UI Style and Usability, User Experience

Niteen Borge

User Interface

A user interface is the system by which people (users) interact with a machine.

UI provide a means of: Input, allowing the users to

manipulate a system, and/or Output, allowing the system to

indicate the effects of the users

Example

UI Design Principles The structure principle. Your design should

organize the user interface purposefully, in meaningful and useful ways

The simplicity principle. Your design should make simple, common tasks simple to do, communicating clearly and simply in the user’s own language

The visibility principle. Your design should keep all needed options and materials for a given task visible without distracting the user with extraneous or redundant information.

UI Design Principles (cont) The feedback principle. Your design should

keep users informed of actions or interpretations, changes of state or condition, and errors or exceptions that are relevant and of interest to the user

The tolerance principle. Your design should be flexible and tolerant, reducing the cost of mistakes and misuse by allowing undoing and redoing.

The reuse principle. Your design should reuse internal and external components and behaviors

Key Aspects

Controls for different features should be presented in a consistent manner.

Various features should work in similar ways.

User interfaces should not change version-to-version -- user interfaces must remain upward compatible

Processes

Functionality requirements gathering

User analysis Information architecture Prototyping Usability testing Graphic Interface design

Some Website UI design

http://havenworks.com/ http://www.georgehutchins.com/

What is usability?

Usability is the degree to which something - software, hardware or anything else - is easy to use and a good fit for the people who use it.

Generally associated with the functionalities of the product.

Characteristic of the user interface.

Key Attributes

Learnability Efficiency Memorability Errors Satisfaction

Usability considerations

Who are the users, what do they know, and what can they learn?

What do users want or need to do? What is the general background of

the users? What is the context in which the user

is working? What has to be left to the machine?

Other considerations Can users easily accomplish their

intended tasks? How much training do users need? What documentation or other supporting

materials are available to help the user? What and how many errors do users

make when interacting with the product? Are there provisions for meeting the

special needs of users with disabilities?

Discoverability Is the user ever expected to do something

that is not obvious? Are there hints and tips and shortcuts that

appear as the user is using the software? Is the user at a disadvantage for not

knowing certain keyboard shortcuts Is the learning curve (of hints and tips)

skewed towards point-and-click users rather than keyboard users?

Usability Maxims Know the user, and YOU are not the user. Things that look the same should act the same. The information for the decision needs to be

there when the decision is needed. Error messages should actually mean

something to the user and tell the user how to fix the problem.

Everyone makes mistakes, so every mistake should be fixable.

Consistency, consistency, consistency.

Designing for Usability

Three principles of design By John Gould and Clayton Lewis

Evaluation methods Empirical Measurement Iterative Design

Evaluation methods

Parallel Design Inspection methods

Card Sorting Tree testing

Inquiry methods Task Analysis Questionnaires/Surveys

Usability testing

Usability testing is a technique used to evaluate a product by testing it on users.

Usability testing focuses on measuring a human-made product's capacity to meet its intended purpose

Goals of usability testing

Performance Accuracy Recall Emotional response

Benefits of usability

Higher revenues through increased sales

Increased user efficiency and satisfaction

Reduced development costs Reduced support costs

More Examples

http://www.phonetics-ltd.com/ http://www.flatpakhouse.com/

User experience (UX)

User eXperience (UX) is about how a user feels about using a system.

ISO 9241-210 defines user experience as "a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service".

UX is subjective and focuses on the use.

History

The term user experience was brought to wider knowledge by Donald Norman, User Experience Architect, in mid-1990's.

What affects user experience?

A diversity of things can influence a person's user experience with a system. User's state System properties Situation

UX evaluation

UX evaluation means investigating how a person feels about using a system.

It hard to evaluate user experience and come up with solid results Subjective Context-dependent Dynamic over time

UX evaluation approach

Goal: Summative (score) or Formative (areas for improvement)

Approach: Objective or Subjective Data: Quantitative or Qualitative Granularity: Momentary,

episodic, or overall UX Setup: Lab or field

User Experience measures Utility: Does the user perceive the functions

in the system as useful and fit for the purpose? Usability: Does the user feel that it is easy

and efficient to get things done with the system?

Identification: Can I identify myself with the product?

Stimulation: What kind of experience I am getting from system?

Value: What is its value for me?

UX evaluation methods

Diary methods Experience Sampling Method Day Reconstruction Method AttrakDiff: questionnaire for overall

UX evaluation Ladder interviews

Questions?