About Usability
A Brief Introduction to Usability
User-centered design has evolved from human factors engineering, described by Wesley Woodson in 1981 as "the practice of designing products so that users can perform required use, operation, service and supportive tasks with a minimum of stress and maximum of efficiency." The process provides for
- early focus on users and tasks rather than technologies;
- empirical measurement of product usage; and
- an iterative design process (design, test, modify, repeat).
(Adapted from Rubin, J. (1994). Handbook of Usability Testing. New York: Wiley.)
Methods range from "discount" usability methods such as heuristic evaluation to those that require more planning and time such as the think-aloud protocol. In this approach, users say what they are thinking as they complete a scripted set of tasks. Methods can be selected and tailored to your needs and to the time you have available for testing.
Usability.gov offers a more in-depth introduction to usability.
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