Product Usability And Why Does It Matter?

Today designers are consistently leveraging innovation to improve the product’s

design, style, and feel to make it amazingly usable. In fact, product engineering
services revolve around making a new developed product usable product so that it
can serve the purpose it is expected to accomplish.
Sometimes a developed product fails to deliver seamless user experience. Reasons
could be many- may be due to the complex development tools or the execution
complexity in performing tasks. But, now the concept of usability is much more
concerned about people’s interactions with products. The user-centric designs
include all the cognitive aspects of using a product, interacting with it and the feel
of using it.
Analyzing a product to check if it provides great experience involves certain
aspects to consider, that makes a product use-able such as utility, efficiency,
memorability, learn ability, errors, and satisfaction. Let’s start discussing how
these usability components can affect a product:
Aspects of Usability

Utility: With utility we mean, the ability of a product to provide the right service
which is expected from it. In simple words, checking a product if it is able to serve
its intended purpose or not. Note that here we are considering utility solely as a
property of the product, and not as the user's ability to learn the product.

Learn ability: A well-designed product enables users to use the product easily. In
fact, it enables them to perform basic tasks even on the first try. This learning
phase though takes very less time, but new products could be more complicated to
use for new users.

Efficiency: A product’s efficiency is something which we can measure only after

knowing that the user has learned how to use a product. Basically, it could be
defined as the time taken for a new user to perform a particular task with a
product after learning how to use it.

Reliability: Next comes reliability which means lower faulty products, fewer
breakdowns, and refusals of services. This concept keeps the time perspective in
consideration to determine if it is a matter of direct reliability of unused products
straight from the production line or long-term reliability that covers the product’s
whole lifespan.
Memorability: Sometimes users take a short break from your product after learning
how to use it properly. But, when they came back they can find difficulty in starting to
use it again. But, with a strong memorability and automatic help functions, these
difficulties can be removed and, a user can re-engage and use the product. Note that,
even new changes in the product, after a certain period, can affect memorability.

Error rate: This involves the number of errors a user makes while using the website
which can be caused due to pressing incorrect button due to misleading button icon,
poor labeling or poor color choices. The easiness of recovering those errors to
continue working is central. However, the frequency of the errors could be minimized
by providing intelligent instructions ahead of time.

Satisfaction: A product satisfaction is directly related to user’s experience of using

the product. Chances are, a product with having all aforementioned aspects may not
be enjoyable in use, then it may impact the product usability.

By keeping aforementioned components in mind, you can design user-centric

products and increase its overall usability.