article

Free access

Connecting theory and practice: a case study of achieving usability goals

Author:

Keith A. ButlerAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGCHI Bulletin, Volume 16, Issue 4

Pages 85 - 88

https://doi.org/10.1145/1165385.317472

Published: 01 April 1985 Publication History

PDF eReader

Abstract

This paper describes a case study of the Human Factors design, development, and testing of a computer-based financial analysis package. The project applied the “usability goals” method proposed by Bennett (1984) to structure the definition, design, and testing of the new system. Learnability was defined as a key attribute in the product concept because of its salience in users' perception of system quality. The learnability attribute was assigned an operational definition in terms of time to mastery and error avoidance/recovery. The “back-to-front” strategy of Didner & Butler (1982) was applied for designing the menus. Empirical testing of user performance on sample problems in the alpha stage indicated that the new system surpassed the learnability objective. Lessons learned from this case study concern leverage in getting better managerial attention for Human Factors considerations in development projects, and clearer structure to direct needed research.

References

[1]

Bennett, J. Managing to meet usability requirements- establishing and meeting software development goals. In J. Bennett, D. Case, J. Sandelin, & M. Smith (Ed.s) Visual Display Terminals" Usability Issues and Health Concerns. Englewood Cliffs, N. J." Prentice-Hall, 1984.

Google Scholar

[2]

Didner, R. S. & Butler, K. A. Information requirements for user decision support" designing systems from back to front. In Proceedings of the International Conference on CybJernetics and Society (Seattle, Octo~er~ 1982), IEEE, pp.- 415-419.

Google Scholar

[3]

Dzida, W., Herda, S., & Itzfeldt, W. D.Userperceived quality of interactive systems. IEEE Transactions on Software Enqineering, vol. SE-4(4), (July, 1978), pp. 270-276.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[4]

Engel, S. E. & Granda, R. E. Guidelines for man/display interfaces. IBM Techt~ical Report TR 00.2720, December 19, 1975.

Google Scholar

[5]

Gilb, T. Software Metrics. Cambridge, Mass." Winthrop, 1977.

Google Scholar

[6]

Gould, J. D. Designing for usability-key principles and what 6esigners think. In Proc. CHI'83 Human Factors in Computing Systems (Boston, December 12-15, 1983), ACIVi, New York, pp. 50-53.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[7]

Miller, D. P. The depth/breadth tradeoff in hierarchical computer menus. In Proc. of the Human Factors Society- 25th Annual Meeting, 1981.

Google Scholar

[8]

Milne, F. & Weber, R. The economics of designing generalized software. Communications of the ACM, 26(8), (Aug. 1983), 582-589.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[9]

Norman, D. Design principles for human-computer interfaces. In Proc. CHI'83 Human Factors in Computing Systems (Boston, December 12-15, 1983), ACM, New York, pp. 1-18.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[10]

Peterson, D. Screen design guidelines. Small Systems World, (Feb, 1981) pp. 19-21; 34-37.

Google Scholar

[11]

Raduchel, W. A professional's perspective on user-friendliness. Byte, (May, 1984), 101-106.

Google Scholar

[12]

Root, R. W. & Draper, S. Questionnaires as a software evaluation tool. In Proc. CHI'83 Human Factors in Computing Systems ~(Bosi~on, December 12-15T 1983~, ACM, New York, pp. 83-87.

Digital Library

Google Scholar

[13]

Wind, ~. W.; Grashof, J. F.; & Goldhar, J. D. Market-based guidelines for design of industrial products. Journal of Marketinq, 42 (july, 1978) pp. 27-37.

Google Scholar

Cited By

View all

Mbelekani NBengler K(2023)Learnability in Automated Driving (LiAD): Concepts for Applying Learnability Engineering (CALE) Based on Long-Term Learning EffectsInformation10.3390/info1410051914:10(519)Online publication date: 22-Sep-2023
https://doi.org/10.3390/info14100519
Strenge BSchack T(2019)AWOSE - A Process Model for Incorporating Ethical Analyses in Agile Systems EngineeringScience and Engineering Ethics10.1007/s11948-019-00133-zOnline publication date: 7-Oct-2019
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-019-00133-z
Marrella ACatarci TKoskinen ILim YCerratto-Pargman TChow KOdom W(2018)Measuring the Learnability of Interactive Systems Using a Petri Net Based ApproachProceedings of the 2018 Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3196709.3196744(1309-1319)Online publication date: 8-Jun-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3196709.3196744
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Connecting theory and practice: a case study of achieving usability goals
1. Applied computing
  1. Enterprise computing
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. HCI design and evaluation methods

