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Saul Greenberg
According to Usability Expert Jakob
Nielsen:
• On the Web, usability is a necessary condition for
survival. If a web site is difficult to use, people
leave. If the homepage fails to clearly state what a
company offers and what users can do on the site,
people leave.
• If users get lost on a web site, they leave. If a web
site's information is hard to read or doesn't answer
users' key questions, they leave.
• There's no such thing as a user reading a web site
manual or otherwise spending much time trying to
figure out an interface.
• There are plenty of other web sites available;
leaving is the first line of defense when users
encounter a difficulty. Saul Greenberg
What is Usability?
A usable system is:
– easy to use
– easy to learn
– easy to remember how to use
– effective to use
– efficient to use
– safe to use
– enjoyable to use
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A usable interface has three main
outcomes:
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Why is usability important?
A Good user-interface can help the
client:
1. Be satisfied, not frustrated, with the web
site or product;
2. Enjoy interacting with the web site or
product;
3. Achieve their goals effectively and
efficiently;
4. Cultivate confidence and trust in the
product or web site.
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Why ..(cont.)
A Bad user-interface can:
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It is not Simple to Make Good
User Interfaces
Basic misconceptions:
• If the developer can use it, everyone can
use it
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Traditional approaches to
system development
Is concerned with producing software,
software specification, maintainability, and
testing
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Example of traditional
approach
Requirements
specification
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Operation and
maintenance
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Introduction to User
Centered approach
This approach normally involves a number of key
activities throughout the development of the
software including:
• Involving users
• Obtaining their feedback on the design
• Providing prototypes for system evaluation and re-
design in light of user feedback and comments.
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User Centered approach
• Real users involved at each step of the
process
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The life cycle for interactive
systems
cannot assume a linear
user needs Requirements
sequence of activities
specification
as in the waterfall model
Analysis
Design
Testing
Operation and
maintenance
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User Centered Development
1. Data Collection
2. Data Analysis
3. Prototyping
4. Design
5. Evaluation
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1. Data Collection
Data recording
– Using media
Interviews
– Stakeholder interviews
– Subject Matter Expert interviews
– User and customer interviews
Questionnaires
– Surveys, product reviews
Literature review
– Studying existing systems
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2. Data Analysis
Requirement analysis
– Formal specifications of the system
User analysis
– Identifying and understanding the user
Task analysis
– Steps user take to accomplish this task
Functional analysis
– Functions that system perform to help the users carry out their
task
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3. Prototyping
Advantages of Prototyping:
Users are actively involved in the
development
It provides a better system to users
The users get a better understanding of the
system being developed.
Errors can be detected much earlier
Quicker user feedback is available leading to
better solutions 22 Saul Greenberg
4. Design
Goals
– Achieving goals
Users and systems
– Understanding the raw materials: computer and human
Limitations
– Accepting limitations of humans and of design
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5. Evaluation
Testing the usability, functionality and acceptability
of an interactive system
Expert evaluation
– Evaluation by Subject Matter Experts
User evaluation
– Evaluation by user or customer
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Designer vs. Users
Making a photocopy
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Designer vs. Users
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Examples ..(cont.)
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Usability Heuristics
Who is Jakob Nielsen
•Jakob Nielsen has been called:
•"the king of usability" (Internet Magazine)
•"the guru of Web page usability" (The New York
Times)
•"the next best thing to a true time machine" (USA
Today)
•"the smartest person on the Web" (ZDNet
AnchorDesk)
•"the world's leading expert on Web usability" (U.S.
News & World Report)
•one of the top 10 minds in small business
(FORTUNE Small Business)
•"the world's leading expert on user-friendly
design" (Stuttgarter Zeitung, Germany)
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Who is Jakob Nielsen cont’d
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Who is Jakob Nielsen cont’d
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Why heuristics?
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Ten Golden Usability Rules
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1 Simple and natural dialogue
– remove modes
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Simple and natural dialogue
•Interfaces should be
simplified
•Should match the
users’ task
•Present exactly the
information that the
user needs, at the
exact time and place
•Good graphic design
and color
•Less is more
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2 Speak the users’ language
My program gave me the That’s
message Rstrd Info. restricted But surely you can No, no… Rsdrd Info
What does it mean? information tell me!!! stands for “Restricted
Information”
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2 Speak the users’ language
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Speak the users’ language
•Terminology
•Native language
•Choice of words
•Vocabulary
•Good mapping
between the interface
design and the user’s
conceptual model
•Use of interface
metaphors
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3 Minimize user’s memory load
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3: Minimize user’s memory load
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Minimize user memory load
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3: Minimize user’s memory load
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4: Be consistent
Cancel
Consist effects
– commands, actions have same effect in equivalent situations
• predictability
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4. Be Consistent
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From Peachpit website
From Peachpit website
Consistency
•Facilitate
recognition
•Decide among
possibly many
conventions
•Once the decision
is made, stick to it
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5: Provide feedback
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5. Provide feedback
What mode
am I in now?
What did I
select? How is the
system
interpreting
my actions?
