Usability

Why care about usability? Have you ever…

Gotten lost in a website? Left a site without finding the information you

wanted? Struggled to build something using instructions? Used a manual that isn’t effective?

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

What is usability? How successfully and satisfactorily a

person uses a product, document, or website to achieve goals effectively & efficiently Easy to learn Easy to remember Efficient Satisfying Error free

Good Usability Means… Easy to remember (Memorability)

Users should return to document or website after some time without having to learn things all over again

Efficient to use (Efficiency) Users who learn how to

accomplish task should maintain high level of productivity

Good Usability Means… Errors

Users should accomplish task free of errors and recover easily from any errors

Easy to learn (Learnability) Users should quickly start working on

a task Satisfying (Satisfaction)

Users should like using product, document, or website

Role of Usability in Workplace

Usability included in review phase of problem-solving approach Test the usability of document

Usability can occur during development or after document has been put into use

Where does usability testing take place? In a Lab

Allows for a controlled environment Makes observation easier

Outside a Lab May only need a conference room

In the Field Tests real-life situations and environments

Your Usability Test Activity

Southwest Airlines publishes a magazine that is distributed on its airplanes An article provides instructions for how

to make a dollar bill origami squirrel

Planning Usability Tests

Establish a team Number of people depends on size of

project, location & number of users

Your team for your usability test activity 1 facilitator 1 observer 1 user

Planning Usability Tests Define User Profile

Select enough users for size of project (15 users minimal)

Identify people who typically use document or website Define subgroups of users based upon

frequency or expertise (if necessary) Consider factors: age, education, gender,

experience, stress, attitudes, motivations, where they would most often use the document


Recruit & screen participants for test Recruit participants

Offer food, money, or gift certificate as compensation

Screen participants to make sure they are users


Establish Issues & Goals of Test By establishing clear goals for users

that satisfy issue at stake By understanding users’ needs, desires,

& preferences By providing concrete and quantifiable

means to measure test results

Your Usability Test Activity

Your issues Will users be able to quickly and easily make a

squirrel from a dollar bill following the instructions?

Will users be able to easily and quickly recover if they make an error?

Your Goals Can users complete the task in 30 minutes or

less? Can users make the dollar bill origami squirrel

following the 16 steps without making an error?


Conduct Usability Tests Tell users what they will do, without

suggesting how they should do it Facilitator uses a test facilitator script

to introduce the test and the roles of facilitator, observer, & user


Collect data from usability tests Observer(s) will collect data by video

or face-to-face observation. Record observations and take notes

using a or data collection sheet that’s pre-made & printed


Facilitator administers post-test Questionnaire to Users Collect neutral feedback about their

experiences after task is done

Analyze Findings Efficiency: time how long it takes to complete a

task Error rate: Count number of deviations from a

path that will lead to the completion of a task, or any backtracking or restarting of a task

Learnability: observation of how quickly users can understand the layout of a document & navigational layout of a website and perform similar actions throughout testing

Satisfaction: users asked open-ended questions about experience or take System Usability Scale survey

Report Results & Make Recommendations By identifying audience for report By choosing a format that fits

audience Oral report, written report or

PowerPoint presentation By summarizing methodology,

results, and recommendations (when appropriate)

Follow Usability Report Guidelines Write in a clear style Include charts or diagrams Include actual voices and words of

the participants to support findings & recommendations

Ethical Considerationsin Usability Testing Brief participants about test process Create unbiased questionnaires Use consent and anonymous

disclosure forms Permission to test in workplace &

video record/take pictures

Data & Analytics

Usability