Chapter 9 Summary
Ensuring Usability
Ron Schulz, Joseph Haack
Objectives and Outcomes
-characterize usability and understand the crucial role that its principles play in allowing people to accomplish tasks.
-understand factors that characterize usability and usability testing.
-differentiate and use and use text based testing, expert based testing, and user based testing
-identify, plan, and conduct various types of usability tests based on user and task analysis.
-define accessibility and understand the relationship between accessibility and usability.
Characterizing Usability
-usability is the process of putting user concerns and needs first over text features.
-the meaning of the term "text" has been expanded in this chapter to include: a combination of written words and visuals.
Critical principles of usability:
learnability
efficiency
memorability
error recovery
satisfaction
Characterizing Usability Testing
-Definition of: a process that gathers specific information about use from those who are similar to the intended users.
Purposes:
Immediate- ID problems prior to text's release
Long-term- to maintain a historical record of benchmarks and previous results to used for reference during development
-provides info about the way the users think, believe, feel and perform
-Usability testing ensures high-quality texts.
-Limitations: results are only as good as the test itself. They can’t be conducted on everyone in every situation. Keep the following in mind when designing a test: participants, situation, techniques, and procedures.
Types of Usability Testing
Text-based: incorporates checklists, readability tests, and computer programs to assess a text's features.
-Microsoft Word provides 2 types of readability test scores: Flesch Reading Ease (indicates how easy the text is to read), and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (rates text based on US grade level).
Expert-Based: used for assessing technical accuracy, selecting supporting evidence, and identifying the level of detail.
User-Based: gets information based on users. The US government urges the use of such testing because of its importance.
Concurrent Testing- creates realistic scenarios for the user to respond to
Retrospective Testing- includes questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and audience feedback cards.
Conducting Usability Testing
Consider the following issues when planning testing:
1. Goals
2. Criticality
3. Constraints
4. Schedule
5. Involvement
6. Timing
7. Goodness of fit
8. Ease of use
9. Usable Form
10. Updating
User Analysis- investigating the ways users think and how they differ individually. Usability is determined by how well the text works for users who want to accomplish certain tasks.
Task Analysis- selecting representative users who fit the target profile. Be sure to consider the following criteria that the users will face: task steps, resources, constraints, task environment, problems, and frustrations.
Implementing the test plan (steps)
1. Locate Representative Test Participants
2. Develop Strategies and Pilot Test for Inquiry
3. Identify and Prepare a Test Locations and Materials
4. Explain the Test Procedures to Participants
5. Conduct the Tests
Reporting Test Results
First, review data- then determine the critical findings. Then, organize the findings into prioritized categories. Once categories are organized and established, prepare a test report that includes the procedures, participants and findings.
Ensuring Accessibility
Accessibility focuses on providing access to information and services- especially to those who have disabilities (mobility, hearing, cognition, vision).
Principles of Accessibility:
· Equitable use
· flexibility in use
· simple and intuitive use
· perceptible information
· tolerance for error
· low physical effort
· size and space for approach and use
Accessibility and Electronic Communication
Websites need to be aware of and accommodating to their diverse audiences in order to optimize their objectives of sharing information.
Accessibility and Gov’t Regulations
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that the electronic and information technology of federal agencies, vendors and contractors must be accessible to ALL people with disabilities.
22 comments:
Usability is something a lot of Minnesota State students are concerned with right now on campus with the school's switch to Microsoft Vista. The programs are slightly different for those of us who were really comfortable with Windows XP. Even just trying to find simple functions in Word has become a thinking process now. I think that the switch is necessary, but however I find myself less efficient when using these programs. I will have to use the online tutorials to get myself back up to speed. I think the school should have some part in this education tho. Maybe sponsor some tutorials for the faculty and staff.
I don't think that usability testing is something that most people use regularly. I've never had to do any usability testing as intensely as outlined in this chapter. There have been times where I participated in usability testing for other people, but it usually consisted of a small amount of feedback and never any rigorous testing. Usability testing can be extremely helpful in designing products and documents, but I don't believe that it's something most people take into account unless there is a specific need for it.
I too am not very familiar with the concepts presented in this article. The testing concepts are ones that the average person is not going to use unless they are looking to do something more specific. However using computer systems makes it much easier to determine all the results, seen this done in classes here, only one but i feel they will be in more use, as we move to computers instead of using paper.
This chapter talks about usability. Our campus at Mankato has a lot of really great sources, but a lot of the time many people do not even know how to use them. These resources are there for us then are not being used or being used correctly. But when they are being used correctly then are very useful. We just need to find the time or right person to teach us how to use these resources.
I don't think usability testing is used very much on a day to day basis. Yes there are new programs out there but we end up just using them and get used to what they are and figure out how they work. We don't necessarily test how our use of it is going to effect our "text", we just jump into what we're doing. I'm sure there are bigger uses for usability testing though.
