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Lesson 11 - Usability

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13 views3 pages

Lesson 11 - Usability

Uploaded by

brianndesa262
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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USABILITY, ERGONOMICS AND USER SATISFACTION

Definitions
Usability addresses the relationship during interaction between tools and their users
Ergonomics: the science that studies the relationship of humans to their working environment and
seeks to design devices, machines and workspace so that people interact safely and also improve
their working conditions and increase efficiency
User Satisfaction refers to the degree to which a user feels he has accomplished his intended task
as facilitated by a tool

Importance of the 3 issues


User’s point of view
Can make the difference between performing a task accurately and completely or not
Can mean the difference between enjoying the process or being frustrated
Developers point of view
They could mean the success or failure of a system
Management point of view
Poor acceptance of the software can mean reduced productivity to a level lower than when without
the software.

Understanding the issues


Supportiveness: how much support to offer? What is good support?
Balance: striking balance between what experts wants to offer and what user wants. How many
of users opinion should be included
Appropriate depth and breadth: users should get what they require quickly. Issues like screen
density and amount of links. How much info should be offered on window?
Technological advancements should handle satisfaction of different users
Careful analysis of the human activity, demands on the person and the effects of any changes to
this

Implications for s/w development


 Offer feedback facility for users in order to improve former systems
 Having timely and current information by making sure they have features to allow updates
 Consistency of information format. to make entry of data easier and also viewing of
information more convenient for users
 Increase variety of I/O media for ergonomics purposes e.g. voice input
 User interface tools are based on prototypes that have been tested to allow for
improvements
 Most systems now offer users ability to customize the interface to their preference
 Institutions have put filters in their machines to reduce effect of light on the users
Challenges
 Making a system that considers level of experience, skill, motivation and education of users
is difficult because no definite set standard
 Cooperation between users and designers is difficult because ideas are many and hard to
agree
 The cost of obtaining feedback from users may be too expensive in relation to the budget
 Approach of ergonomics should be based on best available science or research, this
difficult to achieve science is dynamic
 In ergonomics difficulty of users having to learn new systems in order to increase
efficiency and difficulty of making a working environment with no repetitive stress injuries
 Lack of ergonomics program to HCI experts who don’t incorporate ergonomics in their
design as they don’t know how to do so
Trends
 Systems being developed are tending to be more web based
 Advances in technology are more user oriented for more mileage over the
competition…products have more user friendly features
 Current trend of “Age related design” aspects of this design include physiological (e.g.
range of limb movements, vision etc)
 Attractive use of media i.e. use of animation, sound and graphics in order to invoke
motivation in users
 Information system design of signs and symbols e.g. icons that ensure meaning is quickly
and safely understood
 Increasing variety of I/O, move from reliance on keyboard and VGA for I/O to use of
speech for both input and output.
Conclusion
 Though difficult to achieve a system designer must carry out intensive research on multiple
group of users to capture all user requirements and try representing as many as possible
into their application.
 User satisfaction can only be achieved after all the issues on usability and ergonomics have
been addressed.
 There is a need to define standards for software design so that all applications can ensure
a level of usability, ergonomics and satisfaction.

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