USABILITY- NATURE OF DESIGN

A design team should be “user” driven and frequent contact with potential users is
essential.
To understand how a product, service or system may be used, the designer must
consider the prior knowledge and experience of the users, as well as their typical
psychological responses.
Evaluation methods that utilize appropriate testing and trialing strategies must be
used to determine these aspects
AS DP DESIGN TECHNOLOGY STUDENT YOU
SHOULD :
Usability objectives
Usability objectives include usefulness, effectiveness, learnability, attitude (likeability)

Enhanced usability
Benefits of enhanced usability include product acceptance, user experience,
productivity, user error, training and support

Characteristics of good user-product interfaces

Characteristics of good user-product interfaces include simplicity, ease of use, intuitive
logic and organization, low memory burden, visibility, feedback, affordance, mapping
and constraints.

Population stereotypes
Advantages and disadvantages of using population stereotypes for designers and users
USABILITY- OBJECTIVES
The International Standard ISO 9241-11 defines usability as:
“Usability is the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to
achieve specified goals effectively.”
Basically usability is about how easy it is to use either a product or system
based on prior knowledge and psychological responses. The main
aim/objectives are: Usefulness, Effectiveness (ease of use), Learnability,
Attitude (likeability)
 USABILITY- OBJECTIVES

Usefulness
The product enables the
user to achieve their Effectiveness (ease of use)
goals The product is easy and efficient
to use; Users can use it easily
and with few or no errors

Attitude (likeability)
The users'
perceptions, feelings,
and opinions of the
product are positive
Learnability
The system for operating the
product is easy to learn, and
users can can understand how to
use it after a reasonable amount
of training; Infrequent users are
able to easily relearn the system
 BENEFITS OF ENHANCED USABILITY
Product Acceptance
A product will perform according
to its specifications. In short, it
does what it says it will do.
Example: The iPod, though
technically inferior to its
competitors, gained acceptance
because of its usability and
consideration of the whole user
experience.
User Experience
These are the responses and
perceptions of the users as they
use a product or service. These
could be visual, tactile, or audible
feedback to the user - the
"clicking" of keys as you type on
a phone experience; or the way a
user signs up or signs into a
website.
Productivity
Designing products that allow
the user to be efficient with their
time and resources. This creates
a more pleasant experience for
the user.
Example: 3D printers allow
designers to test and prototype
quickly and accurately.
 BENEFITS OF ENHANCED USABILITY

Training and Support

Products that have intuitive interfaces require User Errors
less training and support to use. This can Simpler interfaces and controls reduce or eliminate user
reduce training costs for manufacturers and errors. Consequently, using the product or system is
increase the quality of the user experience. easier, safer, and more reliable.
USABILITY TESTING-
In your IA, consider the usability of your design and involve the user
in evaluating how well the prototype meets their needs. You can
do this in Criterion Bii by using user feedback to further
conceptual models, and in Criterion Dii when testing and
evaluating the success of the solution
 CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD USER-PRODUCT
INTERFACES
The point at where a human
interacts with a machine or
object is called an interface.
Depending on the product,
these interfaces can be quite
simple or incredibly complex.
Good interfaces are intuitive
and easy to use. Without a
carefully designed interface,
a product may not gain
acceptance by consumers.

The user–product interfaces of many

electronic products are extremely complex
rather than being intuitive and easy to use.
Products with intuitive and easily
accessible interfaces are likely to be more
popular with consumers.
SIMPLICITY AND EASE OF USE
Simplicity – simple design allows for clarity on how the design can be used such as an
iPod interface.

A simple design makes the function and use of

the design clear to the user. It is intuitive. Only
what is needed is displayed and accessible -
there are no confusing controls.
The Braun ExacTemp digital
thermometer has two
buttons - a power button
and a temperature button.
The screen displays the
battery status and the
temperature.

