Frequently asked questions

My definition of Usability?

Usability: is a property of systems, products and websites that relates to ease of use. Usability can be defined as having these four components:

  1. effectiveness: how well a task can be completed
  2. efficiency: how easy or quick it is to complete the task
  3. satisfaction: the user's perception or opinion of the system meeting their expectation
  4. sustainability: change management based on use, stability of key features to maintain a consistent environment, help documentation, revisions, releases, and upgrade impact and tracking. 

Usability it the key to finding the best Return-on-Investment of technology systems.  From developers to new end users......the more complex the technology, the greater need for the user Interface to be intuitive and invisible.
 

I see, Usability is how you get there, then what is User Experience?

 

“User experience” encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products. The first requirement for an exemplary user experience is to meet the exact needs of the customer, without fuss or bother. Next comes simplicity and elegance that produce products that are a joy to own, a joy to use. True user experience goes far beyond giving customers what they say they want, or providing checklist features. In order to achieve high-quality user experience in a company’s offerings there must be a seamless merging of the services of multiple disciplines, including engineering, marketing, graphical and industrial design, and interface design.

In summary, User Experience(UX) is the result.

 

What are some world definitions of Usability?

One thing about usability is the many definitions. Here are a few of the most well-known:

  • “Usability is the measure of the quality of a user’s experience when interacting with a product or system,” whether a Web site, a software application, mobile technology, or any user-operated device.” (Usability.gov)

  • “In human-computer interaction and computer science, usability usually refers to the elegance and clarity with which the user interface of a computer program or a web site is designed.” (Wikipedia)

  • Usability is “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.” (ISO 9241-11)

 

Have a definition to share? Send it along. I’ll post it.

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