Welcome to the Usability Center Tour

Since 1995, the Usability Center has been a learning environment that supports and educates in the process of usability evaluation, human-computer interaction, web design, graphics, information architecture, and much more.

The Faculty Usability Experts

With students, and the projects of clients, engage in testing and evaluating:

software systems, hardware, documentation, web-based applications, and Web sites.

Usability Goals Efficient to use Effective to use Safe to use Easy to learn Easy to remember how to use Have good utility

We want user’s comments to be… “Your product is…”

“Motivating”“Rewarding”“Supportive of

creativity”“Aesthetically

pleasing”“Emotionally

fulfilling”

“Helpful”“Satisfying”“Fun”“Entertaining”“Enjoyable”

The SPSU Usability Center offers:

Usability Studies Usability testing in all phases of product

development Participant recruitment and screening

Heuristic Evaluations Cognitive Walkthroughs

Benefits of Usability Well-designed products and systems

with good usability will: improve workforce performance, improve the quality of life, and make the world a safer and more

enjoyable place.

The complex includes:

• The user evaluation room

• The control room• The executive

viewing room

A Usability Study begins… welcome the user describe the

purpose for the evaluation

assess the user’s attitude

promote the “think aloud” protocol

user signs a permission form

The User Evaluation Room

The user is given testing scripts with typical tasks to be performed.

Each task is followed with a user satisfaction questionnaire and interview.

The Control Room All observational

data is captured and logged.

This observational data is collected to calculate performance times, identify errors, and explain why the users did what they did.

The Control Room

The separate control room contains capture and logging systems for the multiple cameras and monitor input.

A phone system between rooms simulate a help-desk.

The Executive Viewing Room

Can accommodate additional interested members who can observe, unobtrusively

Can see user directly and on multiple screens

Can watch the evaluation team in action