in a way that acknowledges its use
as a subjective, situation, complex and dynamic
encounter. UX is a consequence of a user’s internal
states (e.g., predispositions, expectations, needs,
motivation, mood, etc.), the characteristics of the design
system (e.g., complexity, purpose, usability,
functionality, etc.), and the context (or the environment)
within which interaction occurs (e.g., organizational /
social setting, meaningfulness of the activity,
voluntariness of use, etc.).” (Hassenzahl & Tractinsky, 2006, p.
95)
17
User Experience (UX), cont.
User engagement is one aspect of UX
User Technology( Interaction)
Environment
18
User Engagement (UE)
It’s a category of user experience characterized by
attributes of:
• challenge,
• positive affect,
• endurability,
• aesthetic and sensory appeal,
• attention,
• feedback,
• variety/novelty,
• interactivity, and
• perceived user control.
19
20
So what’s a web designer
supposed to do?
21
The Way …
Employ a user-centered design (UCD) approach,
which incorporates human factors and ergonomics
(HFE) principles, to facilitate the creation of an optimal
user experience (UX) to maximize user engagement
(UE) when interacting with a given technology.
22
User-Centered Design Process
Phase 1 – Planning
Phase 2 – Analysis
Phase 3 – Design
Phase 4 – Implementation
Phase 5 – Evaluation
23
Phase 1 – Planning
Identify key stakeholders
Assemble a multidisciplinary team
Identify the questions that need answering
24
Phase 2 – Analysis
Users
• Identify target audience
• Create user profiles / personas
• User requirements analysis
Technology
Tasks
• Task analysis
• Develop user scenarios
Environment
• Where & how will the technology be implemented?
25
Phase 2 – Analysis, cont.
Review / Incorporate
• Standards
• Technical literature
• Customer service complaints
• Evaluations of earlier generation technology
• Competitor evaluations
• Subject matter experts
26
Phase 3 – Design
Review design specification for UX issues
Create prototypes
Perform heuristic evaluation
Conduct preliminary in-house usability testing
Develop documentation
27
Phase 4 – Implementation
Work w/ implementation team to identify issues to
resolve
Perform ergonomic evaluations to verify optimal
implementation of technology
28
Phase 5 – Evaluation
Web analytics
Expert evaluations
Survey users for feedback
Perform observational studies to see technology in use
Conduct usability testing w/ actual users
29
Lets “drill down” on
evaluations methods
30
At a high level you have …
Two types of data
• Quantitative
Defines
“Measurable”
• Qualitative
Describes
“Observable”
Two ways to collect it
• Passive
• Active
31
Web Analytics
UX Engagement Metrics
• Hits
• Page views
• Visits
• Unique views
• Returning visitors
• Registered users
• Customers
• Frequencies
• Time on site
• Daily active users
http://52weeksofux.com/post/548149897/ux-
engagement-metrics
32
Expert Evaluations
A HFE / usability expert reviews the technology to
identify issues
Other names: heuristic evaluation; usability inspection
Strengths
• Cost effective
• Identifies the “low-hanging fruit” to fix
Weaknesses
• Relies on the knowledge and expertise of the evaluator
• Often doesn’t identify missing functionality
33
Expert Evaluations – Examples
Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics
• Visibility of system status
• Match between system and the real world
• User control and freedom
• Consistency and standards
• Error prevention
• Recognition rather than recall
• Flexibility and efficiency of use
• Aesthetic and minimalist design
• Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
• Help and documentation
http://www.useit.com/
34
Expert Evaluations – Examples, cont.
Shneiderman’s 8 Golden Rules of Interface Design
• Strive for consistency
• Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
• Offer informative feedback
• Design dialog to yield closure
• Offer simple error handling
• Permit easy reversal of actions
• Support internal locus of control
• Reduce short-term memory load
http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/
35
Usability Testing
A method to evaluate a product by having individuals
use it.
Questions to ask:
• What do you want to know?
• What do you want the users to do?
• How many users will be needed? Recruitment? Payment?
• Where will the testing be performed? Lab, field, or remote?
36
Usability Testing, cont.
Performance metrics
• Task success
• Time-on-task
• Errors
• Efficiency
• Learnability
Issues-based metrics
• Focuses on identifying problems
37
Usability Testing, cont.
Self-reported metrics
• Ease of use
• Satisfaction
• Likelihood of use; purchase
Example: Subjective Usability Scale (SUS)
38
Subjective
Usability
Scale
(SUS)
http://hell.meiert.org/core/pdf/sus.pdf
39
Usability Testing, cont.
Behavioral and Physiological Metrics
• Facial expressions
• Eye tracking
• Pupillary response
• Skin conductance
• Heart rate
40
Usability Testing, cont.
Remote / Online
41
Ten Steps to Usability Test (Hansen)
Do your homework
Write the test plan
Design the test
Arrange a test location and equipment
Conduct a dry run
Recruit users
Set up the test room
Conduct the test
Compile and analyze the results
Take action
Hansen, M. (1991). Ten steps to usability testing. Proceedings of the 9th
Annual International Conference on Systems Documentation, p. 135-139.
42
Top Ten Myths About Usability (Tullis)
Usability is just common sense.
Usability is just about making things look nice.
Usability can’t be measured.
Usability means usability for the “average” person.
Usability doesn’t have any real impact on our world.
Usability costs too much.
This must be usable because we built it in Flash, Ajax, etc.
Usability is a fad. This too shall pass.
Usability doesn’t impact the bottom line.
Usability is only applies to computers and web sites.
http://www.measuringux.com/UsabilityMyths/UsabilityMyths.pdf
43
And now for some real
life examples…
44
Examples
Heuristic Evaluation
• Purpose
Assessed OoBE
Evaluated critical tasks
Appraised strengths &
weaknesses
• 3 usability heuristics
Nielsen’s 10 principles
Cognitive workload
Mobile phone-specific
45
Examples, cont.
Website Usability Study• Purpose
User performance (time on
task, completion rate, etc.)
User satisfaction
Differences between user
types (HHO, SMB & LEB)
• Evaluated
Three homepage designs
• Six shareholders
w/competing needs
46
Examples, cont.
User Experience Study• Purpose
Ease of use
Strengths & weaknesses of
similar devices
• Deliverables
Overall comparison
User-Based Guidelines for a
Usable UMD
47
Examples, cont.
3D Exploration Study
• Purpose
3 types of glasses technology
(anaglyph, polarized, & active)
Computer & TV
• Evaluated
Preference of glasses
Perceived comfort, quality,
willingness to purchase, etc.
48
Questions???
49
Additional Resources
Measuring the User Experience
• http://www.measuringux.com/
Journal of Usability Studies
• http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/index.html
Handbook of Usability Principles
• http://www.luckydogarts.com/dm158/docs/posit.pdf
Want Magazine
• http://wantmag.com/
50
51
Contact Information
Eric F. Shaver, Ph.D.
Benchmark Research & Safety, Inc.
3355 N. Five Mile Road, #277
Boise, ID 83713
208-407-2908
www.thehumanfactorblog.com
@ericshaver