2. Overview
Introduction
Overview of Human Factors & Ergonomics
What is Usability?
UX, UE, & UCD - How Do They Fit Together?
Evaluation Methods
Additional Resources
2
3. Who am I?
Education
• University of Idaho
B.S. – Psychology
M.S. – Human Factors Psychology
– Risk compensation and personality differences: Identifying differences
between risk compensators and non-risk compensators.
• North Carolina State University
Ph.D. – Ergonomics Psychology
– Evaluating the influence of presentation modality on the
communication of pharmaceutical risk information in direct-to-
consumer (DTC) television commercials
Professional Involvement
• Affiliate Assistant Professor of Psychology (U of I)
• HFES
3
4. Who am I?, cont.
www.thehumanfactorblog.com
4
5. Benchmark Research & Safety (BRS)
Founded in 2000
Locations: Moscow, Boise, Portland, & Grand Junction
Educational backgrounds
• Psychology
Human Factors & Ergonomics
Experimental
• Engineering
Mechanical
Electrical
• Computer Science
• Anthropology
5
6. BRS – Work We Do
Human Factors & Ergonomics
Usability & User Experience
Web-Technology Development
Research
Product & Occupational Safety
Litigation Support & Expert Testimony
Training & Education
Program Administration
6
8. What is HFE?
HFE is a unique scientific discipline that systematically
applies the knowledge of human abilities and limitations
to the design of systems with the goal of optimizing the
interaction between people and other system elements
to enhance safety, performance, and satisfaction.
In simpler terms, HFE focuses on designing the world to
better accommodate people.
8
9. Origins of HFE
Psychology
Industrial
Anthropology
Design
Operations Applied
Research Physiology
Human
Factors &
Ergonomics
Environmental
Statistics
Medicine
Computer
Engineering
Science
9
10. Industries Benefiting from HFE
Aerospace Health care
Automotive Manufacturing
Chemical Mining
Computer Nuclear
Consumer products Petroleum
Construction Telecommunications
Defense Textile
Forestry
10
11. What Value Does HFE Add?
Increased Decreased
• User experience & • Development costs
engagement • Need for redesign & recall
• Ease of learning & use • Support & services costs
• Satisfaction, trust & loyalty • Training time
• Repeat purchases • Maintenance costs
• Sales & market share • Accidents, injuries &
• Stock value illnesses
• Productivity & quality • Lost workdays
• Safety & health • Error rates
• Absenteeism & turnover
• Labor costs
• Equipment damages
• Insurance rates
11
13. Usability Defined
“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.”
• “Guidance for Usability” - ISO 9241-11 (1998)
13
14. Usability Defined, cont.
“Usability is an approach to product development that
incorporates direct user feedback throughout the
development cycle in order to reduce costs and create
products and tools that meet user needs.”
• Usability Professionals' Association
But … is a “usable” website sufficient???
14
16. User Experience (UX)
“UX is about technology that fulfills more than just
instrumental needs in a way that acknowledges its use
as a subjective, situation, complex and dynamic
encounter. UX is a consequence of a user’s internal
states (e.g., predispositions, expectations, needs,
motivation, mood, etc.), the characteristics of the design
system (e.g., complexity, purpose, usability,
functionality, etc.), and the context (or the environment)
within which interaction occurs (e.g., organizational /
social setting, meaningfulness of the activity,
voluntariness of use, etc.).” (Hassenzahl & Tractinsky, 2006, p.
95)
16
17. User Experience (UX), cont.
Environment
User Technology
( Interaction)
User engagement is one aspect of UX
17
18. User Engagement (UE)
It’s a category of user experience characterized by
attributes of:
• challenge,
• positive affect,
• endurability,
• aesthetic and sensory appeal,
• attention,
• feedback,
• variety/novelty,
• interactivity, and
• perceived user control.
18
21. The Way …
Employ a user-centered design (UCD) approach,
which incorporates human factors and ergonomics
(HFE) principles, to facilitate the creation of an optimal
user experience (UX) to maximize user engagement
(UE) when interacting with a given technology.
