Thomas Gohard's presentation at Learn Hack YOW on December 8, 2012

1. Introduction to
mobile usability
@ThomasGohard | Learn Hack YOW

2. Learning objective
Make you think about:
● Who you're designing for and what their
needs are.
● How to work within the limitations of mobile
devices to meet your users' needs.
● How you can use features offered by mobile
devices to better meet the needs your users.

3. Usability

4. ISO 9241-11 definition of usability
"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."

5. User research

6. User research is...
... Finding out:
● Who your users are.
● What they're trying to do.
● How they're trying to do it.
● Where they're trying to do it.
● Etc.

7. User research methods
Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-research-methods.html

8. User research deliverables
Source: http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000228.php

9. Exercise 1: User identification
Imagine you're building an application using the
garbage and recycling schedule:
● Who are potential users?
● What is their goals?
● What is their context of use?

10. Designing for
mobile

11. Some important considerations
● Screen size and orientation.
● Input method (touch, keyboard, voice).
● Technical limitations (processing, memory).
● Network connectivity (speed, availability,
data caps).
● Context of use (inside, outside, on the go).
● Focus and attention.

12. How people hold mobile devices
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1649

13. How people hold mobile devices
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1649

14. How people hold mobile devices
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1649

15. How people hold mobile devices
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1649

16. Some new capabilities
● Always-on; always-there.
● Location-awareness.
● Time-awareness.
● Still/video camera.
● Voice recording/recognition.
● Access to user data:
○ Contacts.
○ Calendar
○ etc.

17. Exercise 2: Designing an interface
Design one or more screens for a garbage and
recycling schedule mobile application for one or
more of the users from Exercise 1.
Remember to consider your user's goal and
context of use.

18. Usability testing

19. Usability testing is...
... Evaluating how your design:
● Meets the needs and expectations of your
users.

20. Usability testing methods
Ways to test:
● In-person, moderated.
● Remote, moderated.
● Remote, automated.

21. Usability testing methods
Types of tests:
● Usability test.
● Click test.
● Tree test.
● Heuristic evaluation.
● Etc.

22. Let your imagination run wild
Running usability testing is like running an
experiment. You are only limited by your
imagination.

23. The two most important thing to
remember about usability testing
1. You're testing the design, not the user.
2. Test early, test often.

24. Exercise 3: Doing a heuristic review
Let's evaluate some of the interfaces you
created in Exercise 2 against Nielsen's
10 heuristics.

25. Nielsen's heuristics
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover
from errors
10. Help and documentation
Source: http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html