Usability: Difference between revisions
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Larger usability sites (alphabetically sorted). Most include lot's of interesting materials. | Larger usability sites (alphabetically sorted). Most include lot's of interesting materials. | ||
* http://www.measuringusability.com/ | * [http://www.measuringusability.com/ measuringusability.com] | ||
* http://www.sensible.com/ | * [http://www.sensible.com/ sensible.com] | ||
* http://www.usability.gov/ | * [http://www.usability.gov/ usability.gov] | ||
* http://www.usabilityfirst.com/ | * [http://www.usabilityfirst.com/ usabilityfirst.com] | ||
* http://www.usabilityhome.com/ | * [http://www.usabilityhome.com/ usabilityhome.com] | ||
* http://www.usabilityinstitute.com/ | * [http://www.usabilityinstitute.com/ usabilityinstitute.com] | ||
* http://www.usabilitynet.org/ | * [http://www.usabilitynet.org/ usabilitynet.org] | ||
* http://www.useit.com/ | * [http://www.useit.com/ useit.com] | ||
* [http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/web-usability/ webcredible.uk.com] | |||
=== General introductions === | === General introductions === | ||
| Line 91: | Line 92: | ||
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_testing Usability testing] | * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_testing Usability testing] | ||
=== | === Usability methods === | ||
* [http://www.usabilitynet.org/tools/methods.htm Methods table] (usability.net, 40 popular methods sorted by design stages, introduction for each ) | |||
* [http://usability.gov/methods/index.html Usability Methods] (usability.gov, 13 most important methods tabulated with design stages) | |||
* Both [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability Usability] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_engineering Usability engineering] articles on Wikipedia include lists of methods (and pointers for further reading). | * Both [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability Usability] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usability_engineering Usability engineering] articles on Wikipedia include lists of methods (and pointers for further reading). | ||
* The [http://jthom.best.vwh.net/usability/ Usability Methods toolbox] by James Hom | * The [http://jthom.best.vwh.net/usability/ Usability Methods toolbox] by James Hom | ||
Revision as of 18:29, 3 February 2011
This article should be merged or at least coordinated with web usability - Daniel K. Schneider 18:31, 1 February 2011 (CET)
Definition
Usability is a term used to denote the ease with which people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal. [...] In human-computer interaction and computer science, usability usually refers to the elegance and clarity with which the user interface of a computer program or a web site is designed. The term is also used often in the context of products like consumer electronics, or in the areas of communication, and knowledge transfer objects (such as a cookbook, a document or online help). It can also refer to the efficient design of a mechanical objects such as a door handle or a hammer. (Wikipedia: Usability - retrieved 17:30, 9 June 2006)
Usability can also refer to the methods of measuring usability and the study of the principles behind an object's perceived efficiency or elegance. (Wikipedia: Usability - retrieved 17:30, 9 June 2006 )
In more practical terms. ISO links usability to effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction, for a given product in a given context. According to the on-line Technical Layout & Design course (Technical Expressions, Inc,)
Usability specialists have expanded the ISO definition of usability, stating that a usable product is:
- easy to learn
- efficient to use
- provides quick recovery from errors
- easy to remember
- enjoyable to use
- visually pleasing
, retrieved 17:13, 26 January 2011 (CET).
See also:
- Cognitive ergonomics, Ergonomics (types of), HCI (human computer interaction)
- web usability, a sub-field of usability
- web accessibility, a sub-field of web usability that addresses the question of how to make websites usable by all sorts of people.
- User interaction and user interface design
Design methods
- See Usability Methods at usability.gov for the moment
Usability measures
The ISO dimensions of efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction can be operationalized in various ways: Sauro and Kindlund, (2005), in their SUM index use a mean of four (standardized) measures:
- efficiency is measured through task times
- effectiveness is measured both through number of errors and task completion
- satisfaction is measured with a short questionnaire based on Lewis (1991).
In other words, the SUM index can be summarized as:
usability = 0.25 * z-score (task time)
+ 0.25 * z-score-equivalent (N erros)
+ 0.25 * z-score-equivalent (task completion)
+ 0.25 * z-score (satisfaction)
Links
Resources
Larger usability sites (alphabetically sorted). Most include lot's of interesting materials.
- measuringusability.com
- sensible.com
- usability.gov
- usabilityfirst.com
- usabilityhome.com
- usabilityinstitute.com
- usabilitynet.org
- useit.com
- webcredible.uk.com
General introductions
See also web usability and user interaction and user interface design
- The US Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines
“Throughout your Web design or redesign project, you should take advantage of what is already known about best practices for each step of the process. The Research-Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines, compiled through an extensive process of research and review, bring you those best practices.”
- Various interesting pieces
- Jeff Sauro has a series of interesting blog pieces, e.g.:
- 97 Things to Know about Usability, by Jeff Sauro | September 7, 2010. (A nice list that includes links for further reading).
- 5 Second Usability Tests by Jeff Sauro, November 9, 2010.
- The Five Most Influential Papers in Usability
- 25 Resources for Measuring Usability Dec 2010.
- Usability 101: Introduction to Usability by Jakob Nielsen, retrieved 16:51, 18 November 2010 (CET)
- Guerrilla HCI: Using Discount Usability Engineering to Penetrate the Intimidation Barrier by by Jakob Nielsen, 1994.
- User-Centered Design: The Fable of the User-Centered Designer, A nice story in PDF or ePub format by David Travis. (free)
- Professional and Technical Writing/Design/Usability and Professional and Technical Writing/Instructions (chapters from the Wikibook on professional and technical writing)
- User in Your Face, The Student Programmer's Before-and-After Guide to Usability and Usable Interface Design, by Jack Bellis.
- On Wikipedia
You may start from the Desing portal, a page that indexes most pages related to design including usability.
Sample pages:
Usability methods
- Methods table (usability.net, 40 popular methods sorted by design stages, introduction for each )
- Usability Methods (usability.gov, 13 most important methods tabulated with design stages)
- Both Usability and Usability engineering articles on Wikipedia include lists of methods (and pointers for further reading).
- The Usability Methods toolbox by James Hom
- Usability Evaluation
- Articles & Resources at UserFocus.co.uk
- sensible.com (Steve Krug)
On-line tools and usability services
(last checked on feb 2011)
- Usability Scorecard (measuringusability.com)
- UserTesting.com (for $39 hire a visitor that will send you a video message with problems found)
- crazyegg.com/ Get heat map analytics (starting at $20/month)
- feedbackarmy.com provides a questionnaire service (you submit questions and then get answers from 10 users, a questions test is $15)
Government
- Usability.gov (USA)
Standards
- ISO/TR 16982:2002 - "Ergonomics of human-system interaction—Usability methods supporting human-centered design"
- ISO 9241 - "Ergonomics of Human System Interaction" -
Bibliography
- Lewis, J. R. (1991). Psychometric evaluation of an afterscenario questionnaire for computer usability studies: The ASQ. SIGCHI Bulletin, 23, 78-81.
- Sauro, Jeff and Erika Kindlund, (2005). A Method to Standardize Usability Metrics into a Single Score, CHI 2005, PDF reprint