usability by ian symonds
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Usability
Darwin Web Standards 9 June 2011
Usability
The ISO defines usability as
"The 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.”
Wikipedia
Usability
The ISO defines usability as
"The 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.”
Wikipedia
ISO 9241. Ergonomics of Human System Interaction
A multi-part standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), covering aspects of people working with computers.
Originally titled Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs).
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by five quality components:
http://www.useit.com
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by five quality components:
– LearnabilityHow easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
http://www.useit.com
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by five quality components:
– Learnability– Efficiency Once users have learned the design,
how quickly can they perform tasks?
http://www.useit.com
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by five quality components:
– Learnability– Efficiency– Memorability When users return to the design
after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
http://www.useit.com
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by five quality components:
– Learnability– Efficiency– Memorability– Errors
How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
http://www.useit.com
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by five quality components:
– Learnability– Efficiency– Memorability– Errors– Satisfaction
How pleasant is it to use the design?
http://www.useit.com
Jakob Nielsen
Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by five quality components:
Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks? Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can
they reestablish proficiency? Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can
they recover from the errors? Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?
http://www.useit.com
Usability vs Accessibility
I don’t care about accessibility
When you design for the Web -- that is, when you design exclusively and specifically for this medium -- when you do that natively, so many of the things we consider problems just start to fall away.
I've seen that the designers I'm working with have little trouble with the so-called constraints of today's Web
• They take for granted that their pages must perform quickly in a wide variety of bandwidth situations.
• They know and expect how their pages will work across operating systems and on different hardware platforms.
• Their designs are explicitly intended to work in what we call the spectrum of degradability -- that is, consider the current Mozilla in the middle, with less advanced and broken browsers like Blazer, Netscape 4 and IE6 on one end, and more advanced browsers like OmniWeb, screen readers, and other accessibility devices on the other.
Jeffrey Veenhttp://www.veen.com/jeff/archives/000503.html
Don’t Make Me Think
• Walks the talk
• Is readable in about 2 hours (a medium plane flight)
• Aimed at managers, readable by everyone
Don’t Make Me Think
Key Themes
• When you're creating a site, your job is to get rid of the question marks.
• We don't read pages. We scan them.
• Create a clear visual hierarchy. One of the best ways to make a page easy to grasp in a hurry is to make sure that the appearance of the things on the page -- all of the visual cues -- clearly and accurately portray the relationships between the things on the page.
• Usability Testing
So…..?
• Define user profiles (personas)– Who is coming to your site?– What are they trying to achieve?– What is their skill level?– Design and develop for that audience
• Keep your terminology simple– Really simple– And familiar– Use established conventions
• Make links easily identifiable• Links are links (they go places)• Buttons are buttons (they do stuff)• Put error messages next to where they occur, (and as soon as
possible)
Letting Go of the Words
• More in-depth
• Aimed at web managers, developers
• Define
• Goals of the site
• Key site users
• Direct the content towards the users
Redish has done her homework and created a thorough overview of the issues in writing for the Web. Ironically, I must recommend that you read her every word so that you can find out why your customers won't read very many words on your website -- and what to do about it ; -- Jakob Nielsen
Letting Go of the Words
1. List your major audiences
2. Gather information about your audiences
3. List major characteristics for each audience
4. Gather your audiences’ questions, tasks and stories
5. Use the information to create personas
6. Include the persona’s goals and tasks
7. Use this information to write scenarios for the site
Ginny Redish – 7 Steps
1. List your major audiences• Patients, health care professionals, researchers• Parents, teachers, students
2. Gather information about your audiences• Patients, health care professionals, researchers• Parents, teachers, students• Tourists (local), Prospective Tourists (interstate), Prospective Tourists (international)
3. List major characteristics for each audience• Consider expertise with using the web & technology• Consider expertise with your subject matter
4. Gather your audiences’ questions, tasks and stories
5. Use the information to create personashttp://www.usability.gov/methods/analyze_current/personas.html
6. Include the persona’s goals and tasks
7. Use this information to write scenarios for the site• Find accommodation near Hidden Valley• Find a caravan park• Find schools near Durack for my 6, and 11 year-old children, including music studies and bus
information
Every persona must be catered for.Every scenario must be achievable from the home page.
Key Tasks
• People want to start key tasks right away• Often these involve forms
• Put the forms people want right away on the home page• Airline, • Accommodation• Real estate• Rental cars
• Speak in the vernacular of your site visitors• Avoid using cute, or made-up words• Provide meaningful links
Usability Testing
Usability Testing
Jakob Nielsen and Tom Landauer: testing five users will uncover about 85% of a site’s usability problems, and that there’s a serious case of diminishing returns for additional users. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html
(It’s not) focus group testing• Focus group react to designs and
ideas that are shown to them• Value comes from participants
reacting to each other
Usability testing• Individual tests• Tries to achieve set objectives• May be done on a partially
complete site (even sketches)
Usability Testing
• There’s companies that specialise in Usability testing• http://www.usertesting.com/• http://www.usabilityfirst.com/
• Or you can do it yourself• Three or four people (per test)• Neighbour, colleague, relative• No need for a special lab
• It’s important to re-run usability tests
• You can’t test it yourself – you’re too close to the site
Usability Testing
• Doesn’t need to be a big deal
– Choose a representative audience type– Chose a site key task
• Book accommodation for a date• Buy a book• Find how to catch a bus to the V8’s
• Observe them performing that task– How do they discover what to do?– Do they find it easy?– Do they make errors?
• How do they recover from errors
Stupidly cool iPad Synthesizer App
Stupidly cool iPad Synthesizer App
Skeuomorphic Design
Visualising blood tests
Visualising blood tests
Discussion
Links
http://www.usabilityfirst.com/http://www.usability.gov/http://www.jungleminds.com/publications/articles/effective_usability_testing_for_intranet