Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
INF 385P Introduction to Usability
IX Lab Tour
Usability and Testing:
A method and lab
demonstration
Sheng-Cheng (Hans) Huang
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
1/12
Agenda
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
• What is usability?
• What should we do in usability testing?
• An example of usability testing.
• A tour to the IX lab.
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
2/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
• A tool that is user friendly to get things done.
• Designed with the users' psychology and
physiology in mind (human factors and
ergonamics)
• More efficient to use, more effective, easier to
learn, and more satisfying to use.
• The extent to which a product can be used by
specified users to achieve specified goals with
effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a
specified context of use. -- ISO 9241-11 (1998) Guidance on Usability
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
3/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
Effectiveness
Functionality, Utility
Error-free, User-centered
Usability
Satisfaction
Efficiency
Learnability, Memorability
The Three Components of Usability
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
4/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
• A good tool that meets usability requirements:
Hammer Your Thoughts into Unity – W. B. Yeats
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
5/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
Why do we need usability testing?
VS.
We need to know which one is actually better!
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
6/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
Another Reason: Save Money!
• An investment in
usability engineering
can produce a return
on investment in the
range of 3:1 to 100:1.
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
7/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
What is Usability Testing?
• Usability testing measures the usability of
the object.
• Usability testing usually involves a
controlled experiment.
• Uncover difficulties.
• Discover errors and areas of improvement.
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
8/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
Test Preparation
• Experimental design
• Scenarios and tasks
• Participant recruitment (IRB, sample size)
• Performance measures: time on task, accuracy,
and Recall
• Satisfaction measures: emotional/subjective
response
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
9/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
Empirical Evaluation of a Popular Cellular
Phone’s Menu System: Theory Meets Practice
Huang, S., Chou, I., & Bias, R. G. (2006). Journal of Usability Studies, 2(1), 91-108.
• Determine the usability of a
popular cellular phone’s menu
system
• Uncover critical factors
influencing user performance in
menu selection and areas of
improvement.
• Demonstrate the validity of
paper-prototyping
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
10/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
A Scenario-and-task based Experiment of Paper Prototyping
A repeated measure design with 19
participants comparing two menu
architectures.
Figure 1 and 2: The paper simulation of menu selection activities on cell
phones and an example of a participant's traces of menu selections
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
11/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab Tour
A well designed test can:
• Apply statistical analysis
on usability measures.
• Identify errors and
possible causes.
• Provide
suggestions/solutions on
areas of improvements.
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
12/12
Agenda
Usability
Usability Testing
Method Demo
IX Lab
Lab Tour
Tour
IX
A Typical Usability Lab can
•
•
•
•
Observe users
Record user behavior
Analyze the data
Report the results
Let’s go and see what IX lab can do!
02/15/2006
School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin
13/12