21
23. Phase 1 – Planning
Identify key stakeholders
Assemble a multidisciplinary team
Identify the questions that need answering
23
24. Phase 2 – Analysis
Users
• Identify target audience
• Create user profiles / personas
• User requirements analysis
Technology
Tasks
• Task analysis
• Develop user scenarios
Environment
• Where & how will the technology be implemented?
24
27. Phase 4 – Implementation
Work w/ implementation team to identify issues to
resolve
Perform ergonomic evaluations to verify optimal
implementation of technology
27
28. Phase 5 – Evaluation
Web analytics
Expert evaluations
Survey users for feedback
Perform observational studies to see technology in use
Conduct usability testing w/ actual users
28
30. At a high level you have …
Two types of data
• Quantitative
Defines
“Measurable”
• Qualitative
Describes
“Observable”
Two ways to collect it
• Passive
• Active
30
31. Web Analytics
UX Engagement Metrics
• Hits
• Page views
• Visits
• Unique views
• Returning visitors
• Registered users
• Customers
• Frequencies
• Time on site
• Daily active users
http://52weeksofux.com/post/548149897/ux-
engagement-metrics
31
32. Expert Evaluations
A HFE / usability expert reviews the technology to
identify issues
Other names: heuristic evaluation; usability inspection
Strengths
• Cost effective
• Identifies the “low-hanging fruit” to fix
Weaknesses
• Relies on the knowledge and expertise of the evaluator
• Often doesn’t identify missing functionality
32
33. Expert Evaluations – Examples
Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics
• Visibility of system status
• Match between system and the real world
• User control and freedom
• Consistency and standards
• Error prevention
• Recognition rather than recall
• Flexibility and efficiency of use
• Aesthetic and minimalist design
• Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
• Help and documentation
http://www.useit.com/
33
34. Expert Evaluations – Examples, cont.
Shneiderman’s 8 Golden Rules of Interface Design
• Strive for consistency
• Enable frequent users to use shortcuts
• Offer informative feedback
• Design dialog to yield closure
• Offer simple error handling
• Permit easy reversal of actions
• Support internal locus of control
• Reduce short-term memory load
http://www.cs.umd.edu/~ben/
34
35. Usability Testing
A method to evaluate a product by having individuals
use it.
Questions to ask:
• What do you want to know?
• What do you want the users to do?
• How many users will be needed? Recruitment? Payment?
• Where will the testing be performed? Lab, field, or remote?
35
41. Ten Steps to Usability Test (Hansen)
Do your homework
Write the test plan
Design the test
Arrange a test location and equipment
Conduct a dry run
Recruit users
Set up the test room
Conduct the test
Compile and analyze the results
Take action
Hansen, M. (1991). Ten steps to usability testing. Proceedings of the 9th
Annual International Conference on Systems Documentation, p. 135-139.
41
42. Top Ten Myths About Usability (Tullis)
Usability is just common sense.
Usability is just about making things look nice.
Usability can’t be measured.
Usability means usability for the “average” person.
Usability doesn’t have any real impact on our world.
Usability costs too much.
This must be usable because we built it in Flash, Ajax, etc.
Usability is a fad. This too shall pass.
Usability doesn’t impact the bottom line.
Usability is only applies to computers and web sites.
http://www.measuringux.com/UsabilityMyths/UsabilityMyths.pdf
42
45. Examples, cont.
Website Usability Study
• Purpose
User performance (time on
task, completion rate, etc.)
User satisfaction
Differences between user
types (HHO, SMB & LEB)
• Evaluated
Three homepage designs
• Six shareholders
w/competing needs
45
46. Examples, cont.
User Experience Study
• Purpose
Ease of use
Strengths & weaknesses of
similar devices
• Deliverables
Overall comparison
User-Based Guidelines for a
Usable UMD
46
47. Examples, cont.
3D Exploration Study
• Purpose
3 types of glasses technology
(anaglyph, polarized, & active)
Computer & TV
• Evaluated
Preference of glasses
Perceived comfort, quality,
willingness to purchase, etc.
47
51. Contact Information
Eric F. Shaver, Ph.D.
Benchmark Research & Safety, Inc.
3355 N. Five Mile Road, #277
Boise, ID 83713
208-407-2908
eshaver@benchmarkrs.com
www.thehumanfactorblog.com
@ericshaver
51