[Reprinted] ease of use in Software Design

Ease of use in Software Design

Abstract: This article introduces the concept of "usability" in software design and explains why it should be an important part of software design projects.

Introduction
Application "Easy-to-use" to software development
The word "Easy-to-use usability (also translated as availability)" is used in software development to place users rather than systems at the center of the development process. This concept, known as "user-centered design", refers to the inclusion of things that users are concerned with from the beginning of the design process, users should be the most important factor in any design decision.
The most significant aspect of this "user-centric design" approach is usability testing. In the usability test, users perform interactive tests on the product interface, and communicate their views and concerns with developers and designers.
This article discusses the concept of "usability" and why it should be an important part of software design projects. The first part explains what "usability" means in software development and how it relates to other measures of product value. The second part illustrates the importance of "usability" and how to include the "user-centered design" principle in common problems during development. At the end of this article, we provide a list of related books, articles, and organizations. This list helps you learn more about ease of use and how to apply it to your project.
Most of the principles in this article apply to the development of retail software and internal software. When you read this article in depth, pay attention to words like "users" and "Products", think about the relationship between them and your own projects, and think about the needs of end users of those products.
Define usability
Easy to use
"Usability" is a measure of the difficulty of using a product to complete a specified task. This is different from the concepts related to "utility" and "likeability.
Usability vs functionality)
The key to determining whether a product can be accepted by users is whether it is useful, that is, whether it can be used to fulfill the goal that the designer originally expects the user to accomplish. Usefulness can be further divided into utility and utility )". Although these two words are related, they cannot be replaced with each other.
Functionality refers to the product's ability to complete tasks. If the product is designed to accomplish more tasks, the more powerful the product is.
Let's take a look at Microsoft's ms_dos version of the text processing program at the end of 1980s. This program provides many strong text editing functions, but requires you to learn and remember many mysterious buttons to complete the task. Programs like this can be said to have high functionality (they provide users with a lot of necessary functionality) but are easy to use (users must spend a lot of time and effort learning and using them ). In contrast, a well-designed and simple application, such as a calculator, is easy to use, but does not provide many functions.
These two features are necessary for the product to be accepted by the market. Both are components of the overall concept of "useful. Obviously, if a program is very easy to use but has no function, no one has reason to use it. If a user is given a very powerful program, but it is difficult to use, the user may resist it or seek other alternatives.
Usability Testing helps you determine whether users can easily execute specific tasks. However, it does not directly help you determine whether the product is valuable or functional. (Users may take the initiative to provide functional-related comments in usability tests, but any such comments should be verified through other, more reliable research methods ).
Liking it vs. using it)
In a product, "liked" is always a desirable feature. If people like this product, they are more likely to use it and recommend it to others. But be careful not to confuse "popular" with "Easy to use.
People often like a product for reasons unrelated to the ease of use and functionality of the product. They are often attracted by the style of the product or believe that the product can give them a certain identity. People tend to like easy-to-use products, but you should not determine that a popular product is easy to use.
Usability is about whether users can use products to complete their tasks. Usability Testing mainly measures the performance of a product, rather than users' preferences. However, a standardized questionnaire survey can be used to determine users' preferences between products.

