USABILITY FOR ALL BUDGETSElan Lennardwww.glamourgeek.com
What is Usability?
Usability is the ease with which a user interacts with
software
* As relates to what I’m discussing today
Why Does Usability Matter?
• By designing something that is intuitive to use, the user doesn’t need to contact support or read the manual
Designing for the user
• Changes to user interfaces late in the development cycle adds risk to schedule slippage and costs more money in engineering and QA time
Preventing costly changes
• Most users don’t like using software unless it is on an Apple product. Easy, fun software creates an emotional connection that is stronger than anything you can create with good marketing and a lot of features
Making products fun to use
When To Test For Usability
Sign off on Market
Requirements
Specify Functionality
Create UI Prototypes
Usability TestingBegin Coding
Beta Test
Release
Product Developmen
t
We’ve No Time For Usability Tests Usability testing can take anywhere from a couple of
weeks to a couple of months in preparation, execution and review
Performing usability tests early in the development cycle will ensure that the UI design is right the first time. Changes late in the product cycle require massive upheaval to the code, introducing bugs and risking inconsistency in the user interface layer
Some might say that you don’t have time to not do usability testing
Methods of Ensuring Good HCI Engineer in a bubble
Pro: Fast GUI Design Con: Engineer has little idea how the customer uses the
product Guess
Pro: Fast GUI Design Con: Can go terribly wrong
Formal Usage Studies Pro: Controlled environment Con: Expensive
One-on-one Usage Studies Pro: Users are accessible Con: Can be difficult to schedule visits via the Sales team
Isn’t Usability Testing Expensive? The way companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple do it?
Two-way mirror for observation by engineers, Product Managers and QA staff
Dedicated Test Lab Mouse/keystroke recording Video Camera Lasers to track eye movements (lasers are cool!)
But you can get great results from testing on a budget, too Sit next to tester Manually take down observations Use standard digital camera for recording
> £10,000
< £2,000
Where To Start1. Choose core functionality to test2. Create list of simple tasks for user to follow and
questionnaireOpen a file, edit file, insert image, export, print, save
3. Schedule a week of developer’s time to mock-up interactive prototypes in Flash or UI Layer (might require bribery)
Does not need to be functional, simply emulate specified functionality
4. Recruit typical users to participateNewsgroups, personal network, former colleagues
5. Set up computer, camera on tripod in corner, one printed version of tasks /questionnaire for each tester
Reviewing The ResultsUsability testing is only as good as the
information you obtain from itHCI Designer Is the interface easy to use?
Developers Do the menu items and buttons need to be moved or renamed?
Product Manager
Did the users understand the product?Are we on the right track?
Quality Assurance
How much user interface testing will be required?
Support Where will we see a big support burden for ‘How-to’ questions?
Impact of Improved HCI To Engineering
No more designing in a bubble More confidence in their work
To Support Happier callers Fewer GUI calls
To Sales Able to demonstrate new features in a personalized
demo to potential customers To the user
Feel that they are being heard Find it easier to get their work done after seeing new
features
Remember… You do not know how customers will
interact with your product
Your developers are most likely not HCI experts and shouldn’t be expected to design the UI
Only by viewing actual target users will you and your team know if you’re on the right track
The Actual Tests1. Usability tester arrives, sits at computer2. Sit down with them and explain what
you wish them to do3. The user should go through the tasks
on their own, with no instruction4. They should speak aloud as they
progress and where they confused5. After completing the tasks, have the
user fill in a questionnaire about their experience with the software
Further Reading Advancements in Human/Computer Interaction by Jakob Nielsen
www.useit.com
The Usability Engineering Lifecycle by Deborah Mayhew
Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
Inside Google’s Usability Labs (article) http://news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10005210.html
And the font of all knowledge, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human%E2%80%93computer_interaction
Tools Morae
Software for recording and tracking mouse movements
Krut Free software on SourceForge for screen and audio capture
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