Usability

What is poor usability?

I really like it,
To end-users..
It doesnt do
but I dont use it
Cant it be what I need it
much
more like
to do
Google?
I cant find
what Im
I dont think it
looking for

seems trustworthy

Its very fancy,

but its not very
useful

I find it a bit
frustrating

What is poor usability?

What is Usability???
o User Friendly ???
o Is not a synonym of
usability
o Avoid this expression!

What is Usability???
o Its not about is this product usable?
o But its about how usable this product?

What is Usability???

What is Usability???
o The effectiveness, efficiency,
and satisfaction with which
specified users achieve
specified goals in particular
environments.
o source: ISO 9241-11

o applies equally to both

hardware and software design

What is Usability???
ISO 9241-11:
o Effectiveness: The accuracy and completeness with which
specified users achieve their own goals with the system.
o Efficiency: The resources expended in relation to the accuracy
and completeness of goals achieved.
o Satisfaction: The comfort and acceptability of the system to
the users and other people affected by its use.

What is Usability???
Jacob Nielson's definition:
o Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks
the first time they encounter the design?
o Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly
can they perform tasks?
o Memorability: When users return to the design after a period
of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?

What is Usability???
Jacob Nielson's Definition (cont.):
o Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these
errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
o Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?

What is Usability???

Definitions
o Usability testing is the common name for
user-based system evaluation
o Popularized in the media by Jakob Neilson
and usually thought of as related to web site
design in the 1990s
o Usability testing is one of the activities of
Human Factors Engineering

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What is the System

o Sid Smiths user-system interface (compared to
user-computer interface)
o Systems are made up of users performing some
activity within a context
o Cant redesign users but we can design
equipment, so our goal as designer is to design
equipment to optimize system performance

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There are a lot of

factors
our brains
work against us

15

16

Red
Green
Blue
Orange
Yellow
Black

Orange
Yellow
Green

17

Black
Blue
Red

18

19

we have trouble
with patterned
data

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22

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24

25

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27

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we make
perceptual
assumptions

32

33

Jack and Jill

went up the
Hill to fetch a
a pail of milk

34

our perceptual
abilities are limited in
the presence of noise

THE QUICK
BROWN FOX
JUMPED OVER
THE LAZY DOGS
BACK.
36

The quick brown fox

jumped over the lazy dogs
back.

37

THE QUICK BROWN

FOX JUMPED OVER
THE LAZY DOGS
BACK.

38

The quick brown fox

jumped over the
lazy dogs back.

39

our cognitive abilities

are limited

our memory affects

our abilities

our psychology
affects our abilities

and we need
protection from
ourselves

44

Attributes of usability

User as starting point

Why usability is important?

o system development is expensive, and supporting a poorly
designed user interface is even more expensive;
o users will reject or work around systems that do not meet their
needs;
o design teams need to discover all problems users have in order
to provide remedies;
o even the best designers are not representative of the users of
the system, thus teams need to understand users' perspectives
and experiences with other systems;

Why usability is important?

o usability evaluation is an inexpensive way to improve systems
before they are implemented, to improve existing systems,
and to choose usable systems;
o business users do not have a lot of time to spend learning how
to use a system;

Why usability is important?

o people prefer a usable system with fewer features to a system
with gratuitous "bells and whistles" which they have to work
hard at figuring out; and
o people often use systems in ways developers did not expect,
and if designers find this out, they can build these features
into a new system

Where?
o Usability testing can be done wherever it is
o in a real work setting
o or in a usability lab

When???
o During early design stages to:
o Predict product usability
o Check design teams understanding of user requirements
o Test out ideas

o Later in design process:

o Identify user difficulties
o Improve upgrade a product

How conducting usability evaluation?

Testing

Usability
methods

-Laboratory testing
-Thinking aloud

Inspection

Inquiry

-Heuristic Evaluation
-Cognitive Walkthrough

-Focus Group
-Questionnaires

Laboratory Testing
o Defined as any of those techniques in which users interact
systematically with a product or system under controlled
conditions, to perform a goal-oriented task in an applied
scenario, and some behavioral data are collected.

o User is asked to perform task scenario based testing

Thinking aloud
o May be the single most valuable usability engineering method.
o having an end user continuously thinking out loud while using
the system
o participants thinking aloud as they are performing a set of
specified tasks
o users are usually recorded on video

Thinking aloud

Focus Group

Planning a usability testing

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Think about why you will be doing a usability test.

