2. WHAT IS USABILITY?
Usability is the measure of the quality of a user's
experience when interacting with a product or system -
Whether a web site
Software application
Mobile technology
Any user-operated device
3. IMPORTANCE OF USABILITY
According to Usability Expert Jakob Nielsen:
In the Web, usability is a necessary condition for
survival. If a website is difficult to use, people leave.
If the homepage of your website does not clearly
provide details about a company or about what it offers
and what users can do on the site, people will leave
your website.
If users get lost or confused while browsing your website
and they lack clarity they instantly leave the website.
If a website's content is difficult to read or it doesn't
answer important key questions, it immediately drives
away the users.
Note a pattern here?
If the website does not satisfy the users leaving it is
their first line of defense.
4. THE 4 CHARACTERISTICS OF USABILITY
ARE:
Quick and easy to learn;
Efficient to use;
Allows rapid recovery from errors;
Easy to remember;
6. Basic Principles
Feature exposure
Effective writing
Info hierarchy
Simplicity
Don’t waste time
Use of white space Usability Don’t make me think
How do user’s think
Visible language
Test early, Test Often
Conventions
7. 1.HOW DO USERS THINK?
Be it the Web or a physical store
user behavior and habits remain
the same.
When browsing a website, users
search for something clickable.
Users are mainly looking for
quality and credibility in a
website.
Users don’t read, they scan.
While browsing the web, users
are impatient and are looking for
instant gratification
8. 2. DON’T MAKE USERS THINK
• The web-page should be obvious and self-explanatory.
Let’s take a look at an example. ABC Company claims to be “beyond channels, beyond
products, beyond distribution”. What does it mean? Since users tend to explore web-sites
according to the “F”-pattern, these three statements would be the first elements users will
see on the page once it is loaded
9. 3. DON’T WASTE USER’S TIME
Users hate lengthy and complex
processes.
If you want users to test a
feature or a service make it
quick and easy. The simpler the
process, the more likely a
random visitor is to actually try it
out.
10. 4. INFORMATION HIERARCHY
Usually websites provide two forms of content - static and
dynamic. Of that, some aspects of the user interface attract
attention more than others.
ABC.co perfectly uses the principle of focus.
The only element which is directly visible to
the users is the word “free” which works
attractive and appealing, but still calm and
purely informative.
Subtle hints provide users with enough
information of how to find more about the
“free” product.
11. 5. FEATURE EXPOSURE
The fundamental principle of successful user interface design is to
clearly and immediately show all the features and functionalities
available.
12. 6. MAKE USE OF EFFECTIVE WRITING
Copy must be short, crisp and
concise (come to the point as
quickly as possible).
Break down content so that it
is easy to scan (use multiple
heading levels, use visual
elements and bullet points).
Use plain and objective
language (a promotion doesn’t
Pqr productions gets directly to the point. No cute words, no need to sound like
exaggerated statements. Instead a price: just what visitors
are looking for
advertisement; give your users
some reasonable and objective
reason why they should use
your service or stay on your
website)
13. 7. SIMPLICITY
Make user interfaces simple
and minimalistic. Complexity
leads to confusing, overwhelming
interfaces.
Use only those features that are
absolutely vital and necessary.
Hide the complex features that
you cannot get rid of altogether.
Minimize visual noise.
Strive for simplicity instead of Reuse visual components
complexity.
whenever possible.
Don’t leave blank state blank.
14. 8. WHITE SPACE
White space allows
breathing space between
two components.
Not only does it help to
reduce the cognitive load for
the visitors, but it makes it
easier to grasp the content
presented on the screen.
15. 9. VISIBLE LANGUAGE
Organize: Refers to providing a clear and consistent
conceptual structure to the user.
Economize: Refer to showing or offering range of
functionalities with the least amount of cues and visual
elements.
Communicate: Refers to matching the presentation with
the capabilities of the user. The user interface must keep in
balance legibility, readability, typography, symbolism,
multiple views, and color or texture in order to communicate
successfully. Use max. 3 typefaces in a maximum of 3 point
sizes— a maximum of 18 words or 50-80 characters per
line of text.
16. 10. CONVENTIONS
Use of conventional designs
don’t necessarily make a
website boring.
Conventional design reduce
the learning curve and the
need to figure out how
things work.
17. 11. TEST EARLY TEST OFTEN
The TETO-principle should be applied to every web design
project. This helps in tracking how the users react to the
designs and interfaces and continue to improvise.
18. USERS BENEFITS FROM USABILITY
The benefits of usability include:
Users enjoy interacting with the web interface.
Since they get all the information easily, it ensures that they
are satisfied with it.
It ensures that they achieve their goals effectively and
efficiently;
It helps in cultivating confidence and trust in the product or
web site.
If your users are satisfied, they will become loyal
customers, and even recommend your product or service to
others.
19. PROVIDERS BENEFITS FROM USABILITY
As a provider, you may benefit from usability in many ways,
including:
Reduced development time and costs;
Reduced support costs;
Reduced user errors;
Reduced training time and costs;
Return on Investment.
20. Usability is a potent weapon that can save your precious
money, improve your competitive position and improve
customer loyalty. Now is the time to invest in the research.
