Usability

The neologism usability refers to the ease with which people can use a particular tool or any other object manufactured by humans in order to achieve a specific goal. Usability can also refer to the study of the principles behind the perceived effectiveness of an object. usability is a term that is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), although it is quite common in the field of computing and technology.

The object of use can be an app, a web page, a book, a tool, machine, process, vehicle or thing with which a human interacts. A usability study may be performed by a specialist analyst or as a secondary function of designers, technical writers, marketers and others. It is commonly used in electronics, communication and knowledge transmission objects (a cookbook or help guide) and mechanically operated objects such as a hammer or a pedal.

The degree of usability of a system is an empirical and relative measure of its usability. It is measured based on empirical and relative tests.

• Empirical because it is not based on opinions or sensations, but on usability tests performed in laboratory or observed by field work.
• Relative because the result is neither good nor bad, but depends on the goals raised or a comparison with other similar systems.

The concept of usability refers to an application (informatics) of (software) or a device (hardware), although it can also be applied to any system made with some particular objective.

The conceptual model of usability, derived from user-centered design, is not complete without the idea of utility. In English, utility + usability is what is known as usefulness.

Jakob Nielsen defined usability as the quality attribute that measures how easy Web interfaces are to use.

Controversial origins of the term

The term usability, although of Latin origin, in the context in which it is used derives directly from the English usability. In Spanish it means usability, that is, the characteristic that distinguishes objects designed for use from those that are not. However, the English meaning is broader and refers to the ease or level of use, that is, the degree to which the design of an object facilitates or hinders its handling. An objection to this claim to grant a broad interpretation to the term in English and deny it or restrict it to its meaning in Spanish, clearly describes and manifests the linguistic and cultural complex that affects certain users and professionals, in particular and especially from the computer sector in our Spanish-speaking communities, especially Latin Americans. Usability as well as usefulness have their Spanish correlates in "uso", "funcional", "funcionalidad", "utility", "usable" respectively. The use, functionality or usefulness of a design, program or object is not only in the immediate application that we make of them, but also and above all in the benefit or solution that we obtain. From now on we will define the term usability based on the second meaning.

According to David Branderbest, usability defines the objective of the created system. Without it, any message or content is meaningless, which is so obvious that it should not even be discussed. Although the concept of usability is of recent application, for a long time it has been managed by criteria such as ease of use, user friendliness, etc. Many cases and companies accumulate samples of how the interest in what we now call modern usability goes back several decades. Some conclusions and cases collected in studies and research by Sun Microsystems:

• Usability shows reductions in the product development cycle of 33-50 % (Bosert 1991).
• 63 % of all software development projects exceed their budget, with the four most important causes related to usability. (Lederer and Prassad 1992).
• The percentage of code dedicated to the development of the interface with users has been increasing over the years to an average of 47-60 % of the application as a whole. (MacIntyre et al. 1990).
• The Ricoh company discovered that 95% of respondents never used the three key features designed to make the product more attractive, either by unfamiliar with its existence, not knowing how to use it or not understanding it. (Nussbaum and Neff 1991).
• 80% of maintenance tasks are due to unplanned user requirements, remaining the rest due to errors and errors. (Martin and McClure 1993; Pressman 1992)

On the other hand, the introduction of criteria tending to make a product friendly and easy to use, cannot be denied since time immemorial, from the tape to hold a garment to the handles in old prehistoric amphoras, had as an original idea facilitate the use of an object, therefore it became more attractive and therefore charged another value in the market.

Formal definitions

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) offers two definitions of usability:

ISO/IEC 9126:

Usability refers to the ability of a software to be understood, learned, used and attractive to the user, in specific conditions of use.

This definition emphasizes the internal and external attributes of the product, which contribute to its functionality and efficiency. Usability depends not only on the product but also on the user. For this reason, a product is in no case intrinsically usable, it will only have the capacity to be used in a particular context and by particular users. Usability cannot be assessed by studying a product in isolation (Bevan, 1994).

ISO/IEC 9241:

Usability is the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which a product allows to achieve specific goals to specific users in a specific context of use.

It is a definition centered on the concept of quality in use, that is, it refers to how the user performs specific tasks in specific scenarios effectively.

Other aspects of usability

From the conceptualization carried out by the ISO, the basic principles on which usability is based are inferred:

• Learning skills: ease with which new users develop effective interaction with the system or product. It is related to predictability, synthesization, familiarity, generalization of previous knowledge and consistency.

• Usability: ease with which the user makes use of the tool, with less steps or more natural to his specific training. It has to do with the efficiency and effectiveness of the tool.