I feel in all of the past chapters I have had previous knowledge on the topics. This chapter, however, has a lot of new information for me. I've never participated in a usability test that I know of, unless you include a simple online D2L quiz from a proffesor asking what techniques in class was most beneficial such as the lectures, the online lectures/powerpoints, and the individual and team clicker questions. I think that usability testing is good though, to determine if the info was useful and understandable.
I personally have never done this before so I really cant relate to usability. I'm sure that i will have to do it sometime but as of now i haven't. I can use this chapter to help me when the time comes because it seems pretty helpful.
I haven't really heard of usability testing until this chapter. I also haven't really had to use it before. Like others have said MSU has a lot of great resources like tutorials if something is difficult. The article mentioned something about a government law making things accessible for people with disabilities. I think that's important but may be hard for a person writing an article to make it accessible to that particular audience what there are so many different disabilities.
I have once taken a usability testing for my professor who was working for the AARP website. He was basically concerened with how fast the user could locate the information he/she was looking for. He was mainly focused at the efficiency of the website. I guess that the usability testing that I had undergone is the similar to what this chapter is conveying.
Usability is very important in many things. If you were devoloping computer software you would want the users of the software to be able to use it and feel comfortable with. To reach this stage would take many tests and walkthroughs so the final product is something consumers want.
I personally haven't had to use usability testing methods. The methods that the book brings up I can see are useful if you had to do it though. I also agree with the first comment the schools switch to vista I don't think is going well. It's a lot harder to figure out what's going on using vista than it was using XP before.
I have done a little bit of usability testing. A few of us at the tae kwon do school rewrote our student manual. First we had ourselves(the instructors/writers) read through it looking for information, then we had a few different black belts read through it, and got their feedback. Lastly, we had a couple of the lower ranking color belts, both kids and adults, look up information in it to see if they could find what they were looking for. Using the information, we adjusted our final revision a little bit and then went with that. It turned out well, mostly due to the feedback from those we had test it. It wasn't nearly as specific as this chapter outlines, but then it does seem that this chapter is targeting usability on a larger scale, for larger products/programs.
I have never used usability testing before and I'm pretty sure I have never heard about it before. I think it is a useful tool that can be used in certain situations. Its something I don't see many people using this too often.
I've heard of usability testing before, but I have never used one or participated in one. From what I read in the chapter them seem to be a great way to help people understand how to do things. This chapter explained a lot to me what exactly goes into usability testing.
This chapter is kind of a new subject for me. I am not to familiar with the term usability. However I think that it is a good idea and that it can be helpful, But i don't think that this is something that most people are aware of or that most people use.
Usability is something you don't really think about, but do every time you read something more than a sentence or two long. It seems like once in a while you read a paper and you think it was written poorly. The writer may have had all of the information and it was usable for them, but was difficult for you to find the information important to you, the reader. I like how "droesj" commented on Microsoft Vista. Almost everyone i've talked to about it doesn't like it either. Good job guys.
I was unaware of any of these usability software programs until now. In my current occupation i create technical documents for instructional uses. I think it would be worth a try to see just how usable the information really is. Even though a group of engineers look intensly at my instructions for any usability problems I think these sooftware programs could add something helpful.
This chapter is pretty much new to me as just the new windo vista program. I never heard about ensuring usability in tech writing before. Ensuring usability means making sure that usable informations are well ensure and secure. But however, my question is how can we relate this to tech-writing and other related field. Like my field is medicine. But good job in making this chapter pretty much to understand. I think i have learnt new thing in tech writing.
I personally don't believe i have done a usability test. I assume most of it is used in the work force when you must master a certain program and the company wants to insure that you are capable in its processes, and if not maybe get a different software. However with all these changes in the various softwares it might be a good idea if the class is computer reliant that they give a usability test before they get too into the course.
Usability and accessibility are things that I do not believe that students should be responsible for, but they are subjects that directly affect us. I think that companies that create the instructions, software, etc. should be the ones that we depend on for usablility. This is one of those subjects that if it is done correctly, you probably won't notice anything. However, if it is done incorrectly, will make your life much harder. For something as simple as turning a computer off, usablitity can play a huge role. If you just turn the power button off every time, in the long run your computer will suffer. However, following the shut-down procedure will ensure a longer life for your system. This is why usability is so important. Creating directions for people to follow or setting up skimatics for workers to read, especially in the technologically dependent world we live in today, will only continue to grow as a necessesity as time goes on. It is not part of a person's evolution to understand technology. We can only hope there are people out there that can understand our needs, and be able to interpret those needs into an accessible and usable procedure.
or diagram.
or set of directions.
or map.
and so on.
Usability is a big part of everyones life. If people didnt know how to use the car they drive everyday our world would be totally different. Computers are another good example. I would not be able to blog this right now if I was not familiar on how to use this computer so usability is a big part in our lives.
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