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Topic 11 Usability Theory Notes
Topic 11 Usability Theory Notes
ERGONOMICS 2
Usability Theory encompasses a group of ideas about how humans interact with
technology. Usability Theory focuses on the human elements that would either help or
hinder the ability to meet the aforementioned goals. High usability is defined as a system
that is simple to learn and remember, effective, visually appealing, and enjoyable to use,
and quick to recover from errors. In other words, Usability Theory studies how humans
learn and remember systems, how the human eye processes certain images and other
aspects of the user-technology experience, and determines which type of system would
allow them to do so the most efficiently and with the least struggle.
During the recent years human society evolved from the “industrial society age”
and transitioned into the “knowledge society age”. This means that knowledge media
support migrated from “pen and paper” to computer-based Information Systems (IS). This
evolution introduced some technological, organizational, and methodological changes
affecting the demand, work-load and stress over the workers, many times in a negative
way. Due to this fact Ergonomics has assumed an increasing importance, as a
science/technology that deals with the problem of adapting the work to the man, namely in
terms of Usability. Usability is then a key issue on ergonomic interventions regarding IS.
Usability can be defined as a quality or characteristic of a product, denoting whether it is
efficient, effective and satisfying for those who use it ISO 9241, part 11 (1998). However,
Usability is also an ergonomic approach and a group of techniques aimed at creating such
products, based on a user-centered design. Currently the evolution on society and
technology happens very fast, having a very high impact on work organization, and
working methods. These changes have brought also some work-related problems that affect
human life, like musculoskeletal disorders or stress.
What is Usability?
Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they
encounter the design? Learnability is how quickly a new or novice user learns or
relearns the user interface to conduct basic tasks. Learnability is dependent on the
consistency of the interface and the ability of the interface to allow exploratory
learning by including undo or cancel functions. It can be measured by the time it
takes to learn a new task.
Efficiency: Once users have learned the design how quickly can they perform
tasks? Efficiency is defined as the speed with which a user can complete a task or
accomplish a goal. It is typically measured by the length of time required to
complete a task, task success, number of keystrokes, and number of screens visited.
Memorability: Memorability is a measure of how easy a system is to remember
after a substantial time-lapse between visits. Memorability can be determined
through system analytics.
Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how
easily can they recover from the errors? Error tolerance refers to the ability of the
system to help users avoid and recover from error. Examples of error measurement
include frequency of errors and recovery rate of errors.
Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design? Satisfaction consists of a set of
subjective measures regarding a user’s perception of a system’s usefulness and
impact and how likable a system is. The main measures include instruments and
interviews that may measure the users’ perception of a system.
Usability is measured by making users concretely try a product and then observing
their behavior. This is called usability testing. How does it work? Users are faced with a
scenario, they are asked to complete a task and answer a series of questions while observers
watch and listen to them. Such tests can take place in laboratories, in selected places, or
even in users’ homes.
What is Usability Testing (UT)?
Remote usability tests are done over the internet or by phone; in-person testing, as
the name suggests, requires the test to be completed in the physical presence of a UX
researcher/moderator. Compared to remote tests, in-person tests provide extra data points,
since researchers can observe and analyze body language and facial expressions. However,
in-person testing is usually expensive and time-consuming: you have to find a suitable
space, block out a specific date, and recruit (and pay) participants. Remote testing doesn’t
go as deep into a participant’s reasoning, but it allows you to test large numbers of people
in different geographical areas using fewer resources.
Scenario: you are currently looking for a new pair of shoes, you want to buy them
on shoesecommerce.com
In this case, a typical task could be: “go on shoesecommerce.com and buy the red
Adidas Campus shoes, size 5”
Scenario: you are organizing a night out and you would love to book a table at the
Italian restaurant Mamma.
Task: “go on mammarestaurant.com and book a table for two on Wednesday the
15th of November.”
A design’s usability depends on how well its features accommodate users’ needs
and contexts.
Work with a clear understanding of users’ goals and show it in your design.
Mimic the real world regarding concepts, icons and language.
Present instantly understandable, jargon-free messages and actions users can take—
one chief action per screen.
Limit options to give a strong information scent on an uncluttered display—show
essential information for completing tasks.
Keep content consistent.
Follow established norms regarding function and layout (e.g., logo positioning,
tappable buttons).
Use proper font size, color, contrast, whitespace, etc. to: combine aesthetic appeal
with scanning readability, present a clear, logical information hierarchy, design for
accessibility.
Use chunking and emphasize key information at the beginning and end of
interactive sequences.
Offer informative feedback about system status.
Include helpful navigation systems and search functionality.
Allow for customizable controls, including shortcuts.
Make forms easy to complete.
Include warnings and autocorrect features to minimize errors.
Offer easy-to-understand help documentation.
Show clear contact options.
Provide a back button to undo actions.
Beware of in-app browsers and restrictions (e.g.,scrolling) in mobile design.
Make links active.
Describe links accurately.
Use user personas.
Do thorough usability testing
There are many methods for studying usability, but the most basic and useful is
user testing, which has 3 components:
Get hold of some representative users, such as customers for an ecommerce site or
employees for an intranet (in the latter case, they should work outside your
department).
Ask the users to perform representative tasks with the design.
Observe what the users do, where they succeed, and where they have difficulties
with the user interface. Shut up and let the users do the talking.
References:
https://www.usabilitybok.org/what-is-usability/ergonomics-to-usability
https://www.tcbok.org/research/applied-theory/usability-
theory/#:~:text=Usability%20Theory%20encompasses%20a%20group,particular%20
environment%20of%20a%20product.
http://ui-designer.net/usability/
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/usability
https://www.hotjar.com/usability-testing/methods/
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/
https://www.userreport.com/blog/usability-testing/