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Evaluation 1. Introduction & Usability Inspection. Objectives. By the end of class you will be able to… Describe different usability inspection techniques and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of usability inspection methods.
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Evaluation 1 Introduction & Usability Inspection
Objectives By the end of class you will be able to… • Describe different usability inspection techniques and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of usability inspection methods. • Conduct a heuristic evaluation and cognitive walkthrough of a user interface.
What might you hope to learn from a usability evaluation? • Is the interface… • Effective? • Engaging? • Efficient? • Easy to learn? • Equally usable by different groups? • What problems do users have? • Suggestions to improve the interface • …
How could you evaluate an interface? • With users • User testing (after the midterm) • Without users • Usability inspection (today!) • Cognitive walkthrough • Heuristic evaluation • User modeling (Later)
Usability inspection • A ‘discount’ method of usability evaluation where an interface is evaluated by usability experts rather than end users. • Usually several evaluators work independently, then debrief together later.
Heuristic evaluation • A type of usability inspection • HCI experts (sometimes also domain experts) review an interface design with respect to a set of predefined heuristics
Evaluation of a banking system: How many inspectors? Jakob Nielsen - www.useit.com
How many inspectors? 75% 35% Jakob Nielsen - www.useit.com
Heuristic Evaluation Activity • Evaluation of Fugu
What is a cognitive walkthough (CW)? • A type of usability inspection where experts ‘walk’ through an interface following a specified set of tasks. • Step through the task. At each step, ask yourself four questions.
CW Questions • Will users be trying to produce whatever effect the action has? • Will users see the control (button, menu, switch, etc.) for the action? • Once users find the control, will they recognize that it produces the effect they want? • After the action, will users understand the feedback they get so they can go on to the next action with confidence?
CW Example - Rapid Transit Ticket Machine • User wishes to purchase a round-trip ticket to Dragon Plaza. • The ticket costs $17.50 but the user doesn’t know this yet. • The user has only $10, but doesn’t know this yet either. This example taken from http://asi-www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/informatik/SE_Evaluation/html/pages/walk.htm
Step 1: Enter Destination or Journey Type • User can do steps 1 and 2 in any order • Or user can enter desired fare using keypad
Design Flaw no. 1: Option to indicate journey type first is not made sufficiently evident. • Solution:
Design Flaw no. 2: No display of total money received. • Solution:
Design Flaw no. 3: No means of retrieving money deposited. • Solution:
Cognitive Walkthrough Activity Press Start
What are the advantages & disadvantages of usability inspection?
Key points Usability inspection… • Is quick and inexpensive • May miss important problems or identify false ones • Complements user testing