Crash Course in Usability

Human Factors International,

Inc.

2020.2
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 3
ROI for User-Centered Design.......................................................................................................... 3
Defining Usability............................................................................................................................... 3
What UX People Do.......................................................................................................................... 4
User-Centered Design Process......................................................................................................... 4
User-Centered Design Principles....................................................................................................... 6
The VIMM Model............................................................................................................................... 6
User Research..................................................................................................................................... 7
Usability Testing................................................................................................................................ 7
Early Prototype Testing..................................................................................................................... 7
Advanced Prototype Test.................................................................................................................. 8
The User’s Mental Model................................................................................................................... 9
Design Best Practices....................................................................................................................... 10
Designing for Visual Attention......................................................................................................... 10
Layout.............................................................................................................................................. 10
Using Color...................................................................................................................................... 11
Graphics & Typography................................................................................................................... 12
Editorial Style.................................................................................................................................. 13
UI Controls for Interaction................................................................................................................ 14
Questions Interaction Designers Should Ask..................................................................................14
Beyond Usability............................................................................................................................... 15
User Experience.............................................................................................................................. 15
Digital Strategy................................................................................................................................ 16
Institutionalization............................................................................................................................ 16
 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Introduction
ROI for User-Centered Design

ROI makes a business case for your projects. The best way to work with ROI for usability is to decide
ahead of time which metrics make the most sense for your project and your organization. There is no one
fixed formula that works for all projects. Since every product is different, think about what would have the
most impact for you. The following is a list of possible ROI measurements which can be applied in
different circumstances.

ROI Measurement Criteria

Conversion rate # of visitors who buy or % increase

Average order value or net dollar per visitor % increase in $

Increase in pages viewed # or % increase

Decrease in drop-off # of people or % reduction

Decrease in # of calls to help desk # or %

Reduction in training # of days / hours reduced

Increase in usage # of people, # of sessions, or % increases

Saving of user’s time # of minutes / hours and/or multiplied by labor rate

Saving of programmer’s time # of minutes / hours and/or multiplied by labor rate

Error reduction # or % or resulting $ amount if any

ROI Calculators: [Link]

Defining Usability

"Usability” refers to 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 9241-210).

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

What UX People Do

User-Centered Design Process

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

The UCD process is always iterative, with feedback at all levels from foundational understanding of users
(user centered analysis) through structural and detailed design.

Many organizations are working out the relationship between the iteration expected in an Agile software
development process and that encountereed in UCD. Agile minimizes software development risk by
developing software in short time boxes (sprints) of 1-4 weeks.

From a UCD point of view, the activities of UX design strategy, foundational user research, task analysis,
and high level structural design primarily happen before the design enters the Agile sprint cycles.
Detailed design iteration is best suited to focused Agile sprints.

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

User-Centered Design Principles

The VIMM Model

VIMM stands for Visual, Intellect, Memory, and Motor. With the help of these principles, one can optimize
visual comprehension, simplify decision making, and minimize the memory load, movement time, and
interactions for designing usable interfaces

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

User Research
Usability Testing

Usability testing is the process of having potential users experience your Web site, software, or product in
an observable environment. It is a performance-based evaluation and it is an ongoing process. The
purpose of usability testing is to provide feedback and enable design improvements.

Why Conduct a Usability Test?

Usability testing is used to:

 Check to see if the design works (whether the global design or specific elements of a design)
 Diagnose a problem
 Evaluate new features (Can users get to the new feature? Can they use the feature? How does
the new feature interact with the existing interface?)
 Verify that design goals are met

Benefits of Usability Testing

Usability testing provides feedback directly from the users. It provides data, not opinions, for design
decisions. It avoids rework and creates a positive return on investment.

Early Prototype Testing

An Early Prototype test uses paper prototypes or low fidelity (wireframe) prototypes. This is the most cost-
effective usability test. It builds a strong foundation for the detailed design.

This type of test evaluates:

 The usability and efficiency of high-level navigational design
 Self-evidence of the mental model
 Primary content and organization
 The visual presentation and branding

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Advanced Prototype Test

An Advanced Prototype test uses a functioning or high-fidelity prototype. This test:

 Validates the mental model and navigation
 Evaluates page flow and interaction
 Evaluates detailed design issues
 Uncovers technology issues
 Tests new pages that were not included in the early prototypes
 Tests page-level details including:
 Content
 Page flow
 Editorial style
 Page-level controls and interaction
 Graphics
 Consistency issues

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

The User’s Mental Model

The user’s mental model is the conceptual representation that the user has of how the Web site or
application works.

 The user’s mental model guides all behavior.

 The user’s mental model drives requests for functionality.
 80% of usability derives from matching the conceptual model.
 It’s virtually impossible for people to accurately describe their own mental model.
 Usability engineers must diagnose and document the user’s conceptual model.
 Research deepens and extends understanding of the model so that the evolving design can
support it.

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Design Best Practices

Designing for Visual Attention

Various visual attributes control focus. Occulometer studies show that people’s eyes tend to move from:

The term “Gestalt” refers to the human perceptual process that allows people to interpret stimuli
“holistically.” People group elements in a specific way based on gestalt principles:

Layout

Grid systems serve as the organizational containers for the overall design. Grid layouts serve as the basis
for design templates and standards. By imposing structure, grid systems may constrain design flexibility.

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Using Color

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Graphics & Typography

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Editorial Style

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

UI Controls for Interaction

There are many UI Controls. Most all of them are a version of the typical building blocks of UI controls,
seen here:

The most important thing about selecting controls is to consider what type of control is really best for the
task your user is doing.

Questions Interaction Designers Should Ask

Do screens and pages fit together?

 Do they follow the user’s task flow?
 Is the screen flow optimized (e.g., bottlenecks removed)?

Do the controls on each screen or page make sense to the user?

 Are they intuitive (e.g., matching the user’s mental model of the interaction)?
 Are they the right controls to take the necessary actions?
 Does the user perceive the affordance of the controls (can they understand what they can and
should do)?
 Are error messages, feedback, and instructions meaningful and useful?

Do the controls on a screen or page fit well together?

 Is it easy for the user to perform the action?
 Do all interactions work elegantly together?

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Beyond Usability
User Experience

User Experience design goes beyond just usability. We also need Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust (PET):

It includes designing for trust and connecting with people emotionally in order to persuade them to use
the site/application to meet business goals

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 Crash Course in Usability Beyond Usability

Digital Strategy

User Experience also includes analysing the impact of trends and lifestyle changes on users to develop
appropriate positioning and design of new products and services across multiple channels.

Institutionalization

Institutionalization of usability is a must if you want to move your organization beyond an ad-hoc user-
centered design approach to a sustained and managed user experience (UX) practice.

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