Usability Inspections


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.


Siemens AG Österreich, Program and Systems Engineering PSE
Contact: stdSEM Webmaster
Last modified: 08/27/98 15:42
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