Recommendations

Connecting theory and practice: a case study of achieving usability goals
CHI '85: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

This paper describes a case study of the Human Factors design, development, and testing of a computer-based financial analysis package. The project applied the “usability goals” method proposed by Bennett (1984) to structure the definition, design, and ...
Theory in practice: constructivism and the technology of instruction in an authentic project-based computer class
Agile software development in practice
Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming

Agile software development methods have been around since the mid 1990s. Over these years, teams have evolved the specific software development practices used. Aims: The goal of this paper is to provide a view of the agile practices used by new teams, ...

Comments

Please enable JavaScript to view thecomments powered by Disqus.

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

ACM SIGCHI Bulletin Volume 16, Issue 4

April 1985

201 pages

ISSN:0736-6906

DOI:10.1145/1165385

Issue’s Table of Contents

CHI '85: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
April 1985
231 pages
ISBN:0897911490
DOI:10.1145/317456
Chairmen:
Lorraine Borman
Northeastern Univ., Evanston, IL
,
Raoul Smith
Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 April 1985

Published in SIGCHI Volume 16, Issue 4

Check for updates

Qualifiers

Article

Contributors

Other Metrics

View Article Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

26
Total Citations
View Citations
1,241
Total Downloads

Downloads (Last 12 months)201
Downloads (Last 6 weeks)29

Reflects downloads up to 25 Dec 2024

Other Metrics

View Author Metrics

Citations

Cited By

View all

Mbelekani NBengler K(2023)Learnability in Automated Driving (LiAD): Concepts for Applying Learnability Engineering (CALE) Based on Long-Term Learning EffectsInformation10.3390/info1410051914:10(519)Online publication date: 22-Sep-2023
https://doi.org/10.3390/info14100519
Strenge BSchack T(2019)AWOSE - A Process Model for Incorporating Ethical Analyses in Agile Systems EngineeringScience and Engineering Ethics10.1007/s11948-019-00133-zOnline publication date: 7-Oct-2019
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-019-00133-z
Marrella ACatarci TKoskinen ILim YCerratto-Pargman TChow KOdom W(2018)Measuring the Learnability of Interactive Systems Using a Petri Net Based ApproachProceedings of the 2018 Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3196709.3196744(1309-1319)Online publication date: 8-Jun-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3196709.3196744
Majrashi KHamilton M(2015)A Cross-Platform Usability Measurement ModelLecture Notes on Software Engineering10.7763/LNSE.2015.V3.1793:2(132-144)Online publication date: 2015
https://doi.org/10.7763/LNSE.2015.V3.179
Smeenk WZielhuis Mvan Turnhout K(2024)Bridging the research-practice gap: understanding the knowledge exchange between design research and social design practicesJournal of Engineering Design10.1080/09544828.2024.232217035:11(1421-1441)Online publication date: 11-Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1080/09544828.2024.2322170
رحمانی مJelokhani-Niaraki MKiavarz M(2021)Evaluating the usability of citizen-centered geographic information systems in solving urban spatial problemsJournal of Geospatial Information Technology10.52547/jgit.9.2.839:2(83-104)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2021
https://doi.org/10.52547/jgit.9.2.83
Mendoza González A(2020)A Software Testing Process Based in Gamification for Children With Down SyndromeUXD and UCD Approaches for Accessible Education10.4018/978-1-7998-2325-4.ch012(204-228)Online publication date: 2020
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-2325-4.ch012
Colusso LJones RMunson SHsieh GBrewster SFitzpatrick GCox AKostakos V(2019)A Translational Science Model for HCIProceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3290605.3300231(1-13)Online publication date: 2-May-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3290605.3300231
Marrella ACatarci TKoskinen ILim YCerratto-Pargman TChow KOdom W(2018)Measuring the Learnability of Interactive Systems Using a Petri Net Based ApproachProceedings of the 2018 Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3196709.3196744(1309-1319)Online publication date: 8-Jun-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3196709.3196744
Beck JEkbia HMandryk RHancock MPerry MCox A(2018)The Theory-Practice Gap as Generative MetaphorProceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3173574.3174194(1-11)Online publication date: 21-Apr-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3173574.3174194
Show More Cited By

View Options

View options

PDF

View or Download as a PDF file.

PDF

eReader

View online with eReader.

eReader

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Abstract

References

Cited By

Index Terms

Recommendations