Discover vs to understand vs Efficiency

There are many usability aspects. However, traditionally, This term refers to features such as "discovery", "Understanding", and "efficiency.
"Discovery" involves finding a feature of a product as needed ). Usability testing can determine how long it takes for a user to find a function and how many errors the user makes during the search process (locate the error ).
Learning involves a process in which you can understand how to use a feature that has been discovered to complete tasks on hand. Usability testing can determine how long the process takes and how many errors the user will make when they learn this feature.
Efficiency involves a time when users are "proficient" in the features of the product and can use it without further learning. Usability testing can determine how long it takes for experienced users to perform the steps required to use a feature.
The nature of tasks on hand and the frequency of tasks executed by users strongly affect ease of use. Some features are rarely used or too complex so that users must learn them again each time. For these features, Microsoft often guides users through the wizard.
Slogans do not work
Software designers sometimes think that simple slogans like "making products easier to use" will help solve usability problems. It is important to take a positive attitude towards usability, but only by allowing ordinary users to perform appropriate usability tests on products, only in this way can designers create information required for products that meet users' needs. "Making products easier to use" should be the motto of every software designer, but it makes sense only when the designer understands the meaning of "usability. Testing common users is the most reliable way to determine ease of use.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why should I care?
If you have not included usability considerations in your product design, you may want to know why it is necessary or worthwhile. In the final analysis, it is possible to release a runable and error-free product without performing any usability tests, however, the "user-centered" design principle will be included in the design process, and a product that has been improved in many aspects will be created.
The best reason for usability testing is to reduce the number of technical support service calls that users seek. Poor usability is the main cause for users to call the software technical support service hotline. The information service managers of each software company know how expensive product support is. In addition, the charge for the Support Service will increase users' potential dissatisfaction with the product. If users think it is easy to use your products, they do not need to call Big Technical Support Services frequently.
For software developed for internal use, another best reason for making usability an important part of the development process is to reduce training costs. An easy-to-use product is easier for users to learn than a product that does not focus on ease-of-use. Users can learn features faster and remember what they learn for a longer time. This is directly related to reducing training costs and training time.
Usability Testing helps improve user acceptance of the product. User Identification comes from a variety of factors, including "usability", "functionality", and "liking ". For retail products, user recognition is often directly related to repeated purchases or loyalty, which means users are likely to recommend products to others. For internal programs, user recognition is related to whether users are willing to use the software to complete the tasks that can help increase productivity. Enhanced usability is one of the factors that can improve user recognition.
Easy-to-use performance helps differentiate your products from competitors. If the two products have almost the same functions, more easy-to-use products may be considered better. In addition, Microsoft's Windows style appearance and corresponding programming specifications create a consistent basic user interface, so many programs that provide similar functions seem to be similar to and used. These similarities mean that small differences in usability can have a great impact on users' preferences.
Finally, remember that each product will eventually receive usability tests. Each time users use your product, they are conducting usability tests. Users are "ruling" by constantly using or rarely using the product ". Test the product before it is released to the market. You can ensure that the user experience of the product is positive.
How much does it cost?
Software designers and project managers often worry that starting a user-centric design process and performing appropriate usability tests will require unacceptable time and money. In fact, the time and money spent focusing on users is often relatively small, and it is certainly smaller than the cost caused by not focusing on users.
For example, consider the time and money it takes to modify the design later in the development cycle, and compare it with the cost required for earlier modifications (at that time the product was still on the drawing board. If you wait until the beta stage to deliver the product to the user for usability testing, you may find yourself busy breaking down programs that have been developed for a lot of time into multiple parts. If you wait until the product is actually released and then change or provide technical support to poor designs based on negative feedback, the high cost of technical support or user dissatisfaction will occur, the cost is very high.
A reasonable usability study can usually be completed in about two weeks, greatly reducing the costs incurred by subsequent changes in the development cycle. The costs involved in testing vary with the nature of the product and the number of interfaces to be tested.
You can think of usability testing as similar to code testing. When planning a development project, a successful project manager will feel that code testing is a reasonable overhead and will not regard it as an additional item attached to the project schedule and budget. Project managers are more willing to accept code testing and take it as a normal expense because other alternatives will be much more expensive. This also applies to usability testing.
How can I get ease of use?
When reading and understanding the importance of "ease of use", software designers are sometimes tempted to "gain some" ease of use. It seems that it can be simply added, makes a product easier to use. On the contrary, usability should be part of the design process, rather than something you can add to the process at will. Usability experts mentioned that the reason for "focusing on users" and "user-centric design" is that usability depends on the need of users to be kept at the center of the design process.
User-centered design involves more things, not just a set of rules for how to place buttons and menus on the interface. Usability testing is an opportunity to check your design work. It is not a way to "add" ease of use to your product.
Gocould, Boies, and Lewis (1991) determine four important principles of "user-centric design:
• Focus on customer needs as early as possible. Designers should focus on understanding users' needs early in the design process.
• Complete and comprehensive design. All aspects of the design should be made in parallel, rather than in sequence. Ensure that the internal design of the product is consistent with the user interface requirements.
• Early and continuous testing. Currently, the only feasible approach in software design is empirical: It is good only when the actual user thinks that the design is good. The usability test runs through the entire development process, allowing users to give feedback to the design before the product is released.
• Reverse Design. Big problems often mask small problems. Designers and developers should repeat the design through multiple rounds of tests.
Why should we involve users?
Designers should understand that they are not typical users. They are much more familiar with the software they are developing than ordinary users. For most users, the interface is unclear or confusing, but it is very clear for those who have been developing this project. Some software designers can understand the feelings of general users to some extent, but there is no substitute for the real interaction between users and products.
Therefore, by focusing on the needs of typical users as early as possible and often correcting designs based on user tests, software designers can create better designs as a result, which is a better product.
Better design will be better recognized by users. For retail software, the benefits of purchasing more products are obvious: sales have increased. It is also important for users to recognize the software developed for internal use: the increased use will lead to increased productivity and reduced technical support requirements. From the beginning of the development process, it is obvious that users are allowed to participate in the process and show them your concern for them and the need to focus on them. This will also increase their willingness to help you develop better software.