• Flexibility: relative to the variety of possibilities with which the user and the system can exchange information. It also covers the possibility of dialogue, the multiplicity of pathways to perform the task, similarity with previous tasks and the optimization between the user and the system.

• Robustez: is the level of user support that facilitates the fulfilment of its objectives. It is related to user observation, information recovery and task adjustment capacity to the user.

In computing, usability is closely related to accessibility, to the point that some experts consider that one is part of the other or vice versa. One such expert and usability guru in web environments is Jakob Nielsen, who defined usability in 2003 as "a quality attribute that measures how easy web interfaces are to use".

Another clarifying definition is that of Redish (2000), for whom it is necessary to design websites so that users are able to "find what they need, understand what they find and act appropriately... within the time and effort that they consider suitable for that task".

Usability is therefore aimed at achieving the goal of satisfying users more, with a more effective and efficient website.

Outside of computing, usability is more related to ergonomics and human factors.

Ergonomics is based on the principles of universal design or design for all. Good ergonomics can be achieved through user-centered (not necessarily user-directed) design, although various techniques are employed. The ergonomics designer provides an independent view of the programming goals because the role of the designer is to act as an advocate for the user. For example, after interacting with users, the ergonomics designer can identify functional needs or design errors that were not anticipated.

Ergonomics includes considerations such as:

• Who are users, what are their knowledge, and what can they learn?
• What do users want or need to do?
• What is the general training of users?
• What is the context in which the user is working?
• What should be left to the machine?

Answers to these questions can be found by performing user and task analyzes early in the project.

Other considerations include:

• Can users easily perform their planned tasks? For example, can users perform the tasks planned at the expected speed?
• How much preparation do users need?
• What documentation or other supporting material are available to help the user? Can this find the answers they seek in these media?
• What and how many mistakes do users make when they interact with the product?
• Can the user recover from errors? What will users do to recover from errors? Does the product help users recover from mistakes? For example, does the software show informative and non-threatening error messages?
• Have measures been taken to meet the special needs of users with disabilities? (Is accessibility taken into account?)

Examples of techniques to find answers to these and other questions are: user-focused requirements analysis, construction of user profiles and usability tests.

Web usability

Web usability is the discipline that studies how to design websites so that users can interact with them in the easiest, most comfortable and intuitive way possible.

The best way to create a usable website is by doing a user-centered design, designing for and by the user, as opposed to what might be a technology-focused design or one focused on creativity or originality.

A fundamental part of the usability of a website is determined by the graphic signs that represent elements of control and measurement for users and provide them with visual references related to elements found in their daily life and that when interacting with them in the website makes it easy for them to understand and use it. Graphic signs can be images, buttons, navigation menus, among others.

Research on web usability is mainly focused on the accommodation, navigation, information architecture and content of a web application, and it is important to take into account that the perception of usability has a positive influence on the user regarding trust, satisfaction and loyalty towards a website.

Web usability rules

There are 5 main rules that, when adapted to a website, can be considered as a "usable" website.

Fast - The recommendation is that a web page takes less than 3 seconds to load on mobile devices, the use of these is greater than that of computers. The most users will wait to see the content of a web page is an average of 10 seconds. - Most users have a modem for Internet access, so our pages must be as light as possible so that users do not wait long, because otherwise they will cancel the visit.

Simple - Keep a constant navigation. Don't force visitors to learn different paths or schemes for navigation in different parts of your site. - Do not abuse the use of animation, this can overwhelm and tire the eyes. You have to follow the rule "Make It Simple Idiot", the simpler it is for the user, the less effort he will have to make and therefore the more satisfactory the user experience will be.

Investigable - Search engines look for the actual text. They don't pay any attention to graphics and programming code (such as Javascript). Avoid these situations if you want your website to be well positioned in search engines.

For most - The Websites need to be compatible with all browsers and computers for easy usability. - Use plain and simple HTML whenever possible, it is the most cross-browser compatible code.

Keep it up to date - The fastest way for a website to lose credibility is to contain outdated information.

Mobile web usability

Currently people have greater access to web content from mobile devices such as smartphones, than from desktop computers, since this allows them to be communicated and available at any time and in any situation that requires it; However, when the user browses the mobile web, they face usability problems because many of the web contents are not adapted to be viewed on devices with small screens and those that are, affect navigation, presentation problems. of information, adequate amount of information, appropriate use of graphics, etc.

The widespread use of smartphones brings new challenges for designers who make web content for these devices, as the goal is to make content easy to navigate, more efficient and more interactive.

