In Proceedings of the INTED2011 (International Technology, Education and Development Conference) held in Valencia (Spain) on the 7th, 8th and 9th of March, 2011.
Early Software Prototyping for Usability tests using low cost tools for teaching purposes
1. Early Software Prototyping forUsability tests using low cost toolsfor teaching purposes Benedikt Salzbrunn Michael Tesar Kerstin Stöckelmayr Robert Pucher
3. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 3 Motivation Users refuse to use software designed from a solely technical point of view Examples like iPhone® or iPad® are suitable to convince a large community that it is not the technical solution by itself Difficult to use products get into troubles immediately when essentially easier to use products show up
4. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 4 Teaching Usability Engineering and UCD Bachelor programs Computer Science 4th semester: User Centered Design 5th semester: Software Usability (elective course) Business Informatics 5th semester: Software Usability (elective course) Master programs Game Engineering and Simulation 3rd semester: Human Computer Interfaces and Usability Multimedia and Software Engineering 2nd semester: Software Usability Basics (elective course)
5. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 5 Classification of prototypes Low- vs. high-fidelity prototypes Horizontal vs. vertical Characterization besides fidelity purpose of the prototype, product type, project type and phase of the project visual refinement, breadth of functionality, depth of functionality, richness of interactivity and richness of data model
6. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 6 Prototyping tools Commercial vs. non-commercial software solutions Office-suites OpenOffice, iWork® and Microsoft® Office® Programming environments Microsoft® Small Basic® Microsoft® Expression Blend® Graphical tools GIMP Inkscape Special usability software
7. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 7 Practical Example Project goals Development of a user interface for text and video communication via television Make video calls, join videoconferences, read on screen messages, simple calendar function Target group of potential users: senior citizens who want to stay in contact with their friends, relatives and families Team 11 students (8 bachelor’s degree students and 3 master’s degree students) 2 lecturers from the Department of Computer Science
8. User Profiling Ensuring user friendliness and adequacy of the user interface Women and men above the age of 60 years Capability of reading (in order to follow on-screen instructions) Understanding of the system language (German) Possible physical or mental limitations Disease(s) which affect the use of technical equipment Technology-remote users Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2009 8
9. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 9 User Centered Design Process Explorative / Iterative approach Existing interface was never shown List of required features Design of multiple paper prototypes in small groups Repeated presentation and review
11. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 11 User Centered Design Process Radial and constantly present menu emerged as a central control number of menu levels was set to a maximum of two sub-menu concepts have again been designed in small groups proposals were transferred into Microsoft® PowerPoint® slideshow with over 300 individual images
12. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 12 User Centered Design Process Review of the low-fidelity computer based prototype Tests with five subjects out of the designated target group aged between 61 and 68 years Some design elements and wordings have been revised Prototype redesign and finalization Microsoft® Small Basic® forinteractivity Pop ups, error messages and eventsimulation Remote control design
17. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 17 Final Usability evaluation Tests with a total of twelve people; all tests were performed in senior living communities Tests were conducted on a laptop and an LCD TV Participants were faced with the challenge to complete four main tasks The overall impression of the prototype was positive The simple design of the remote control was received well Linguistic arrangement, neutral wording and the selected symbols were considered suitable
18. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 18 Project experiences Iterative development process High level of quality throughout the whole project lifetime Detailed user profiling is crucial Two steps of usability evaluation turned outadequate and necessary Choice of appropriate test environments is important
19. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 19 Conclusion and future directions Teaching students UCD and Usability Engineering in Computer Science degree programs is mandatory Large choice of cost efficient and easy to useprototyping tools Solutions vary in terms of prototype functionality, design and later software integration Importance of prototyping tool choice needs to be taught Integration of Usability prototyping into current courses Development of new courses for additional degree programs
20. Benedikt Salzbrunn - 2011 20 Thank you for your attention If there are any questions please do not hesitate asking them Benedikt Salzbrunn Department of Computer Science University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien www.technikum-wien.at
