Mental Models For Search Are Getting Firmer

Users now have precise expectations for the behavior of search. Designs that invoke this mental model but work differently are confusing.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Usability>Search>Cognitive Psychology

Merging Usability Practices with Document Design and Development    

Examines the phases of document development and describes how to incorporate them with usability techniques to ensure that your information products remain continually useful and valuable.

Filippo, Elizabeth G. Intercom (2007). Articles>Document Design>Usability

Message Severity Levels: How Much Is Enough?

This article describes how we investigated software message severity levels using surveys in a series of usability tests and how the results helped us create a standard set of severity levels. These findings can also be applied to other messages.

Schwirzke, Martin and Mayuresh Ektare. Usability Interface (2003). Articles>Usability>Risk Communication

A Methodology for Testing Voting Systems  

This paper compares the relative merit in realistic versus lab style experiments for testing voting technology. By analyzing three voting experiments, we describe the value of realistic settings in showing the enormous challenges for voting process control and consistent voting experiences. The methodology developed for this type of experiment will help other researchers to test polling place protocols and administration. Comparing the results from laboratory experiments with voter verification and realistic voting experiments further validates the procedure of testing equipment in laboratory settings. The methodology and protocol for testing voting systems can be applied to any voting technology. This protocol matches the real-world conditions of voting by replicating them for the experiment.

Selker, Ted, Elizabeth Rozenwieg and Anna Pandolfo. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Civic

Methodology or Mythology?

What you buy or 'buy into' influences how you think about something and how you represent that information in your mind is what cognitive scientists refer to as an 'internal representation'. Whether you buy usability services or not, at some point along the way I am sure you will or have encountered 'methodology madness', and maybe you don't even know it.

Spillers, Frank. Demystifying Usability (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods>Cognitive Psychology

Methods and Guidelines to Avoid Common Questionnaire Bloopers

Over the years, I’ve often heard colleagues say 'let’s throw a questionnaire together and find out what our users think about our product.' Implicit in this statement is the assumption that questionnaires are easy to design, administer, and analyze. This assumption is far from the truth.

Wilson, Chauncey E. Usability Interface (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>Surveys

Método de Test con Usuarios

Es una prueba de usabilidad que se basa en la observación y análisis de cómo un grupo de usuarios reales utiliza el sitio web, anotando los problemas de uso con los que se encuentran para poder solucionarlos posteriormente. Se trata de una prueba llevada a cabo en 'laboratorio', es decir, no debemos confundirla con un estudio de campo.

Hassan Montero, Yusef and Francisco Jesus Martin Fernandez. Nosolousabilidad.com (2003). (Spanish) Articles>Usability>Methods

Microsoft Word 2000 and Readability

A discussion of th Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula, as implemented in Microsoft Word.

Nafde, Yamini. Indus (2005). Articles>Writing>Usability>Microsoft Word

Million Dollar Web Usability Tips

What has long been a struggle for UEX professionals can actually be a great tool to demonstrate the importance of your role. We have found a way, using tools that you may already have, to support the users' needs that can positively impact your company’s bottom line.

Remus, Jacqueline and Jessyca Frederick. Usability Interface (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Experience

Mining Customer Support: A Progress Report on the Search for Usability Data in a Customer Support Database  

One potentially rich source for usability field data is a company’s Customer Support (CS) call tracking database. Several approaches were used to find usability data in our CS database. One study indicated that 94% of problems reported to CS by users are resolved in CS without being reported to Product Development (PD). Other data showed that a potential 20%—50% of problems reported could be due to usability issues. Our investigation did not turn up detailed or specific usability data that could be used to identify root causes of usability problems, but it did yield high-level data that will help us identify product features on which we should focus more design effort and usability testing.

