This book provides a variety of answers in its description and discussion of new, sometimes radical approaches to `usability evaluation', now an increasingly common business tool. It contains new thinking of the subject of usability evaluation in industry. Contributions come from those involved in the practice of industry-based usability evaluation as well as those involved in related research activity. The chapters are derived from and developed from presentations and discussions at the invited international seminar `Usability Evaluation in Industry', and give a leading edge overview of current usability practice in industry - identifying those issues of concern and approaches to tackling these.
    Key Features:
    * Provides a comprehensive overview of current practice
    * International examples
    * Contains practical examples of ergonomics at work and gives clear ideas of what does and doesn't work under industrial constraints

    Part 1 Elements of usability: a combined effort in the standardization of user interface; usable usability evaluations - if the mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain; combining data in the evaluation of product usability. Part 2 Selecting evaluation methods: factors affecting methods and techniques of usability evaluation; information ecologies, experience and ergonomics; do-it-yourself usability evaluation - guiding software developers to usability. Part 3 Field studies: service information and evaluation; evaluation of a multi- system situation; observation as a technique for usability evaluation; field based prototyping. Part 4 Informal methods: quick and dirty usability tests; effective informal methods; getting the most out of quick and dirty user interface simulations. Part 5 New evaluation methods: a cost-effective method for the "in the field" usabilty evaluation; co-discovery exploration - an informal method for the iterative design of consumer products; private camera conversation - a new method for eliciting user responses; repatory grid theory and its application to product evaluation. Part 6 "Off the shelf" evaluation methods: software usability measurement inventory - background and usage; the usability checklist approach revisited; SUS - a quick and dirty usability scale; FACE - a rapid method for evaluation user interfaces. Part 7 Task analysis: hierarchical task analysis - an overview; task analysis for error identification. Part 8 Issues relating to usability evaluation: performance measurement and ecological evaluation; seminar discussions - issues for usability evaluation in industry.

    Biography

    Patrick W. Jordan, B. Thomas, Ian Lyall McClelland, Bernard Weerdmeester