Why can't I just follow the guide?
Microsoft has developed a set of Windows platform Interface Guidelines to ensure a consistent appearance of Windows programs. Other companies have developed similar guidelines for other platforms. Usability experts like Jakob Nielsen have already written many articles on easy-to-use web pages. A large amount of information on these topics is available, and sometimes designers believe that strict adherence to these guidelines and standards is all they need to make easy-to-use products.
The problem with this method lies in that the guide is general in nature. The guide must be applicable in various situations, so it does not always provide the best action guide for specific programs you are designing. A well-written guide can help you design a consistent interface, but you cannot be sure it is easy to use unless you have real users test it. When using guides, do not use them as if you were using recipes, and do not expect a guide to show you the way to get all the best results. Two designers can implement the same guide in two different ways, and neither of them may be suitable for the situation. In addition, sometimes strict adherence to the Guide may lead to a bad result or cause a conflict between the guides.
Before these problems become problems, only user-centered design can help solve these problems.
Let's consider this issue in another way: Let "user-centric design", rather than the User Interface Guide, become the arbitration of design decisions.
Do I need to build a usability lab?
Do not conclude that usability testing means that an expensive lab is required, with a camera mounted on the ceiling and one-way mirror, A test in the mirror looks the same as a normal mirror, but in another test, you can see the other side of the mirror) and other attention monitoring facilities. Certainly, companies that need to perform many tests will find it easy to build a dedicated lab. Usability testing consultants often provide many facilities and equipment to their customers, but you can perform useful and effective tests under various conditions and conditions.
One way is to simply find a tester proficient in man-machine conversation Research and Data Collection sitting behind the user to view how the user operates the task. This test can be easily performed in a meeting room or office. Dumas and Redish (1999) provide a lot of information about how to test through observation.
When you are more and more involved in usability testing, you can add devices such as cameras, one-way mirrors, or enable you to watch and record your monitors in real time. You don't have to add all devices at once. Even adding devices one by one can help you get a lot of value from usability testing.
Another alternative is that you can outsource your usability testing to usability testing consultants. Please refer to the "how do I start" below to learn about the skills for finding the right consultants.
How do I start?
Once you decide to include the "user-centric" design principles in your development process, you will need to decide whether to hire usability testing experts or outsource usability testing to service providers.
The usability expert Association (UPA) provides a service supplier guide to help you find usability testing consulting experts to perform usability testing for you.
Some consulting groups can also help you build your own usability lab or develop an easy-to-use program for internal use to include usability principles in your design process.
If you are willing to hire usability experts, the Human Engineering Association (human factors and ergonomics Society) provides services that can help you find potential employees. Many usability experts are also affiliated with ACM Special Interest Group on computer-human interaction (sigchi) and uPA. You can place recruitment advertisements on their publications or meetings.
Regardless of the method you choose, remember that you are hiring usability testing services. Usability Testing experts are different from common users who enter the software interface and tell you what is wrong. The principle that the designer is not a typical user is also applicable to usability testing experts.
See the following "Resources" to learn about these organizations and more about usability testing and user-centric design.
Resources)
Articles and books