A design should be easy to use and not have any unnecessary features.
"Feature creep," the adding of features to a design regardless of whether
they are needed are not, is one way to make a design less easy to use.
For designers, this can be a challenge - the easiest way to innovate is to
add a feature or function. However, designers need to consider what is
essential to meeting the user's needs and accomplishing the task.
 INTUITIVE LOGIC AND ORGANIZATION
– product interfaces make sense for the
Intuitive
user - they do not require any special training or
require much memorization to use.
A lack of logical organization makes the product
and service difficult to use.
Interface designers will often use paper prototypes to
the logic and organization of a website or app. They
may also present these to clients or users for feedback
to further guide and iterate the design process.
Designers can communicate much about the function of
a switch by its location and proximity to other elements
of the design. The controls for this Dieter Rams
designed Braun T45 radio are organized in a logical way.
The dials and switches are organized according to
related functions - the black knobs along the bottom
modify the sound quality (balance, treble, bass, etc.).
 LOW MEMORY BURDEN
Low memory burden – the user does not need to
have to memorize many features, how to use it,
etc.
▪ Do not have to relearn functions. Poor
organization of a product imposes a memory
burden on users, who have to learn and
remember how the various functions work.
▪ This results in them not using the full functionality
of a product but focusing on a limited set of
features and ignoring those that are difficult to
remember.
▪ Thinking about how intuitively the product
features can be accessed by users can reduce
memory burden and make the product more user-
friendly.
VISIBILITY
Visibility – Controls should be visible and it should
be obvious how they work.
▪ They should convey the correct message, for
example, with doors that need to be pushed, the
designer must provide signals that indicate
where to push.
FEEDBACK
Feedback – Feedback is the provision of
information, for example, an audible
tone to a user, as a result of an
action.
▪ The tone on a telephone touchpad or
the click of a key on a computer
keyboard provides feedback to indicate
that a key has been pressed.
▪ LED/tone when charging a phone or
laptop.
AFFORDANCE
Affordance – Affordance is the property
of an object that indicates how it can
be used.
▪ Buttons afford pushing, and knobs
afford turning.
▪ On a door, handles afford pulling,
whereas push plates afford pushing.
▪ Consider how the use of a handle on a
door that needs to be pushed open can
confuse users, and how in an
emergency this might impact on safety
considerations.
MAPPING
Mapping – Mapping relates to the
logical relationship between
the product interface and what
happens.
For example, the layout of the
controls on a cooker hob can
take advantage of physical
analogies and cultural
standards to facilitate a user’s
understanding of how it works.
CONSTRAINTS
– Constraints limit the way that a
product can be used.
▪ The design of a three-pin plug or a USB
(universal serial bus) device ensures
that they are inserted the correct way.
▪ This reduces or eliminates the
possibility of a user making errors.
POPULATION STEREOTYPES
A stereotype is when a person is catorgerised into a population based on culture,
class, gender, etc. This allows assumptions and associations on how that
particular stereotyped population may, react in a situation, dress, use of products,
aesthetics, values and so on.
Anthropometric stereotypes: Different population groups differ physically in height,
weight, etc. When using anthropometric data designers should carefully consider
how accurately the data represents the target user group.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING
POPULATION STEREOTYPES FOR DESIGNERS
AND USERS.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Allows you to form assumptions and
•Assumptions and associations of a particular
associations about of a group of people.
stereotype may not fit all people of that
D
population. D
Judgements and decisions can be made •Judgements and decisions could be incorrect.
quickly. D D
Possibly predict the behavior or possible use •Not all people who ‘look alike act/think alike’
of a product or system. D & U there fore behavior or way a product was
intended to be used may be wrong. U & D
The user needs and behavior can be
identified and thus usability
considerations are met. U
 CASE STUDY
The PlayStation controller is the
first gamepad released by Sony Computer
Entertainment for its PlayStation home video
game console. The original version (model
SCPH-1010) was released alongside the
PlayStation on 3 December 1994 and has
since become a dominant design in the
Gaming industry.
Discus how this product gained acceptance
by consumers using 4 “Characteristics of
Good User-Product Interfaces”
Case Study
In North America, most prescriptions come in
bottles like the ones at the right,
approximately 7cm tall and 2.5 cm in
diameter. The labels contain information Typical North American prescription bottle.
about the drug, dosage, patient, pharmacy,
and safety warnings. The lids can be child-
proof - meaning they are designed to be
difficult for a child to twist and open.
 Features of a Clear Rx bottle

Case Study
Clear Rx was prescription bottle developed
by designer Deborah Adler in response
to an incident with her grandparents.
Her grandmother, Helen, mistakenly
took the wrong dosage of medicine -
she had accidentally taken the
medicine for her husband, named
Herman. She made the mistake
because both bottles had listed "H.
Adler" as the name of the patient,
making it unclear who was who.

Adler's design was selected by Target, a large chain

of stores that also has over 1,900 in-store
pharmacies, to be the new bottle for their
pharmacies.
1) Explain how the design of the ClearRX bottle incorporates the principles of UCD? (3
marks)

2)Explain how the ClearRX bottle meets there of the four objectives of Usability
(Usefulness, Learnability, Effectiveness, and Attitude). (6 marks)

3) The Clear Rx bottle has a flat lid with a squeeze lock mechanism. Outline the
ergonomic and anthropometric considerations for designing this type of lid. (4
marks)
Usability 101