Usability Methods and Practices in Software Life Cycle

Usability methods and practices in software Life Cycle.

The usability methods include task analysis, scenarios and story board. During each method various observation procedures can be used. Think aloud technique forces the user to describe each step and often can be very subjective and difficult to fully accomplished. Also, the method generates a massive amount of information that has to be analyzed. Information obtained through various exercises then it has to be documented in a formal report and represented in a prototype or system code. Prototypes are ideal to test preliminary designs and interfaces.

Ubiquitous Computing

Donald Norman in his book touches an interesting subject of Ubiquitous Computing. The term refers to calm technology. Technology that is everywhere and hardly visible. Technology that becomes virtually invisible in our lives.
Ubiquitous computing is about networked microprocessors embedded in everyday objects: not only cellphones and home appliances but also books, bookshelves, bus stops and bathtubs--all talking to each other over wireless links. Hundreds of internet-enabled computers per human being, none of them resembling a conventional keyboard-and-monitor machine.

Last month when attending a conference in Monterey I was impressed by a lecture on the ubiquitous computing. Imagine having an umbrella that has installed a microprocessor that changes the light of the handle depending on the weather forecast. If it’s going to rain the handle blinks in red giving you a silent sign: “take me, you will need me today”. Imagine a framed photo hanging in your living room filling with people whenever a new email arrives into your inbox.
The ubiquitous computing is already happening. A good example is the Coffee Robot that displays the time of the last brew, the availability, and the temperature of the coffee and reports it on a customized web page.

In his book Norman’s describes a perfect imaginary calendar that could easily replace an administrative assistant’s job. The calendar combines functions of address book, notepad, expense account systems record and it can connect itself to other systems via a wireless infrared or electromagnetic channel. Once information is entered or changed, it is always synchronized with other systems. In such device only the task is visible, the computer is hidden beneath the surface.

Taxonomy

I've conducted a few usability tests for our website. Whenever working on a new website design we would ask our students (I work at a university) to participate in a usability study. To get students attention 15 - 30 minutes of their free time, we had to give some incentive such as 5$ to 10$ gift certificate for the cafe. Our typical user was a graduate student, very busy and smart.

In our usability studies we found out that the main problem was TAXONOMY. We asked the students to accomplish specific task on our website. Some of the headings/ names would only make sense to us: staff. If the vocabulary was related to a specific environment/ industry and the user was not familiar with it this could create a potential problem. During the study, we noticed that as a staff we tend to classify and organize the knowledge under different categories than the students. What we found out was that our students would create different categories, or they would look for a specific task under different name. Because graduate students come from so different backgrounds the challenge is to create just one user profile that would match our average student.

After completing the study we had to revise our initial idea for the new navigation. We had to make new categories and change some names to be more understandable for a broader audience and for our students.

Knowing What To Do

Norman is making a good point about the use of sound to support visual information. On many occasions I would ring the door bell and wouldn’t hear the expected sound, just nothing, no sound. Does this ring door work? Probably not, so I knock on the door.
But as the sound supports and helps to understand what is happening in one situation, in another it might be annoying and unpleasant. I hate when cars make a loud beep while the door are being locked or their alarm system suddenly turns on without any particular reason. One night at 1.00 am I had to go to my good neighbor to ask him to turn his car alarm off. The alarm was on every 30 minutes without any reason making enormous noise.
Slips are made automatically. We don’t think about routinely done actions, unless we make mistake. I remember my friend running around the house looking for her wallet. Until, the next day she opened the fridge, and the wallet was there, on the shelf among her yogurt and cheese. She unconsciously unpacked her groceries a day before and as the wallet was in the bag it ended up in the fridge.
When my own morning routine get distracted I always forget to do something. The slips we make are the result from a lack of attention. My friend told that most of the time she doesn’t remember her driving from work, even though the road is quite long and winding. According to Norman (1988), “Everyday activities must usually be done relatively quickly, often simultaneously with other activities. Neither time nor mental resources may be available. As a result, everyday activities structure themselves so as to minimize conscious mental activity, which means they must minimize planning and mental computation (p.125).


References

Norman, D.(1988). The Design of Everyday Things. Basic Books.

Foundations of HCI and Usability Engineering

Some of the important aspects of a good design is affordance. Different materials have different natural affordance, and this should be reflected in a good design. Designers should also define the representative user of the system, who not necessary can be a typical user. HCI dictates how a system reacts to user input and how information is gathered.
During the software Life cycle some standard HCI should be applied. The process falls into eight categories beginning with the knowing the user, who they are and what they are trying to achieve. Also relevant stakeholders and their goals should be noted. Often questioners can be used to obtain user ideas about the system with identified strengths and weaknesses. Another aspect is to decide on general approach and look into past conventions. The designer have to have a clear understanding of what user expectations are from the system, how it is going to work, and look. This will also apply to interaction design and interface design.

Thoughts on The Design of Everyday Things. Chapter 1-3.

While reading Norman’s book, The Design of Everyday Things, I started recalling my own frustration with everyday things and how they work or simply do not.

