An Introduction to Usability

What is usability engineering?

Usability is set of tools and methodologies aimed at improving the usability of a system. A usable system:

• is easy to learn
• is efficient to use
• is easy to remember
• minimizes the number of errors users make and
• maximizes user satisfaction.

Usability is about how human beings perceive, think and act, and about how systems work, and how we can ensure that they (humans and systems) will work well together. One can apply usability methods to anything people use: from a kitchen sink to a television set, from a revolving door to a computer system or a web page.

A narrow view of usability emphasizes the evaluative aspect of this discipline, and focuses on methods that can assist in assessing the usability of a system (such as heuristic evaluations, cognitive walkthroughs, usability tests, etc.). In this view, the job of a usability engineer is to measure the usability of a system and to make recommendations for improvement.

But how does one design a usable system in the first place? Usable systems are designed by applying a User-Centered Design (UCD) process. The starting point of any UCD process is talking to and observing real users in their environment. Information from this user research, together the business goals and strategy, should drive requirements and inform design. There are different views on how the UCD process should work, each with their strengths and weaknesses, but most people agree: applying a user-centered design process when developing a system can save a lot of money and makes the users of that system much happier.

As part of the UCD process, the job of the usability engineer is to collect information about users (who they are, what they think and expect, and what they do), to help translate this information into design requirements, and to evaluate the resulting design by observing users using the system to complete typical tasks. Throughout the design process, the usability engineer acts as user advocate in the design team, striving for a balanced integration of user goals and business goals.

Brief tour of the Usability Home Page

• There is a wealth of usability resources out there if you want to learn more about usability and UCD. The Resources section lists mailing lists, newsletters, websites, and conferences that can help you learn more about usability.
• So you are getting really intrigued about usability, you have read a lot and are ready to make the jump. Go to Find a job in usability for some suggestions and useful links.
• It took a lot of work to make usability an important issues in software and web development. Usability Evangelists are people whose mission is to promote usability in every field. Because usability evangelists tend to be very generous with their knowledge (and often also very opinionated), their web sites are a rich source of usability information.