Usability assurance
Encyclopedia
Usability assurance is a set of procedures used in the design and development of interactive systems is to maximize the user's productivity and safety and satisfaction.
The goals of usability assurance are to maximize the system utility
(usefulness) and to minimize the operational risks.
The goals of usability assurance are to maximize the system utility
System utility
The system utility may be defined in terms of the satisfaction of the system stakeholders.- Actual Utility :The actual utility is the actual stakeholders' satisfaction....
(usefulness) and to minimize the operational risks.
Practices of usability assurance
- The main procedure for usability assurance iterates interaction designInteraction designIn design, human–computer interaction, and software development, interaction design, often abbreviated IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." Like many other design fields interaction design also has an interest in form but its main...
, validation and feedback. - Common practices for interaction designInteraction designIn design, human–computer interaction, and software development, interaction design, often abbreviated IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." Like many other design fields interaction design also has an interest in form but its main...
include user-centered designUser-centered designIn broad terms, user-centered design or pervasive usability is a design philosophy and a process in which the needs, wants, and limitations of end users of a product are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process...
, personaPersonaA persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
, activity-oriented design, scenario-based design, resiliency design and various kinds of prototyping. - Common practices for usability validation include virtual testing based on models of the interaction, and testing with users (notably, opinion questionnaires, usability testingUsability testingUsability testing is a technique used in user-centered interaction design to evaluate a product by testing it on users. This can be seen as an irreplaceable usability practice, since it gives direct input on how real users use the system...
) and activity analysis. - Common practices for getting feedback include off-line and integrated feedback questionnaires and on-going activity control.