CREATING “SWEARLESS” HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERFACES

Presented toIEEE Computer SocietyRochester Section

Presented by Stan CaplanPresidentUsability Associates

March 20, 2002

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OCCUPATIONAL LABELS

Human Factors

Usability Engineering

User-Centered Design

Software Ergonomics

User Interface Design

Engineering Psychology

User Experience Design

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USABILITY DEFINITION

Effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which specified users can achieve specific goals in particular environments

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15-SECOND COMMERCIAL

Help companies make products that are easy for their customers to use and information systems that are easy for their employees to use.

Help companies make products that you and I won’t swear at when we try to use them.

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AGENDA

What are “swearless” HCIs?How do you develop them?Can you afford them?

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CHARACTERISTICS OF “SWEARLESS” PRODUCTS

Useful

Usable

Comfortable/Safe

Engaging

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TYPES OF USABILITY

Apparent Usability

Learnability

Experienced Use

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USABILITY MUSIC

“I can do that”. I don’t think it will overwhelm me”.

“It works the way I expect it to work”

“It does the right things to help me do my tasks effectively and efficiently”

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DEVELOPING THE MUSIC

Appoint a project “conductor”Institutionalize usability process

•User centered•Task oriented•Early•Often

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KEY SUCCESS FACTOR

PROJECT SUCCESS CRITERIA IMPORT. POINTS

1. User Involvement 19

2. Executive Management Support 16

3. Clear Statement of Requirements 15

4. Proper Planning 11

5. Realistic Expectations 10

6. Smaller Project Milestones 9

7. Competent Staff 8

8. Ownership 6

9. Clear Vision & Objectives 3

10. Hard-Working, Focused Staff 3

TOTAL 100

The Standish Group, Unfinished Voyages,www.standishgroup.com1996

SURVEY OF IT EXECUTIVE MANAGERS

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INSTITUTIONALIZE USABILITY PROCESS

1. Collect Voice of the Customer

2. Establish usability design requirements

3. Apply usability design principles

4. Iterate usability testing

5. Evaluate usability during field testing

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1. VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER

Users• Demographics• Tasks• Current, Competitive, Non

Usage Environment• Venue• System capabilities/limitations/settings

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VOC METHODS

Contextual field studies• Usage, perceptions• New users, experienced users

I-S Mapping• Evolutionary product

Wizard of Oz• Revolutionary product• Early development

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I-S MAPPING METHOD

SystematicEasy to doPrioritizes development effort

1. Define usability features2. Rate Importance and Satisfaction3. Plot results and analyze

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EXAMPLE - FEATURES

How easy or difficult is it toa) Install applicationb) Edit photosc) Insert tablesd) Employ progressive disclosuree) Incorporate soundf) ……….g) …………….

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MAPPING

SATISFACTION

IMPORTANCE

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da

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i

b

je

f

k

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WIZARD OF OZ

Man behind the “screen”

CONTROL ROOM

Participant

EXPERIMENT ROOM

Early VOC – determine user interaction characteristics•Partial prototype•Immature technology

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2. USABILITY DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

Incorporate in requirements document

Track

Possible requirements statements• Absolute• Relative• Guidelines

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ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENTS

EXAMPLE: Easy to Read

Physical Measurement:• Min Contrast Ratio = 3.0

Preference• 80% of people are very satisfied or satisfied with

readability

Performance• All people can correctly read at least 95% of given

phrases

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RELATIVE REQUIREMENTS

EXAMPLE: Easy to Read

Physical Measurement• Min Contrast Ratio = > benchmark product

Preference• 90% of people prefer readability to that of leading

competitor

Performance• % of correctly read phrases is greater than for

product XYZ

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IMPLICATIONS

Absolute vs. Relative vs. Guidelines

Difficulty of specifying (e.g. conditions, equipment)

Meaningfulness of specification

Cost, time for measuring/testing against requirements

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•Be more particular for the more important requirements

•Use guidelines where necessary

PRIORITIZE EFFORT

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3.APPLY DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Filter for relevancyMake appropriate tradeoffsDon’t compromise basic principles

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COMPUTER USER’S BILL OF RIGHTS

