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CREATING “SWEARLESS” HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACES

CREATING “SWEARLESS” HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACES. Presented to IEEE Computer Society Rochester Section Presented by Stan Caplan President Usability Associates. Gj]cbi. March 20, 2002. OCCUPATIONAL LABELS. Human Factors Usability Engineering User-Centered Design

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CREATING “SWEARLESS” HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACES

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  1. CREATING “SWEARLESS” HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACES Presented to IEEE Computer Society Rochester Section Presented by Stan Caplan President Usability Associates Gj]cbi March 20, 2002

  2. OCCUPATIONAL LABELS • Human Factors • Usability Engineering • User-Centered Design • Software Ergonomics • User Interface Design • Engineering Psychology • User Experience Design Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  3. USABILITY DEFINITION • Effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which specified users can achieve specific goals in particular environments Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  4. 15-SECOND COMMERCIAL • Help companies make products that are easy for their customers to use and information systems that are easy for their employees to use. • Help companies make products that you and I won’t swear at when we try to use them. Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  5. AGENDA • What are “swearless” HCIs? • How do you develop them? • Can you afford them? Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  6. Useful Usable Comfortable/Safe Engaging CHARACTERISTICS OF “SWEARLESS” PRODUCTS Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  7. TYPES OF USABILITY • Apparent Usability • Learnability • Experienced Use Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  8. USABILITY MUSIC • “I can do that”. I don’t think it will overwhelm me”. • “It works the way I expect it to work” • “It does the right things to help me do my tasks effectively and efficiently” Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  9. DEVELOPING THE MUSIC • Appoint a project “conductor” • Institutionalize usability process • User centered • Task oriented • Early • Often Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  10. PROJECT SUCCESS CRITERIA IMPORT. POINTS 1. User Involvement 19 2. Executive Management Support 16 3. Clear Statement of Requirements 15 4. Proper Planning 11 5. Realistic Expectations 10 6. Smaller Project Milestones 9 7. Competent Staff 8 8. Ownership 6 9. Clear Vision & Objectives 3 10. Hard-Working, Focused Staff 3 TOTAL 100 KEY SUCCESS FACTOR SURVEY OF IT EXECUTIVE MANAGERS The Standish Group, Unfinished Voyages, www.standishgroup.com 1996 Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  11. INSTITUTIONALIZE USABILITY PROCESS • Collect Voice of the Customer • Establish usability design requirements • Apply usability design principles • Iterate usability testing • Evaluate usability during field testing Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  12. 1. VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER • Users • Demographics • Tasks • Current, Competitive, Non • Usage Environment • Venue • System capabilities/limitations/settings Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  13. VOC METHODS • Contextual field studies • Usage, perceptions • New users, experienced users • I-S Mapping • Evolutionary product • Wizard of Oz • Revolutionary product • Early development Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  14. Define usability features Rate Importance and Satisfaction Plot results and analyze I-S MAPPING METHOD • Systematic • Easy to do • Prioritizes development effort Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  15. EXAMPLE - FEATURES • How easy or difficult is it to • Install application • Edit photos • Insert tables • Employ progressive disclosure • Incorporate sound • ………. • ……………. Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  16. MAPPING e h k j IMPORTANCE f a d i l c b g SATISFACTION Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  17. Man behind the “screen” Participant EXPERIMENT ROOM CONTROL ROOM WIZARD OF OZ • Early VOC – determine user interaction characteristics • Partial prototype • Immature technology Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  18. Possible requirements statements • Absolute • Relative • Guidelines 2. USABILITY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS • Incorporate in requirements document • Track Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  19. ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENTS EXAMPLE: Easy to Read • Physical Measurement: • Min Contrast Ratio = 3.0 • Preference • 80% of people are very satisfied or satisfied with readability • Performance • All people can correctly read at least 95% of given phrases Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  20. RELATIVE REQUIREMENTS EXAMPLE: Easy to Read • Physical Measurement • Min Contrast Ratio = > benchmark product • Preference • 90% of people prefer readability to that of leading competitor • Performance • % of correctly read phrases is greater than for product XYZ Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  21. IMPLICATIONS Absolute vs. Relative vs. Guidelines • Difficulty of specifying (e.g. conditions, equipment) • Meaningfulness of specification • Cost, time for measuring/testing against requirements Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  22. PRIORITIZE EFFORT • Be more particular for the more important requirements • Use guidelines where necessary Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  23. 