Cards: Understanding users

Why is it important to consider users in computing?

Computing is used by many people, not just technical professionals; problems arise if products/services cannot be used effectively by intended user groups; need to consider people's capabilities, limitations, needs, and desires; users vary widely and change slowly, while technology changes rapidly.

What is the quote by Donald A. Norman regarding technology and people?

"Technology may change rapidly, but people change very slowly. The principles of good design never change."

When did concerns about usability emerge with personal computing?

Late 1960s, as personal computing began to grow.

When did software engineering begin to focus on non-functional requirements like usability?

1970s.

When did Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) emerge?

1980s.

Name some disciplines involved in user-centred design.

Interaction Design, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), User Experience (UX) Design, Requirements Engineering.

What aspects of human abilities and capabilities should design consider?

Physiological (senses, movement, strength, fatigue), cognitive (attention, memory, learning, cognitive load), and affective (emotional responses like engagement, frustration).

What are some limitations to understanding users?

Humans are complex (understanding is partial); users are all different (impossible to design for every use case); users may struggle to articulate needs; users' actual behavior may differ from what they say.

What are scenarios as a technique for considering users?

Stories describing how users interact with a system, helping designers imagine typical usage and identify potential problems.

What are personas as a technique for considering users?

Fictional "character portraits" representing typical users, based on real data, used to understand different user types and their unique needs.

According to Rogers et al. (Interaction Design), what is usability?

"Usability refers to ensuring that interactive products are easy to learn, effective to use, and enjoyable from a user’s perspective."

How does ISO 9241-11 define usability?

"The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use."

What did Jakob Nielsen suggest in "Usability Engineering" (1993) about the term "usability"?

He suggested "usability" over "user friendly," emphasizing that it is a multifaceted quality, not a single attribute.

What is the difference between utility and usability as parts of usefulness?

Utility refers to whether the system does what users need, while usability refers to how easily users can use its features.

What are Jakob Nielsen's five usability characteristics?

Learnability, Efficiency, Memorability, Errors and Safety, and Satisfaction.

Explain Nielsen's usability characteristic: Learnability.

The system should be easy to learn and have a reasonable learning curve.

Explain Nielsen's usability characteristic: Efficiency.

Once learned, the system should be efficient to use and make the user productive.

Explain Nielsen's usability characteristic: Memorability.

It should be easy to remember how to use the system, even after a break.

Explain Nielsen's usability characteristic: Errors and Safety.

Users should make few errors, and if errors occur, they should be easy to recover from.

Explain Nielsen's usability characteristic: Satisfaction.

The system should be pleasant and enjoyable to use.

What are some of Jakob Nielsen's usability mottos?

Your best guess is not good enough; The user is always right; The user is not always right; Users are not designers; Designers are not users; Less is more; Details matter; Help doesn’t.

What are analytic approaches to evaluating usability (Expert Evaluation)?

Assessing a system using guidelines or heuristics (e.g., Heuristic Evaluation, Walkthroughs, Standards/Guideline Checklists).

What are empirical approaches to evaluating usability (User Evaluation)?

Involving actual users (e.g., Observations, Interviews/Focus Groups, Questionnaires, Usability Testing).

What is a heuristic in the context of usability?

A practical, rule-of-thumb approach to problem-solving, aiming for a sufficient solution rather than a perfect one.

Name Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics.

1. Simple and natural dialogue; 2. Speak the users’ language; 3. Minimise memory load; 4. Consistency; 5. Feedback; 6. Clearly marked exits; 7. Shortcuts; 8. Good error messages; 9. Prevent errors; 10. Help and documentation.

What are the pros of Heuristic Evaluation?

Quick and inexpensive, provides fast feedback, fewer ethical/logistical concerns compared to user testing.

What are the cons of Heuristic Evaluation?

Requires expertise, trained experts may be hard to find, may miss bigger issues while identifying minor ones (false positives).

What is the System Usability Scale (SUS)?

A survey measure often used after usability evaluations to get quantitative user feedback on perceived usability, consisting of 10 statements where users rate agreement.

What is usability testing?

Users are assigned specific tasks to simulate real use, and performance measures (task completion time, errors, success rates) are recorded.

How is effectiveness measured in usability metrics?

Percentage of tasks successfully completed (tasks completed / total tasks * 100).

How is efficiency measured in usability metrics?

Time taken for users to complete a task (faster means higher efficiency).

Who coined the term "User Experience" (UX) and when?

Don Norman in the 1990s.

What is User Experience (UX)?

The overall experience and feelings a user has when interacting with a system, device, or product, including its context of use, recognizing that technology is about creating a satisfying and seamless experience.

What is the key difference between UX and Usability?

UX focuses on how a system feels (emotional responses, satisfaction, enjoyment), while Usability is more objective, measuring how efficient, effective, and easy it is to complete tasks (practical functionality, productivity).

What three aspects are considered when designing a good user experience (WHY, HOW, WHAT)?

WHY: Understand user needs, emotions, and motivations. HOW: Design the interaction (how users achieve goals). WHAT: Determine what activities the product enables.

What are dark patterns?

Deceptive UI design features that mislead users into making choices not in their best interest, exploiting human weaknesses for the service provider's benefit.

How do dark patterns invert Nielsen's heuristics?

They may conceal key information (inverting "simple and natural dialogue"), use ambiguous language (inverting "speak the users’ language"), or exploit user errors by not offering confirmation (inverting "prevent errors").

How do dark patterns capitalize on human behaviors?

They exploit the fact that users scan rather than read, stick with default options, and are influenced by others.

Give examples of dark patterns.

The Roach Motel, Forced Continuity, Bait and Switch, Privacy Zuckering.

Describe "The Roach Motel" dark pattern.

Easy to get into a situation (e.g., subscribing), but difficult to exit (e.g., unsubscribing).

Describe "Forced Continuity" dark pattern.

Requiring credit card for free trials, then automatically billing without notice or easy cancellation.

Describe "Bait and Switch" dark pattern.

Users intend one action (e.g., seeing a low price), but an undesirable one occurs instead (e.g., presented with a higher price after clicking).

Describe "Privacy Zuckering" dark pattern.

Designing confusing jargon and interfaces that deceive users into sharing more personal information than intended.