An Introduction to Usability Megan Ellinger The National Academies

The Core of Usability Engineering  Give users what they want  Don’t create obstacles  In practice, it’s challenging You know bad design when you see it, but what about good design?

Brief History of Human Factors  World War II Airplane design – fit the plane to the solider; logical control/buttons  Expanded to productivity and safety Cognitive Ergonomics / Human Factors  Principles are now applied to Web and e-commerce sites. Fun Reading Set Phasers on Stun: And other true tales of design, technology and human error by Steven Casey

What is Usability Engineering?  A measure of the quality of a user’s experience when interacting with a product or system and combines factors like: Effectiveness Ease of learning Efficiency of use Memorability Error prevention Subjective satisfaction Fun Reading The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman

Why Do We Care?  On the Web, frustrated visitors do not come back  Saves time and money  Reduces training and support needs  Can enhance an organization’s reputation

Know Thy User  Understand the total environment What task does the user need to perform? What will the users be doing when carrying out the task? Do the users have any limitations? What knowledge or mental models will the user already have?

As proposed by the project sponsor. “It matters little that something is easy if it's not what you want” – Jakob Nielsen As specified in the project request. As designed by the senior analyst. As produced by the programmers. As installed at the user's site. What the user wanted.

How Do We Know That Users Want A Tire Swing?  Field Interviews  Surveys  Focus Groups  Helpdesk or Customer Service Call logs

Four Focal Points of Web Design  Navigation Can the user find it?  Content Is it what they wanted?  Presentation Is it easy to comprehend?  Interaction Can the user act upon it?

Navigation – Not So Good

Navigation - Better

Content – Not So Good

Content – Better

Presentation – Not So Good

Presentation – Better

Interaction – Not So Good

Interaction - Better

How Do We Test What Works?  Paper Prototyping Real users pretend to complete real tasks while being observed.  Heuristic Evaluation A systematic evaluation of a user interface design. Evaluators examine the interface and judge its compliance with recognized usability principles (the "heuristics")  Usability Testing Real users perform real tasks while being observed.

NAP IdentifierNA Identifier HOMEABOUT NAPCONTACT NAPHELPNEW RELEASESORDERING INFOItems in Cart [0] TRY OUR SPECIAL DISCOVERY ENGINE: FIND Questions? Call Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States Key Term Highlighter conventional medicine (7) cam research (5) conventional medical (3) cam practitioners (3) alternative medicine (1) dietary supplements (1) medical practice (3) supplement health (2) dietary supplement (2) specific cam (2) Next 10 key terms >> From page 74… The ethical principles that guide conventional biomedical research should also be applied to CAM research. Legal and ethical issues often arise and sometimes conflict with use of CAM therapies because the decision facing a conventional practitioner or institution may engender a conflict between medical paternalism (the desire to protect patients from foolish or ill-informed, though voluntary decisions) Read the entire page >> From page 101… The ethical principles that guide conventional biomedical research should also be applied to CAM research. Practitioner or institution may engender a conflict between medical paternalism (the desire to protect patients from foolish or ill-informed, though voluntary decisions) Read the entire page >> From page 100… The ethical principles that guide conventional biomedical research should also be applied to CAM research. Legal Read the entire page >> Next Steps… Return to Table of Contents Web Research Builder Buy Currently skimming: 3 Contemporary Approaches to Evidence of Treatment Effectiveness: A Context for CAM Research Skim Next ChapterSkim Previous Chapter Select another chapter to skimSkim

NAP IdentifierNA Identifier HOMEABOUT NAPCONTACT NAPHELPNEW RELEASESORDERING INFOItems in Cart [0] TRY OUR SPECIAL DISCOVERY ENGINE: FIND Questions? Call Assessing the Quality of Cancer Care: An Approach to Measurement in Georgia (2005) Highlight key terms in this chapter incidence rate risk factor incidence rates rate measure colorectal cancer lung cancer behavioral risk preventing cancer potential data cancer prevention Next 10 key terms >> Buy Table of Contents Web Research Builder Currently skimming chapter: 3 Preventing Cancer Select another chapter to skimSkim Skim Next ChapterSkim Previous ChapterTable of Contents From chapter 3, page 65…... Adults who smoke and who saw a doctor, nurse, or other health professional in the past year Potential data source(s) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Comments Read the entire page From chapter 3, page 62…... Number of adults Potential data source(s) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Comments Read the entire page From chapter 3, page 55…... Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for lung cancer and contributes to the development of other types of cancer. Nonsmokers should be discouraged from starting. Read the entire page “risk factor” shown in context Go Back: Skim Entire Chapter

Section 508  In 1998 Congress passed an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requiring all electronic and information technology within the Federal Government to be accessible to persons with disabilities. This act is more commonly referred to as Section 508

What’s In It For Me?  20% of Americans are disabled  7 million individuals in the U.S. over the age of 15 reported having a visual impairment  1 in 20 people have a color deficiency  Motor skills and eyesight decline with age

An example of accessibility and usability issues In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were: Fort Robinson State Park Scotts Bluff National Monument Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum Carhenge Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were: Fort Robinson State Park Scotts Bluff National Monument Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum Carhenge Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were: Fort Robinson State Park Scotts Bluff National Monument Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum Carhenge Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were: Fort Robinson State Park Scotts Bluff National Monument Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum Carhenge Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park Chromatic Aberration Red/Green Color Deficiency - Most Common Similar foreground and background colors can appear washed out. Chromostereopsis

Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design  Bad Search  PDF Files for Online Reading  Not Changing the Color of Visited Links  Non-Scannable Text  Fixed Font Size  Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility  Anything That Looks Like an Advertisement  Violating Design Conventions  Opening New Browser Windows  Not Answering Users' Questions