Last week when I was waiting with my daughter to see her doctor I watched frustrated older lady who was trying to open a bag of chips. She was trying to tear each corner of the bag, as finally she gave up and used her car key to make a hole in the bag to reach some chips. This is just a very simple example of how packages are often poorly designed, and often require the use of scissors.

One of the most important aspects of any design is visibility. By making certain elements able to be seen, the user can follow the path, read various signals and make the right decision. My own frustration usually shows when I’m using the remote control and I’m switching a TV to a DVD player. I have to use two different remote controls, remember what buttons to push and often at the end still ask for help. And even if I consider myself being technologically savvy, some products create lots of frustration and quite a challenge.

In the Psychology of Everyday Action, Norman explains how we often misinterpret signals and make decisions based on our mental model how things work, or how people behave. In many cases our interpretations are based on bias, incomplete information or information distorted over the time.

I enjoyed reading the third chapter where Norman is talking about memory. I can recall my own irritation on trying to enter the password that wouldn’t work. At the end I would decide on using just two different passwords for all my websites and accounts. Still, some of them I would store in the notebook for future reference. After a long vacation I would not remember all special passwords and codes I use at work.
A few years ago I decided not to memorize cell phone numbers of my family. After having so many numbers to remember I began filtering the importance and the relevance of the information. I realized that this information didn’t have any value to me and in most cases was retrievable from my own cell phone.

Overview of Effective Typography and Color in Web Design

Designers use words, pictures, and elements such as line, volume, shape, texture, format and color to create unified work. The final design should be convincing, easy to understand and should communicate a message to an audience. According to Landa (2000), principles of graphic design include “balance, emphasis, rhythm, unity, positive-negative space, and the illusion of three- dimensional space” (p.7). The design process constantly requires questioning why and how. To solve a design problem it is essential to follow the process:
1. Define the problem that should be solved in the design
2. Get familiar with the subject, do research
3. Sketch, draw thumbnails
4. Choose the best thumbnails
5. Prepare comprehensive based on the best design

Designing for the Web follows very similar process; however it involves different medium. Some of the important elements of designing for Web include layout, typography and colors. According to Meggs (1992), “Typography involves complex visual relationships of scale and space” (p.17). Some of the main principles of effective typography include the usage of white space. The proper use of white space, uncluttered text ensures better readability of the message. The typography should not be distracting. It should rather remain in the background, unnoticed. Web typography, in contrary to a traditional concept of print, is restricted by numerous limitations associated with technology and usability concepts. The hierarchy of the text can be supported by usage of different type and spacing. The audience should be able to recognize main headings, subtitles and the main text, and such can be achieved by using different type, size, weight, spacing and color. A subtitle should be always distinguished from a main title by smaller type size, spatial interval or weight.

Good usability requires paying attention to the color of type and contrast with the background. Users will not be able to read the text if there is hard- to- read color combination, or not enough contrast. Furthermore, before deciding on the type choice, we have to evaluate and understand the audience first. Choosing a typeface is the most essential point of typographic design. The font should be readable on the computer monitor. Elements that should be considered when designing with type include: serif versus san serif, size, emphasis (bold, italics, underlining), color, capital letters, line spacing, letter spacing, kerning, word spacing and alignment.

When designing for Web, choosing the right colors palette is essential. Color is a powerful tool that if selected right can convey the message, brand and support the product. It can bring more costumers, and make the experience enjoyable. Colors are differentiated by three characteristics: hue (defines gradation of a color), saturation (the intensity or the saturation of a color), and value (the lightness and darkness of a color).

The web site should be designed with a moderate number of colors. End users can be easily distracted by too many and too flashy colors, or their combination. When creating graphics for headings, subheadings and navigation icons, the predominant colors from the color palette are the most suitable (Williams, 2000, p.158). Graphics should have purpose and convince the meaning they represent. They should be easily understandable and meaningful. From usability perspective colors used on the Web should mirror the same meaning in real life. Designer should understand how colors are perceived by people with color deficiencies and partial sight. Working with color, layout and type in web design should always comply with accessibility laws and W3C standards without sacrificing attractiveness, performance and sophistication.


References
Landa, R. (2000.). Graphic Design Solutions (2nd ed.). OnWord Press.
Meggs, P.B. (1992). Type & Image. The language of graphic design. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Williams, R. & Tollett, J. (2000). The Non-Designer’s Web Book (2nd ed.). Berkeley, California: Peachpit Press

Humans limitations and abilities in processing information varies. Different senses respond to information and receive the information. As everyone is slightly different in his/ her capabilities there are some general rules that apply to HCI. Therefore, the knowledge about the limitations and abilities of the brain, vision and auditory senses is crucial to develop satisfactory HCI in any design. As a web designer, I’m familiar with color limitations and human perception of the color. The good tool to use to evaluate the color contrast characteristics can be found here http://soap.stanford.edu/show.php?contentid=54 . The result shows if there is enough color difference and brightness in foreground and background colors. After reading the material I was surprised with racial differences in color deficiencies.