Who am I

Mark Simpson - Researcher, De Montfort University

User issues.

Worked on Managed Learning Environment MLE Project.

Available to all first year students from October 2003.

MLE at DMU

What am I going to cover

• Why is usability an issue

• How we went from ideas to a screen design

• How we organised content on the screen

• How we determined if we got the design right

• What did we do next

Physical problems of usability

• Applying design principles of PRINTED words and images to screens.

• Books – Gutenberg Bible 1456.

• Page numbers, Title and Contents pages evolved over the next 100 years.

• Internet 1993 ish confusion between a promotion tool and other information uses.

Why a screen isn’t paper

Sun

Absorbed & Reflected constant light

Electron Gun

Direct & Emittedflickering light

PAPER

SCREEN

So what is usability based on?

• Based on understanding of users and cognitive principles – not usual computer languages.

• Technical Designers work on designing functions – making computers work.

• Users think in terms of goals – as in football, they just want to score.

• T Designers work in terms of team selection, formation, strategy, off side and so on.

User Requirements to Screens

• User Goals.• Physical configuration of a typical users

computer.• Functions required to achieve goals.• Information sources.• Scenario of system being used from beginning

to end.• Profile of all stakeholders and their

requirements.

Prototyping approaches

Benefits / disadvantages

• Gives you time to try out names, structures in a very cheap and interactive manner

• Simple to do, do need a computer or software

• Everybody can see it and discuss it

• Easily modified

• Starting point that is expandable

Content layout

• The MLE a student site.

• We wanted student stakeholders to determine content, structure and information.

• Simple, repeatable method.

Card sort

MenusContentPriority

Benefits / disadvantages

• Gives the stakeholders the opportunity to actively help with the design.

• Based on scientific technique of Cluster Analysis

• Simple to do, don’t need a computer or software

• Easily modified

Refining / proving the design

• Once we had a system we tested every few months with users.

• Only asked a few directed questions

• Test under representative conditions – so that results are representative

Short usability tests

Results how they help

• What happens if we do this?

• Keeps the usability person in the design loop.

• You can get answers at every stage of the design.

• You have evidence to support the design decisions.

Summary what have I learned

• Usability is a system lifecycle issue

• Do it often

• As the design evolves check back to the user goals and requirements that it meeting them.