Tag: Usability

The Nielsen Norman Group published an article about the Aesthetic-Usability Effect, which is when users will disregard minor usability issues because the site they are visiting is aesthetically pleasing and visually interesting. The article also touched on how to interpret vague positive comments from research.

Neilsen Norman Group also discusses usability specifically in a separate article.  Usability, according to the article, is defined by 5 key characteristics: learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, and satisfaction. All of these pieces work together cohesively; without one piece, the site doesn’t have ideal usability. Usability also works hand-in-hand with utility, if it provides necessary aspects. If a site has good usability and utility, the site is considered to be useful.

Usability is an important aspect of a website/webpage because if it isn’t easy to use, visitors will not stay long, nor will they want to come back. Marketing and other strategies worked their part in getting visitors there, and usability helps to keep the visitors returning. Usability should be regularly tested, so problems can be fixed quickly and efficiently.

Often times, designers assume efforts towards creating maximum usability will be costly and complex. However, the opposite is true. User tests can be implemented for all designs without the need of large budgets and massive amount of time. Generally speaking, five users are enough in terms of usability testing. Insights on design dramatically increase with as little as a single test user. Though, single user tests should be avoided as there is a risk of said user providing spurious information due to accidents or lack of representation while engaging with the product. For this reason, multiple users can serve as a form of confirmation. However, as the amount of test users are increased, so will the amount of overlapping insights. Should the trend continue, the insights gained from the usability test will eventually lose their significance due to the repetition.  To combat this, it is suggested to split the number of users among multiple studies to narrow the users focus and limit overlapping. As a result of usability testing, new designs can be formulated which in turn will require testing of their own. This process can continue until the fundamental structural issues of the design are addressed and corrected.

Experience, W. L. in R.-B. U. (n.d.). Why you only need to test with 5 users. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved March 2, 2020, from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/.

“5 Principles of Visual-Design in UX,” defines and discusses the five visual-design principles that impact UX specifically, which are scale, visual hierarchy, balance, contrast, and Gestalt. The principle of scale uses size to signal what is and is not important. A bigger size communicates to the user that they should pay attention to that signal and it is also easier for the user to notice. In order for a design to be visually pleasing, it should have no more than three different sizes. This will help in establishing a visual hierarchy, which is the next principle. Visual hierarchy refers to the process of guiding the user’s eye in a way that it takes in information in the order of what’s most important to least important. There are many different ways that this can be accomplished through scale, value, color, spacing, placement, etc. When creating a visual hierarchy, it is suggested that you use a 2-3 typeface size to indicate which information is most important. Balance is when the designer equally distributes visual signals on both sides of an imaginary axis to create a satisfying arrangement of design elements. Even though the elements are equally distributed they do not have to be symmetrical necessarily. Asymmetrical elements can create a dynamic and engaging website design that has a lot of energy and movement, while symmetrical elements can give a more static and quieter vibe. Radial balance always manages to guide the eye back in a circular direction. Contrast is the concept of using signals that are visually different to communicate that they are different elements. This principle is most commonly applied through color. Lastly, the Gestalt principle is an explanation for how humans arrange complex images into a whole in order to simplify what we are seeing. There are several Gestalt principles, but proximity is the most important for UX as it refers to the fact that items that are closer together visually will be perceived by our minds as a part of the same group.

Visual principles are important because it increases usability because it makes the website layouts easy to use, they provoke emotion and delight, and it strengthens brand perception as it builds the users trust and interest in the product because it represents the brand accurately as well as reinforces it.

 

World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “5 Principles of Visual-Design in UX.” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/principles-visual-design/.

This article explores two concepts that we tend to hear about and experience in the education and work fields. These concepts are workshops and meetings. Usually, workshops and meetings are used in professional settings to get an established topic to a final definitive target. In the article, we learn that “meetings are for sharing information and workshops are for solving a problem or reaching an actionable goal” (Kaplan, Nielsen Norman Group, 2020). It is common that workshops are unsuccessful when the goal is not clear from the beginning and this causes problems within the workshops between the individuals because no one is on the same page. In a workshop, ideas and thoughts are brought together to ultimately create one larger idea related to their mission at hand. The purpose of a workshop is to solve problems within it through actions in the controlled environment. On the other hand,  meetings are more information-based and allow for things to be discussed amongst a group. A “you speak, I listen” environment is often used to convey information more effectively in meetings. Often meetings can be very brief, whereas a workshop is lengthier. The structure of the two is also a little bit different. A workshop often time includes the process of brainstorming, stretching, writing and overall action-based demonstrations to complete a more involved way of solving the problem. Whereas a meeting is more round-table like and discussions are had and often there is a facilitator who is giving a good portion of the information regarding the topic of the meeting.