Consider the system as a whole.
Make sure the system is ready to test.
List several tasks that a user should be able to
accomplish with the system.
Make a list of potential usability test subjects.
Plan for data collection.
Schedule the test.
Prepare yourself to be objective.

Principles in testing
o Use real users

o Design real tasks

o Record and report the test

Who are the subjects tested?

o Targeted users
o Use a real user!!!
o Novice (beginner) vs expert user
o User persona

Get to know your users

o
o
o
o

Talk to your users

Observe your users
Get feedback from your users
Find out
o
o
o
o

Who are your users (characteristics)

What do they do (tasks)
How do they do it (Task Flow)
Where do they do it (environment)

How many subjects?

How many subjects?

Setting up usability testing

Measuring Usability
o What can be measured?
o Performance measures: Counts of actions and behaviours
you can see
o Subjective measures: Peoples perceptions, opinions and
judgments

Measuring usability
Effectiveness

Efficiency

User satisfaction

1. Percent task complete

2. Ratio of success to
failures
3. Number of features
used

1. Time to complete task

2. Time to learn
3. Time spent on errors

1. Rating scale for

usefulness
2. Rating scale for
satisfaction
3. Number of times user
express frustration

Measuring Usability
o Time
o The time taken to complete a task on a computer is an
obvious metric to choose. Whiteside et al (1985) have
proposed the following empirical relationship:

Measuring Usability
o Error Rate
o All users make errors. The number and type of errors made
during the performance of a particular task by a user is
clearly an indication of the usability of the system

o Attitude Measures
o attitude of the user of a system usually has to be found by
using questionnaires or interviews. These measures can
cover complete system use, from learnability, to ease of
use, to functionality.

Measuring Usability

In usability testing
o Establish the context
o Ask the subject to verbalize their thoughts as they perform the
tasks on your list
o Don't help!
o Don't take it personally

o Thank the subject.

Listen and observe!

o Have fun with it!
o Enjoy being the observer.

o What does "hmm" mean?

o Take it all in, even the gaps. Notice all the sounds and behaviors
and comments that might be relevant. Remind the subject to
verbalize and be as open with their thinking as possible.

o Write everything down.

o You can translate and expand your notes later. If you are tempted
to ask the subject extra questions, make a note so that you can
bring them up later.

o Don't interfere or ask leading questions

o Do help them to feel comfortable speaking their thoughts out loud

Usability Applies to all Designs

o Norman presented
Carelmans
coffeepot as a
metaphor for the
many objects that
we use in our daily
lives that include
fundamental design
flaws.

Testing Special Populations

o Kids
o
o
o
o
o

Consent
Incentives
Parental Issues
Process Management
Administering Questionnaires and other data collection issues

o Users with Disabilities

o
o
o
o

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Special Interface devices

Interaction protocols
Communications
Administering Questionnaires and other data collection issues

Usability Project
o Part 1: Proposal (next week)
o A short description of what you plan to evaluate (2-3 lines is
enough)
o Method you plan to employ
o Names of group members
o Possible subjects for your evaluation
o Usability metrics you want to measure

o Choose any software/product to evaluate as long as:

o You are at least somewhat familiar with it
o You can find at least three or more subject users who are not
experts
o You can run the thing in an experimental manner

Usability Project
o Part 2 - Report:
o Abstract (a short summary)
o A description of the specific software or product and its
aspects that are being evaluated.
o Be sure to what the specific goals are for your evaluation!
Just a subset of the system? Specific goals for this evaluation?

o Hypothesis what you expect from the testing

o A summary of your procedures/methods
o When, where, how did you do your evaluation? (Only enough
detail so I can see that you followed good procedures.)
o Also, what tasks did you ask the subject to do?
o it is OK if you include copies of the task descriptions you gave
the user

o (see next page)

Usability Project
o Part 2 - Report:
o Result Revealed from the usability testing
o Result summary (time, score, etc)
o Statistical analysis (to prove your hypothesis)
o Usability Defect

o Discussion
o Conclusion
o References (please state any reference you citedcan be
book, paper, etc)

Abstract (3 paragraf)
o 1. Latarbelakang + tujuan penelitian (judul)
o 2. metodologi: jmlh sampel, cara melakukan
pengetesan, dll
o 3. Hasil penelitian/pengujian