Usability
with Jocelyn Smith
This presentation was voice and gesture based so there are no slides; however here is a brief summary. If you would like to get in touch with me, my email is smithdotjocelynatgmail.com
The focus of this talk was on three key considerations for designing usable interfaces. These over riding considerations should guide interface / interaction design. What works best for the user may be more difficult for the developer. For example, an OK/Cancel dialogue box is easy to program but not very effective for the end user. What works much better for people using a program is the ability to Undo actions, which is of course much harder to implement.
Key Factors for Usability
Task: What task is the person (or people) trying to accomplish?
It is best at first to focus on the Actual task at hand rather than limiting it to being solved by your technology. Later this focus will help to determine if/why your technology is appropriate for completing this task.
Example: I want to let my friend in Australia know that I gave a talk at Bar Camp. As opposed to: I want to email my friend in Australia to let her know that I gave a talk at Bar Camp
Person/People: Humans are complex
What relevant knowledge will users have? What knowledge are you assuming? How will you bridge the gap?
What physical / psychological limitations are relevant?
How accessible is the interface for people with different abilities? for people with last year's model or earlier? for people with dial up internet or mobile devices?
Context: Yes, it matters
Where and when will the product be used? An office environment with periods of uninterrupted work time is very different from the hopefully managed chaos of a hospital emergency room. So don't assume your interface will get ten consecutive minutes of an ER nurse's attention.
Other important objectives that were not discussed are the goals of the company or organization producing the interaction. The company's goals may be in conflict with the user needs. Acknowledging these types of conflicts is likely to be a first step in finding creative and appropriate solutions for them.
Thanks to Karen Parker for providing a link to one very useful accessibility checker:
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