3.APPLY DESIGN PRINCIPLES • Filter for relevancy • Make appropriate tradeoffs • Don’t compromise basic principles Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  24. COMPUTER USER’S BILL OF RIGHTS • The user has the right to • Know all system requirements and limitations • A system that performs exactly as promised • Easy-to-use instructions • Be in control of the system • Know task performance and progress • Easily install and uninstall SW & HW systems Adapted from Claire-Marie Karat, IBM, Communications of the ACM, Dec, ’98 Also see http://www.interface-design.net/UsersRights_files/frame.htm Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  25. GENERAL PRINCIPLES • Consistency - Perform similar tasks in similar ways • Compatibility - Align the method of operation with users’ expectations based on their knowledge of other types of products and the “outside world” • Consideration of user resources - Take into account the demands on the users’ physical and mental resources during interaction with the product • Feedback - Acknowledge user actions and give a meaningful indication about the results of these actions From Jordan, Patrick W., An Introduction to Usability, Taylor and Francis, Bristol, PA 1998 Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  26. GENERAL PRINCIPLES • Error prevention and recovery - Minimize the likelihood of user error and if errors do occur, provide for quick and easy recovery (easy to detect; negligible and reversible consequences) • User control - Maximize user control over the product’s state and its actions • Visual clarity - Display information so it can be read quickly and easily without causing confusion • Prioritization of functionality and information - Make the most important functionality and information easily accessible to the user • Explicitness - Design in cues that convey functionality and method of operation From Jordan, Patrick W., An Introduction to Usability, Taylor and Francis, Bristol, PA 1998 Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  27. CONSISTENCY Keyboard Shortcuts For more UI and Web Bloopers, see www.interface-design.net/bloopers Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  28. COMPATIBILITY STEREOTYPES - SWITCH ICON UPDOWN Louder Softer ________________ _______________ ________________ _______________ ________________ _______________ ________________ _______________ ________________ _______________ ________________ _______________ Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  29. CONSIDERATION OF USER RESOURCES Which one is easier to open? Why? Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  30. Is this water safe to drink? VISUAL CLARITY Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  31. ERROR PREVENTION Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  32. EXPLICITNESS Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  33. SAMPLE CHECK LIST FOR WEB SITE DESIGN • Content/Presentation • Readability • Legibility • Consistency • Relevance • Structure • Logical flow • Affinity clustering • Placement of navigation aids • Consistency • Loading time • Navigation Aids • Linking obviousness • Link target size • Consistency • Feedback • Timeliness • Obviousness • Consistency • Directness (i.e. no lookup) • Understandability Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  34. WEB SITE USABILITY • Design and Evaluation • www.useit.com • www.nist.gov(Links to other sites) • Accessibility • www.w3.org/wai (Web Accessibility Initiative) Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  35. 4. ITERATE USABILITY TESTING • Recruit representative users • Perform tasks on prototype or SW build • Paper/pencil, Visual Basic, SW Version • Measure performance and preference • Produce deliverables • Report or presentation of results • Videotaped highlights of user interaction • Recommended UI improvements Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  36. Preference (Reporting) • Absolute Satisfaction • Relative Satisfaction • Choice • Perception • Opinion MEASURES OF USABILITY • Performance (Behavior) • Task success • Task time • Decision time • Reaction time • Errors • Deviations Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  37. BENEFITS • Improved acceptance • Willingness to use • Competitive advantage • Apparent usability • Actual usability • Trade publication image Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  38. BENEFITS • Cost Savings • Decreased training • Decreased errors • Decreased help calls • Increased productivity • Fewer instructional materials • Less installation time • Avoid expensive late design changes Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  39. TEST ASSUMPTIONS System to be used by 250 employees Fully burdened employee wages=$40 per hour User interface tested by 10 participants ANALYSIS SUMMARY BENEFITS $69,000 COSTS $16,725 FIRST YEAR SAVINGS $52,275 COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR USABILITY TESTING Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  40. BENEFITS BREAKDOWN See last page for detailed calculations of benefits and costs Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  41. AGENDA • What are “swearless” HCIs? • How do you develop them? • Can you afford them? • Can you afford not to develop them? Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  42. 5. EVALUATE USABILITY IN FIELD • IS Mapping • Contextual field study • Interview • Observation of environment • Focus group Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  43. from Marketing Makable Software to Making Marketable Software FINAL THOUGHT User-Centered Design can help transform your development philosophy Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

  44. CONTACT INFORMATION Stan Caplan Usability Associates (716) 442-0499 scaplan@usabilityassociates.com www.usabilityassociates.com Stan Caplan, Usability Associates

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