The user has the right to• Know all system requirements and

limitations • A system that performs exactly as promised• Easy-to-use instructions• Be in control of the system• Know task performance and progress• Easily install and uninstall SW & HW systems

Adapted from Claire-Marie Karat, IBM, Communications of the ACM, Dec, ’98

Also see http://www.interface-design.net/UsersRights_files/frame.htm

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GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Consistency - Perform similar tasks in similar ways

Compatibility - Align the method of operation with users’ expectations based on their knowledge of other types of products and the “outside world”  

Consideration of user resources - Take into account the demands on the users’ physical and mental resources during interaction with the product

Feedback - Acknowledge user actions and give a meaningful indication about the results of these actions

From Jordan, Patrick W., An Introduction to Usability, Taylor and Francis, Bristol, PA 1998

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GENERAL PRINCIPLES Error prevention and recovery - Minimize the

likelihood of user error and if errors do occur, provide for quick and easy recovery (easy to detect; negligible and reversible consequences)

User control - Maximize user control over the product’s state and its actions

Visual clarity - Display information so it can be read quickly and easily without causing confusion

Prioritization of functionality and information - Make the most important functionality and information easily accessible to the user

Explicitness - Design in cues that convey functionality and method of operationFrom Jordan, Patrick W., An Introduction to Usability, Taylor and Francis, Bristol, PA 1998

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CONSISTENCY

Keyboard Shortcuts

For more UI and Web Bloopers, see www.interface-design.net/bloopers

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COMPATIBILITY

STEREOTYPES - SWITCH ICON

UP DOWN

Louder Softer________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________

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CONSIDERATION OF USER RESOURCES

Which one is easier to open?

Why?

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VISUAL CLARITY

Is this water safe to drink?

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ERROR PREVENTION

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EXPLICITNESS

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SAMPLE CHECK LIST FOR WEB SITE DESIGN

Navigation Aids• Linking obviousness• Link target size• Consistency

Feedback• Timeliness• Obviousness• Consistency• Directness (i.e. no

lookup)• Understandability

Content/Presentation• Readability• Legibility• Consistency• Relevance

Structure• Logical flow• Affinity clustering• Placement of navigation

aids• Consistency• Loading time

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WEB SITE USABILITY

Design and Evaluation• www.useit.com• www.nist.gov (Links to other sites)

Accessibility• www.w3.org/wai (Web Accessibility

Initiative)

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4. ITERATE USABILITY TESTING

Recruit representative usersPerform tasks on prototype or SW

build• Paper/pencil, Visual Basic, SW Version

Measure performance and preferenceProduce deliverables

• Report or presentation of results• Videotaped highlights of user interaction• Recommended UI improvements

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MEASURES OF USABILITY

Performance (Behavior)

• Task success• Task time• Decision time• Reaction time• Errors• Deviations

Preference (Reporting)

• Absolute Satisfaction• Relative Satisfaction• Choice• Perception• Opinion

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BENEFITS

Improved acceptance• Willingness to use• Competitive advantage• Apparent usability• Actual usability • Trade publication image

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BENEFITS

Cost Savings• Decreased training• Decreased errors • Decreased help calls • Increased productivity• Fewer instructional materials • Less installation time• Avoid expensive late design changes

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COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR USABILITY TESTING

TEST ASSUMPTIONS System to be used by

250 employees Fully burdened

employee wages=$40 per hour

User interface tested by 10 participants

ANALYSIS SUMMARY BENEFITS $69,000 COSTS

$16,725

FIRST YEAR SAVINGS$52,275

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BENEFITS BREAKDOWN

Decreased Training $10,000

Decreased Errors $38,333

Decreased Help Calls $ 1,500

Increased Productivity

$19,167

TOTAL $69,000

Seelast page

fordetailed

calculationsof

benefitsand

costs

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AGENDA

What are “swearless” HCIs?How do you develop them?Can you afford them?Can you afford not to develop them?

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5. EVALUATE USABILITY IN FIELD

IS MappingContextual field study

• Interview• Observation of environment

Focus group

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FINAL THOUGHT

from

Marketing MakableSoftware

to

MakingMarketableSoftware

User-Centered Design can help transform your development philosophy

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Stan CaplanUsability Associates(716) 442-0499scaplan@usabilityassociates.comwww.usabilityassociates.com