Drawing Board LT
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Feedback
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5. Provide feedback
– Cursors
• for short transactions
– Random
• for unknown times Contacting host (10-60 seconds)
cancel
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Feedback
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Feedback
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6. Provide clearly marked exits
How do
I get
out of
this?
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Clearly marked exits
Cancel button
Escape
Undo
Acknowledge that
users will commit
errors
Make it easy to
recover from the
errors
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6. Provide clearly marked exits
Strategies:
– Cancel button (for dialogs waiting for user input)
– Universal Undo (can get back to previous state)
– Interrupt (especially for lengthy operations)
– Quit (for leaving the program at any time)
– Defaults (for restoring a property sheet) Core
Dump
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7. Provide shortcuts
Strategies:
– keyboard and mouse accelerators
• abbreviations
• command completion
• context menus
• function keys
• double clicking vs menu selection
– navigation jumps
• e.g., going to window/location directly, and avoiding intermediate nodes
– history systems
• WWW: ~60% of pages are revisits
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Shortcuts
Shortcut keys
“Accelerators”
For commonly-used functions
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Keyboard
accelerators for
menus
Customizable
toolbars and
palettes for
frequent actions
Double-click
raises toolbar
dialog box
Double-click
raises object-
specific menu
Scrolling controls
for page-sized
increments
Microsoft Powerpoint
Alternate
representation for
quickly doing
different set of
tasks
Toolset brought in
appropriate to this
representation
Microsoft Powerpoint
8: Deal with errors in a positive manner
Errors we make
– Mistakes
• conscious deliberations lead to an error instead of correct solution
– Slips
• unconscious behaviour gets misdirected en route to satisfying goal
– e.g. drive to store, end up in the office
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Designing for slips
General rules
– prevent slips before they occur
– detect and correct slips when they do occur
– user correction through feedback and undo
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8: Deal with errors in a positive manner
Adobe's ImageReady
AutoCAD Mechanical
Windows Notepad
Microsoft's NT Operating System
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8: Deal with errors in a positive manner
Error 25
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Good error messages
•Clear language
•Precise
•Should help solve
the problem
•Should be polite
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Prevent errors
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8: Deal with errors in a positive manner
Prevent errors
– try to make errors impossible
– modern widgets: can only enter legal data
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Manuals...
9. Provide help
Simple systems:
– walk up and use; minimal instructions
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10. Help and documentation
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Documentation and how it is used
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Types of help
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Types of help
Reference manuals
– used mostly for detailed lookup by experts
• rarely introduces concepts
• thematically arranged
– on-line hypertext
• search / find
• table of contents
• index
• cross-index
Reminders
– short reference cards
• expert user who just wants to check facts
• novice who wants to get overview of system’s capabilities
– keyboard templates
• shortcuts/syntactic meanings of keys; recognition vs. recall;
capabilities
Wizards
– walks user through typical tasks
– but dangerous if user gets stuck
What’s my
computer’s
name?
Fred?
Intel?
AST?
Tips
– migration path to learning system features
– also context-specific tips on being more efficient
– must be “smart”, otherwise boring and tedious
Heuristic evaluation
– Principles can be used to systematically inspect the interface for
usability problems
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Problems found by a single inspector
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Heuristic evaluation
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Heuristic evaluation, con’t.
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Heuristic evaluation, con’t
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Problems found by a single inspector
Varies according to
– difficulty of the interface being evaluated
– the expertise of the inspectors
Tradeoff
– novices poorer, but cheaper!
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Problems found by a single inspector
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Problems found by multiple evaluators
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Individuals vs teams
Nielsen
– recommends individual evaluators inspect the interface alone
Why?
– evaluation is not influenced by others
– independent and unbiased
– greater variability in the kinds of errors found
– no overhead required to organize group meetings
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Self Guided vs Scenario Exploration
Self-guided
– open-ended exploration
– Not necessarily task-directed
– good for exploring diverse aspects of the interface, and to follow
potential pitfalls
Scenarios
– step through the interface using representative end user tasks
– ensures problems identified in relevant portions of the interface
– ensures that specific features of interest are evaluated
– but limits the scope of the evaluation - problems can be missed
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Usability Testing
To identify problems
Typical users perform typical tasks
Collect data
Objective: Task times, error rates
Subjective: Ratings, Comments, Observations
Analyze data to identify usability
problems
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Testing Your Application
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Preparation
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General Test Protocol
Introduction
Informed consent form
Training
Tasks
Questionnaire
Debriefing/Payment
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Think-aloud Approach
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Step 1: Plan the Tests
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Step 2: Conduct the Tests
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Watch Users Work!!
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Step 3: Debrief the Users
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Post-Test Work
Analyze data
Identify usability problems AND
SOLUTIONS
Identify problem severity
Identify software bugs (maybe)
Conduct second round of testing (if
necessary) and if time/resources permit
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Caveats
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Exercise – Part 5
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Exercise – Part 6
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Preparing a Summary Report
Describe your objectives, measures, and
procedures
Describe your results:
list key problems identified by users; there is likely
to be some uniformity among responses (e.g.,
common concerns, problems, issues)
sort problems by priority and frequency
Develop and implement solutions
Saul Greenberg