To improve the user experience in mobile services it is necessary to consider two important aspects of usability: simplicity and interactivity. Simplicity is considered a crucial concept for successful user interface design because the increasing complexity of technology makes our lives complex and messy. Interactivity has been studied as an essential feature of websites that drives the activities and attitudes of users.

Benefits of usability

Among the main benefits are:

• Reduction of learning costs and efforts.
• Decrease in the costs of assistance and help the user.
• Decrease in the rate of errors committed by the user and the rework.
• Optimization of design, redesign and maintenance costs.
• Increased conversion rate of visitors to customers from a website.
• Increased user satisfaction and comfort.
• Improves image and prestige.
• Improves the quality of life of users, as it reduces their stress, increases satisfaction and productivity.

In addition, usability implemented in the workspace brings a number of benefits, including:

• Improved body posture.
• Ergonomic design of the furniture.
• Reduction of organizational problems.
• Improvement of the working environment.
• Optimization of the software and the interface used.

All these benefits imply a reduction and general optimization of production costs, as well as an increase in productivity. Usability allows faster completion of tasks and reduces wasted time.

A real case, after being redesigned paying special attention to usability, the IBM website increased its sales by 400% (InfoWorld, 1999).

How can you achieve a high level of usability? according to the SIDAR Foundation

Adapting the development process to the principles of User-Centered Design: [1]

Why is usability important? according to the SIDAR Foundation

The establishment of design principles in usability engineering have had the following proven consequences:

• A reduction in production costs: the total development costs and times can be reduced by avoiding over-design and reducing the number of subsequent changes required in the product.
• Reduction of maintenance and support costs: systems that are easy to use require less training, less user support and less maintenance.
• Reduction of usage costs: systems that best fit user needs improve productivity and quality of actions and decisions. The easiest systems to use reduce effort (stress) and allow workers to handle a wider range of tasks. Hard-to-use systems reduce health, well-being and motivation and can increase absenteeism. Such systems are loss in use times and are not fully exploited to the extent that the user loses interest in the use of the advanced features of the system, which in some cases could never be used.
• Improvement in the quality of the product: user-centred design results in products of higher quality of use, more competitive in a market that demands products of easy use.

Opinions by Jakob Nielsen

Jakob Nielsen, considered the father of Usability, defined it as the quality attribute that measures how easy to use web interfaces are. In other words, a usable website is one in which users can interact in the easiest, most comfortable, safe and intelligent way possible.

Not only the technology and the graphic aspect are determining factors to make a striking website. It is important that it meets the following characteristics:

• Understandable
• New
• Understandable
• Smart.
• Attractive

That is, the purpose, in this case of a website, is to ensure that the user finds what he is looking for in the shortest possible time.

The Usability of a website is determined by its contents, the closer they are to the user, the better the navigation and the more accurate the experience will be when facing the screen.

Logically it is impossible to create a website that is one hundred percent perfect and in optimal conditions, since millions of users cannot be liked at the same time, however, designers and creators must try to show all the elements in a clear way and concise, minimizing the number of clicks and scrolls.

Sometimes netizens are faced with websites of the highest quality and content, but that present difficulties in their content. For example, that the menus are difficult to locate, or that the search tool does not appear in a visible place.

Although there are no defined standards for Usability, it depends in a certain way on the space where the navigator operates. But the important thing in this case is that the user does not allow himself to be consumed or dominated by the site, that is, that he himself takes control of the navigation through simple learning and mastering the necessary elements, to finally find and in the shortest possible time, what you are looking for.

A good website must respond to the needs of the user. In a virtual community where different cultures and interests come together, the context in which the members of a virtual group, or community, operate cannot cause discomfort at the time of browsing.

A recurring mistake of the creators and designers of Web sites is wanting to impose their decisions and criteria without thinking about the user. For this reason, when designing the site and introducing content, this being the last task of the editors, and not of the designers, it is important to think of the other.

Recognition in the software industry

Usability is now recognized as an important software quality attribute, having earned a place among more traditional attributes such as performance and reliability. Even various study programs focus on it. Various usability consulting firms have also sprung up, and traditional consulting and design firms are offering similar services for this term so closely associated with marketing. From a software application design and evaluation approach, we talk about software usability as an area included in the Human Computer Interaction (IPO) field, which is defined as a set of theoretical and methodological foundations that ensure compliance with usability levels. required. It is fundamentally about deciding which attributes of the usability concept should be prioritized, in order to achieve verifiable and measurable goals of usability levels whose ultimate objective is to attract the user's attention as much as possible, whether for economic, advertising or other reasons.