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Usability Evaluation

welcome > work > case study: usability engineering

Definition:	Usability means making products and systems easier to use, and matching them more closely to user needs and requirements. The international standard, ISO 9241-11, provides guidance on usability and defines it as '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'. Usability is about three main ideas: Effectiveness - can users complete tasks, achieve goals with the product, i.e. do what they want to do? Efficiency - how much effort do users require to do this? (Often measured in time) Satisfaction – what do users think about the products ease of use? These are in turn affected by three other variables: The users - who is using the product? e.g. are they highly trained and experienced users, or novices? Their goals - what are the users trying to do with the product - does it support what they want to do with it? Their 'context of use' - where and how is the product being used? Usability should not be confused with 'functionality', however, as this is purely concerned with the functions and features of the product and has no bearing on whether users are able to use them or not. Increased functionality does not mean improved usability! (from Usability.Net)
Importance:	Usability engineering helps ensure users can complete their tasks using an user interface on a system without confusion in a timely, efficient and effective (successful) manner. Users who cannot complete their tasks on a Web site, for example, will form a negative impression of that site. This translates into diminished customer loyalty and users leaving the site. It is important to note that usability engineering as a discipline is more than just testing - it is also about training, a view that was expressed in an article by John S. Rhodes.. Having noted this, the example below does illustrate the technique of usability testing in the example provided.
Client	Tao.ca
Project:	Case study of the tao.ca web site usability evaluation
Role:	Business Analyst utilizing usability evaluation best practices
Situation:	A Toronto, Ontario based community clearinghouse for politically active citizens recently undertook a web site redesign, but problems with their navigational scheme still remained.
Analysis:	While the redesign was an improvement on the previous version of the site, enigmatic labeling (word choice) of the main categories of the site (found within the site's global navigation)– still plagued the site, potentially preventing users of the site from completing their tasks.
Solution:	Usability testing on the navigational scheme of the site was conducted with 7 people, and a 17 page case study detailing the results of the testing was produced. I conducted a usability test using a combination of a task analysis combined with the card sort method to elucidate the user’s thoughts about this particular site, and to measure their comprehension of any perceived site navigation. The categories used in navigating the site (often referred to as the high-level structure) were tested to see how users interacted with the navigation of the site - while not being hampered by the visual design of the site. The users I sampled would attempt a task, that of reorganizing the information on the site so that they could create some kind of meaningful navigational scheme. I felt that the card sort would be the most revealing way to measure user’s understanding of the web site structure. A cart sort elucidates both a visual representation and commentary on the user’s preference. It can also identify elements that can be difficult to categorize, find or understand. In this case, it was the easiest way to record the behavior of users and to identify trends or common responses for a Web site where the navigation is the main source of usability problem. The case study included the results of the card sort (including a visual representation of each participant's card sort), analysis of the result and details about the usability testing (script, cards used in the card sort, participant commentary, etc.). The fact that each user created entirely different groupings of the 26 cards in the card sort exercise speaks to the sense of confusion those users had in categorizing the cards. It also confirmed my hypothesis that the navigation scheme and labeling of the site needed to be improved.
Final Deliverable:	Final deliverable: Usability Engineering as presented in a case study (including visual representation of test results - all files open in a new window). Paper: case study (216k) Images: (note: smaller versions of both are included in the PDF above) site map (42k) card sort results (48k)

Other Examples

In addition to usability testing, I'm familiar with other techniques in user science, including usability heuristic analysis to evaluate designs and focus groups to evaluate requirements. You can read about applying the principles of usability below. All files open in a new window.

Name of Case Study	Deliverables available
"The ICQ.com Web site redesign"	Paper: Case study (295k)
"Applying usability to an online application form"	Paper: Case study and use case (172k)
"Applying usability to an online application form"	Image: siteflow (35k) (note: a smaller version of the site flow is included with the case study)