Kaplan, Kate. “UX Workshops vs. Meetings: What’s the Difference?” Nielsen Norman Group, 16 Feb. 2020, www.nngroup.com/articles/workshops-vs-meetings/.

 

Drag-and-drop is a type of “direct manipulation” used for “grouping, reordering, moving, or resizing objects”. Some advantages include that it makes the actions visible (promotes user gestural interaction) and improves usability. A disadvantage is that drag-and-drop “can be inefficient, imprecise, and physically challenging over long distances” on the user interface, thus resulting in errors like dropping an item in the wrong spot and having to start over. There are two types of visual signifiers that indicate an item’s grabbability: grab-handle icons (a target to click then drag and drop) and hover-state cursor changes (to indicate that clicking an item will allow the user to grab then drag and drop). Once an item is grabbed, feedback will either show the object was grabbed and/or preview what it will look like once the user drops it, which is to help prevent errors. Another way to minimize drag-and-drop errors is to include magnetism, which enlarges the drop zone and “snaps objects into place, even if the user hasn’t acquired the target” (Laubheimer).

Laubheimer, Page. “Drag–and–Drop: How to Design for Ease of Use.” Nielsen Norman Group, Nielson Norman Group, 23 Feb. 2020, www.nngroup.com/articles/drag-drop/.

In “Empathy Mapping: The First Step in Design Thinking”, Sarah Gibson discusses what empathy mapping is, why it is important, and the steps in creating one. An empathy map is a way for an UI designer to understand their user better. In the center of this map is the “user persona” which is information about who this user is. From there it stems off into four different squares, “says”, “thinks”, “feels”, and “does”. Research is conducted to help fill in information into each square. For instance, during the interview whatever the interviewee actually says while going through the interface, or afterwards, is put into the “says” square. This is the same for whatever the interviewee thinks, feels, and does in the interview. If some information is lacking in certain squares then it shows that more research needs to be conducted. By the end of the mapping exercise the designer should have a good understanding of who their user is and how they do and don’t like to interact with the interface. It is important for designers to do this process from the very beginning so that they not only understand their users better, but so that the team as a whole is on the same page about the user so that they can create a cohesive design. It also helps remove any bias from the design process, discover weaknesses in research methods, understand what drives users’ behaviors, and leads the team to design effectively and efficiently. Gibson explains that the first step in any empathy map is to define the scope and goals of the map. After that the team should gather the necessary materials, collect their research, individually generate ideas for each square, collectively condense those ideas, and finally polish the map and put the information into action with a plan. This is an effective tool all designers should take advantage of as it can really help aid in the decision making process.

Gibson, Sarah. “Empathy Mapping: The First Step in Design Thinking.” Nielson Norman Group, 14 Jan. 2018, www.nngroup.com/articles/empathy-mapping/.

The article “Foundational UX Workshop Activities” covers the seven fundamental workshop activities including how to do them and when they are helpful. Postup is a timed activity where participants brainstorm content on sticky notes. Gibbons explains this actiivty encourages full participation and can be used throughout the workshop to facilitate ideas and goals. Affinity diagramming is organizing sticky notes, like those generated in postup, into similar themed groups. This activity helps identify patterns and develop a mutual understanding among team members. Landscape mapping is organizing similar content groups, like those generated in affinity diagramming, into an assigned structure. This helps participants see how categories relate to eachother to develop a customer-journey map. Storyboarding is a way to show a chronological sequence of information through images. Gibbons details storyboards help teams focus on the user’s behavior and can be used in research and ideation workshops. Forced ranking is an activity to help prioritize information and create an order. This activity is helpful during ideation to decide which ideas should be prototyped. Role playing is when participants act out another person’s perspective. Gibbons explains this is helpful to force team members to challenge how they think and channel their end-user. Team members can take on the role of the system and the end-user. The final activity is playback, sharing insights gained to the group. This activity can occur throughout the workshop to encourage team members working together and staying on the same page. These seven activities are beneficial to guide team members as they work together to generate content, solve problems, and ultimately create a good user experience.