Muehleisen, John R. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Usability

Misconceptions About Usability

Misconceptions about usability's expense, the time it involves, and its creative impact prevent companies from getting crucial user data, as does the erroneous belief that existing customer-feedback methods are a valid driver for interface design.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Articles>Usability

Mobile Devices Will Soon Be Useful

New mobile devices and services are more realistic and useful than last year's models, and will likely expand mobile device adoption. Design usability and simplicity are key, particularly for the automotive market where complexity can be dangerous.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Usability>Technology>PDA

Mobile Devices: One Generation From Useful

New mobile devices show a huge improvement over previous generations, but they're still not good enough to score a real win. To get there, we need both PC-integrated applications and specialized mobile services rather than repurposed website content.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Articles>Usability>Technology>PDA

Mobile Essentials: Field Study and Concepting

This paper describes a cross-cultural field study of what people consider to be mobile essentials, how those mobile essentials are carried and problems typically encountered.

Chipchase, Jan, Per Persson, Petri Piippo, et al. uiGarden (2007). Articles>Usability>Ethnographies>Methods

More Alike Than We Think

Users were having trouble learning about the Open University's special form of distance education on the existing site. To solve this problem, we wanted to make recommendations for the style and format of the information as part of our design.

Quesenbery, Whitney. UXmatters (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability

"More is Less" for Many Home Entertainment System Users

The days of a single remote for the TV or cable box are long gone. Like ants at a picnic, the control pads have invaded the nation's coffee tables. But unlike ants, remotes evolve rapidly. Not only are there more, but many sport added buttons and complexity added each time a model is upgraded with new features.

Sidener, Jonathan. San Diego Union-Tribune (2006). Articles>User Interface>Usability>Minimalism

More Website Manner Tips

Custom error pages are better than stock error pages, and there are even better practical solutions that may eliminate the need for custom error pages to begin with.

Baker, Adam and Keith Instone. Merges.net (2001). Articles>Web Design>Usability

The Most Non-Boring Article About The UPA Board Ever

A quick overview of the Usability Professionals Association Board--what functions it performs, how it's structured, and who's currently performing what role.

Sherman, Paul J. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Articles>Usability>Collaboration

El Movimiento en la Visualización

Desde el principio de la humanidad, la correcta percepción del movimiento ha constituido una rutina importante de la vida cotidiana. También constituye un recurso importante en la visualización.

Dursteler, Juan Carlos. InfoVis (2004). (Spanish) Articles>Usability>Visual Rhetoric>Cognitive Psychology

Moving from Documenation to Usability: The Dangerfield Effect

I didn't consciously decide to transition from technical communication to usability specialist. I've always had an interest in making learning and performing as efficient, effective, and enjoyable as possible, and the move was a natural outgrowth of what I was doing in the technical communication world. Let me share with you some knowledge I gained while going through the transition process.

Miller, Dick. Usability Interface (2000). Articles>Usability

Multiple-User Simultaneous Testing (MUST)

Testing 5-10 users at once lets you conduct large-scale usability testing and still meet your deadlines.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods

Multiple-User Testing: When One Person Can't See Everything  

Describes the pros and cons of the methods used in designing two usability tests where constraints prevented observation of all participants by one person.

Kantner, Laurie, Deborah Hinderer and Connie Leas. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Usability>Methods

Musing on Metrics: Why Measure Usablity?

ISO defines usability as 'a measure of the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which specified users can achieve goals in a particular environment.' To those of us who are interested in documentation quality metrics, this definition is marvellous. We quibble over what typeface maximizes readability, and to what extent readability affects quality, but there’s no arguing with the value of reducing time to task completion. Usability testing closes the loop in the product development cycle; without it, development can spiral off in the wrong direction. Upcoming revisions to the ISO quality standards not only incorporate usability as a quality requirement but also mandate its measurement. To me, usability is an excellent working definition of product quality, and the field of usability is rich in metrics. The briefest web search yields dozens of metrics, such as time to completion of a task, percentage of tasks completed without errors, number of commands or keystrokes or mouse clicks used.

Jong, Steven F. Usability Interface (2000). Articles>Usability

Must Usability Die?

Usability is a discipline which seeks to achieve positive outcomes, yet in some corners it has developed a negative image--as witnessed by the website usabilitymustdie.com. This article explores some of the reasons as to why this negative image may exist. It encourages practitioners to be better trained and those who hire them to demand the highest quality from the profession.

del Galdo, Elisa and Jason Williams. Usability News (2006). Articles>Usability