What is usability?
Usability is a collective term indicating how user-friendly
a product is. Usable software should (among other
things) exhibit the following features:
- It should be easy to learn
- It should be efficient to use
- The operating moves should be easy to remember
(recognition)
- As few errors as possible should occur during
operation
- The software should be considered easy to use
(subjective)
What are usability inspections?
Usability inspections are checks of the usability of
software programs or program parts (they are therefore
validation processes). These inspections should take
place as early as possible in the development
process in order that the development work
remains true to the user's needs; prototypes are
particularly suitable for such inspections.
There are two key methods for performing usability
inspections:
"Heuristic evaluation":
In this case, a user interface is checked by usability
experts (this is generally done using
criteria checklists). In this way, an amazing number of
usability problems can be identified (even in the form of
a "dry course" if only written material and
mask patterns are available).
"Usability testing":
This method videos test subjects operating
a program. The test subjects use the "thinking
aloud" technique which requires them to speak aloud
what they are actually thinking. This simple method is
very effective. If three test persons in a row come up
against the same problem, this will generally be an area
which requires attention ...
Where can I obtain further information?
The usability engineering concept is still in its infancy
and has not yet become widely distributed. We ourselves
used a number of usability tests in developing stdSEM and
used these findings to improve the user interface. This
allowed us to gather valuable know-how. If you are
interested in this concept, please contact your stdSEM
contact person.
Introductory literature:
Usability in Practice. Published by Michael E.
Wiklund. Boston University Press 1994.
Jakob Nielsen: Usability Engineering. Academic Press
1993.
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