A centre of expertise in digital information management UKOLN is supported by: Usability on a Shoestring Budget (1) Emma Tonkin & Greg Tourte Software & Systems, UKOLN HCI Department, University of Bath

A centre of expertise in digital information management Introduction UKOLN, the University of Bath HCI Group Why this session?

A centre of expertise in digital information management Why do projects fail? Project Impaired Factors % of the Responses 1. Incomplete Requirements 13.1% 2. Lack of User Involvement 12.4% 3. Lack of Resources 10.6% 4. Unrealistic Expectations 9.9% 5. Lack of Executive Support 9.3% 6. Changing Requirements & Specifications 8.7% 7. Lack of Planning 8.1% 8. Didn't Need It Any Longer 7.5% 9. Lack of IT Management 6.2% 10. Technology Illiteracy 4.3% 11. Other 9.9%

A centre of expertise in digital information management Introducing usability Definition: the measure of a product’s potential to accomplish the goals of a user How easy a user interface is to understand and use Ability of a system to be used [easily? Efficiently? Quickly?] The people who use the project can accomplish their tasks quickly and easily

A centre of expertise in digital information management Assumptions There are several dimensions to usability –Focus on users –‘People use products to be productive’ –Users are busy people trying to accomplish tasks quickly –Users decide when a product is easy to use (Adapted from Redish & Dumas, A Practical Guide to User Testing)

A centre of expertise in digital information management However… Are users always busy? Does this imply that usability is only present in the workplace?! Effectiveness vs. efficiency vs. satisfaction Do users know when a product is ready? Do all users agree about usability? Is usability actually measurable? Is there one statistic that == ‘% usability’?

A centre of expertise in digital information management Elements of usability Nielsen refers to five elements or components of usability: –Learnability –Efficiency –Memorability –Errors –Satisfaction –Usability Engineering, 1993, p.26 These may not be of equal importance in all cases.

A centre of expertise in digital information management In other words… Usability depends on context –What does the user want to do? –Who is the user? –What’s the user’s perspective on life? Related to: –Internationalisation; cultural, social –Task analysis; working out what the user wants to do (what the goal is) and how he/she would expect to accomplish it

A centre of expertise in digital information management Science vs craft Formal approaches: –Research-driven –‘hard science’ –Laboratory-based Informal approaches: –Naturalistic, qualitative observations –Informal setting

A centre of expertise in digital information management A note about automated testing/validation ‘Should be’ vs ‘is’ – model vs reality Great handwriting does not guarantee a compellingly readable result Temptation to test the (computationally) obvious

A centre of expertise in digital information management Scenario-based user testing Based around tasks Simple scenarios (‘hypothetical stories’/’abstract-level test cases’): –For a company web page, locating and using contact details –Registration and login to a wiki Process: provide a task and ask the user to complete it –It is important to test the right tasks!

A centre of expertise in digital information management The test process A facilitator with detailed knowledge about the site/software is chosen to oversee the test –They must take care not to influence the user’s behaviour! The tester (user) is briefed about the site/software They then go through each scenario –‘Think-aloud method’ – describing and explaining actions –‘Talk-aloud method’ – describing without explanation (considered more accurate) The facilitator keeps notes and prompts the user where necessary Alternatively/additionally, the session can be videoed

A centre of expertise in digital information management Creating scenarios Must be: –Motivating –Credible –Complex –Provide easy-to-evaluate results An Introduction to Scenario Testing, Cem Kaner, Florida Tech, June 2003 –Can be gleaned from documented requirements?