The term usability describes how useable software is in relation to its intended purpose. A key feature of usability is the way that the human computer interface is designed. An intuitive interface makes using software a lot easier than a \u2018clunky\u2019 interface that requires some guess work on the part of the user. Standards in usability vary but a growing trend encourages designers to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term learnability considers how easy an interface is to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If an interface is intuitive with a clear and consistent layout, it is more likely to be usable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Interfaces that are hard to learn may prevent users from feeling that they can use the software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Memorability describes the concept of how easy an interface is to return to, having not used the software for a period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Software should be designed in such a way that a user can easily return to a level of operation without having to invest time in re-learning the way the interface reacts to user commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Different from the efficiency of code mentioned earlier. This is the efficiency of the user experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A user interface is efficient if it allows a user to perform a task in the smallest number of steps possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unnecessary navigation to multiple menus is not as efficient as one screen that incorporates the features of each menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The use of shortcut keys improves efficiency for experienced users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Error reporting\/handling is the process of designing an interface with easy access to help and\/or tutorials if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Errors that are caused by the user should always result in clear advice on how to proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Users vary in experience and skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They may have disabilities which make it hard to use a particular size of font or colour scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Being able to customise the user interface of a software package is important for users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usability testing is the process of testing software to measure how usable it is. A target group of users is often asked to perform a series of tasks under controlled conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A list of tasks will be given to the test group and measurements such as the amount of time taken to navigate to a certain page will be recorded. Test users are also given a survey or questionnaire to provide feedback to the design team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To identify a design\u2019s most important usability problems, testing five users is typically enough, often in a one-to-one setting. It is a more efficient use of resources to run many small tests and revise the design between each one so that usability flaws can be fixed as they are identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next: Maintainability<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The term usability describes how useable software is in relation to its intended purpose. A key feature of usability is the way that the human computer interface is designed. An intuitive interface makes using software a lot easier than a \u2018clunky\u2019 interface that requires some guess work on the part of the user. Standards in… Continue reading Usability<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5710,"featured_media":0,"parent":28,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-639","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":646,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/639\/revisions\/646"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/es\/software\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}