Human Computer Interaction

Interface Quality & Evaluation

 PART 1

Measures of User
Interface Quality
 What is Usability?
Practical implementation
of a good HCI
Usability means easy to
learn, effective to use
and providing an
enjoyable experience
 Usability Goals
Effectiveness Effective to use

Efficiency Efficient to use

Safety Safe to use

Utility Useful/Beneficial

Learnability Easy to learn

Memorability Easy to remember how to use

 Usability Principles
Visibility
Feedback
Constraints
Mapping
Consistency
Affordance
 Visibility (1)
This is a control panel for an elevator

How does it work?

Push a button for the floor you want?

Nothing happens. Push any other button?

Still nothing. What do you need to do?

[www.baddesigns.com] It is not visible as to what to do!

 Visibility (2)
you need to insert your room card in the slot by
the buttons to get the elevator to work!

How would you make this action more visible?

make the card reader more obvious

provide an auditory message, that says what to do
(which language?)
provide a big label next to the card reader that
flashes when someone enters

make relevant parts visible

[www.baddesigns.com] make what has to be done obvious
 Feedback
Sending information back to the user about what
has been done
Includes sound, highlighting, animation and
combinations of these

e.g. when screen button clicked on provides sound or red

highlight feedback:

ccclichhk
 Constraints
Restricting the possible actions that can be
performed
Helps prevent user from selecting incorrect
options
Three main types
1. Physical
2. Logical
3. Cultural
 Physical Constraints
Refer to the way physical
objects restrict the
movement of things
Example:
Design only one way to
insert a mouse connection;
and only one way to insert a
[www.baddesigns.com]
keyboard connection, and
make them different
 Logical Constraints
Exploit peoples reasoning about relationships
between objects in the world
A provides direct adjacent mapping
between icon and connector

B provides color coding to associate

the connectors with the labels
 Cultural Constraints
Learned arbitrary conventions which help us
use technologies

Can apply in a number of ways

Icons, menus
Keyboards, number pads
Images
 Mapping (1)
Relationship between controls and their
movements and the results in the world

Which is the better mapping?

MAPPING 1

MAPPING 2
 Mapping (2)
Which is the better mapping, and why?
 Consistency
Design interfaces to have similar operations
and use similar elements for similar tasks
For example:
Always use ctrl key plus first initial of the
command for an operation Ctrl+C, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+O
Main benefit is consistent interfaces are easier
to learn and use
 Consistency Breakdowns
What happens if there is more than one
command starting with the same letter?
e.g. save, spelling, select, style
Have to find other initials or combinations of
keys, thereby breaking the consistency rule
e.g. Ctrl+S, Ctrl+Space, Ctrl+Shift+L
Increases learning burden on user, making
them more prone to errors
Internal and External Consistency
Internal consistency refers to designing operations
to behave the same within an application
Difficult to achieve with complex interfaces

External consistency refers to designing operations,

interfaces, etc., to be the same across applications
and devices
Very rarely the case, based on different designers
preference
 External Inconsistency
Keypad number layout

(a) phones, remote controls (b) calculators, computer keypads

1 2 3 7 8 9
4 5 6 4 5 6
7 8 9 1 2 3
0 0
 Affordance (1)
Refers to an attribute of an object that allows people
to know how to use it
e.g. a mouse button invites pushing, a door handle affords
pulling
Norman (1988) used the term to discuss the design
of everyday objects
Since has been much popularised in interaction
design to discuss how to design interface objects
e.g. scrollbars to afford moving up and down, icons to
afford clicking on
 Affordance (2)
Physical affordances:
How do the following physical objects afford?
Are they obvious?
 Affordance (3)
Virtual affordances:
How do the following screen objects afford?
What if you were a novice (beginner) user?
Would you know what to do with them?
 PART 2

Methods for Observation &

Evaluation
WHAT TO OBSERVE?
Any Observation
Points?
 Observational Methods (1)
Involve an investigator viewing users as
they work in a field study, and taking
notes on the activity that takes place

Direct observation
the investigator is actually present during
the task
Indirect observation
the task is viewed by some other means
such as through use of a video recorder
 Observational Methods (2)
Importance of user observation
useful early in user requirements specification for
obtaining qualitative data
useful for studying currently executed tasks and
processes
Observational
Methods

Cooperative Protocol Post-Task

Think Aloud
Evaluation Analysis Walkthrough
 Think Aloud (1)
User observed performing task
User asked to describe what he is doing and
why, what he thinks is happening etc.
 Think Aloud (2)
Advantages
simplicity - requires little expertise
can provide useful insight
can show how system is actually used
Disadvantages
subjective
selective
act of describing may alter task
performance
 Cooperative Evaluation
Variation of think aloud
User collaborates in evaluation
Both user and evaluator can ask
each other questions throughout
Additional advantages
less constrained and easier to use
user is encouraged to criticize
system for clarification
 Protocol Analysis Methods (1)
Paper and pencil
cheap
limited to writing speed
Audio
good for think aloud
difficult to match with other protocols
Video
accurate and realistic
needs special equipment
obtrusive
transcription/arrangement of audio and video -> difficult process & requires skill
 Protocol Analysis Methods (2)

Computer logging
automatic and unobtrusive
large amounts of data -> difficult to analyze
User notebooks
coarse level and subjective
useful insights
good for longitudinal studies

mixed use in practice

some automatic support tools available

 Post-Task Walkthrough
User reflects on action after the event
Used to fill in intention
Advantages
analyst has time to focus on relevant
incidents
avoid excessive interruption of task
Disadvantages
lack of freshness
may be post-hoc interpretation of events