Gibbons, Sarah. “Foundational UX Workshop Activities.” Nielsen Norman Group, https://www.nngroup.com/articles/workshop-activities/. Accessed 2 Mar. 2020.

This article by Jakob Nielsen talks about why he believes that one only needs to test usability with 5 users. He goes on to explain that usability tests in general, are a waste of resources and funds. He explains that the best way to test is running several small tests that you can afford on no more than 5 users, in comparison to running a single test on more than 5 users. With the test involving the 1st user, he states that the insights shoot up. With the 2nd user, things are generally the same (overlapping data) but it also adds some new insight. The 3rd user provides a small amount of new data as well. One of Nielsen’s main points is that the more users = less you learn; due to the amount of repetition.

In terms of running several tests, it seems as though doing more than one is deemed most efficient. With their being more than one, they can test different things in different ways from one another. For example, the second test can fix the problems from the first test; while introducing something new as well. As the tests continue, one can go deeper into the user experience and test that in various ways.

In conclusion, Nielsen states that testing 5 users on their experience with several tests is deemed most efficient in testing user experience. The problem with a study of one person, is the risk of being misled by them; and their number not being representative of the population of the website. The problem with fifteen people, is that there will be a lot of overlap with the information and not show much of “new” data. The only reason to test for more than five users would be if you needed that many to accurately represent the population.

World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users.” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users/.

Preventing User Errors: Avoiding Unconscious Slips

 User errors are commonly referred to as being the user’s fault but the real blame falls on the designer for making the mistake too easy for the user to commit. Slips usually occur by people who usually know how to navigate the site but don’t devote their full attention and end up coasting. The design of the site should gently guide users on the right path so there are fewer chances for slips to happen. One way to do this is to add helpful constraints. If people need to input some type of personal information or card number you want to make sure the site helps them know when something isn’t right. It allows the user to fix it before it becomes an error that can’t be fixed. This is helpful in situations where clear rules are required. Another helpful site characteristic is offering suggestions. Having suggestions for what the user is typing in the search bar can help with mistakes like typo errors. The next point is about setting good defaults. Providing good defaults gives the user a starting point for them to adjust from without them having to make it up. It lessens the chance that it gets screwed up and creates an opportunity for the user to change the default to fit their needs. It is also important to use forgiving formatting. Splitting up sections so that users can discern information is a key step in creating a site easier for users. People can’t comprehend lots of information at one time and they will also make mistakes. Making it easy for those slips to be fixed will allow their site visit to be a more positive experience.

Slips happen when people are not fully engaged in the task and hand but it is still up to the designers of the site to guide people with precision and reduce burdens for the user.

World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “Preventing User Errors: Avoiding Unconscious Slips.” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/slips/.

 

 

The article, “Talking with Participants during a Usability Test” by Kara Pernice starts off by mentioning echo, boomerang and Columbo. These words are meant to remind usability-test facilitators of three productive methods for responding to users during usability tests. The echo approach is when facilitators echoes the users’ last phrase or words in an interrogatory tone. The boomerang method allows the facilitator to create a question that turns the users’ previous question back at them. This method doesn’t answer the users’ previous question, but it allows them to think for themselves. The Columbo method causes facilitators to establish tasks and questions in a way that lures users into answering. In other words, the facilitators use state part of a comment or question and allow users to fill in the blanks. It is important for facilitators to know when they should approach a user during a test session. Key events such as the users commenting, asking a question, seeking guidance, or interrupting their own flow are generally when a facilitator should interrupt a test session. A facilitator could also count to ten silently as an extra measure to check if it is an appropriate moment to converse with a user.

World Leaders in Research-Based User Experience. “Talking with Users in a Usability Test.” Nielsen Norman Group, www.nngroup.com/articles/talking-to-users/.