Exam Flashcards
Digital analytics does encompass…
Collection, measurement, analysis, visualisation and interpretation of
digital data illustrating user behaviour on:
• Web(site) / mobile analytics
• Other publication outlets
– Social media
– Newsletters
– Panel data
• Transaction channels
• Relevant contexts: always on, quantified self, Internet of things, big data…
Online tracking
Practice by which websites/app identify and collect information about user interactions during the course of their web browsing
Mapping: usability
Part of the user experience. Functionality, people must be able to use it
What is meant by specified “context of use”?
User interface. Field of human-computer interaction
User interface
Space where interaction between humans and machines occur. Digital space where digital interactions occur
Top down: expert inspection
Heuristics
How to measure_3 metrics
- Effectiveness (Completion Rate)
- Efficiency
• Time taken on the first attempt
• Time to perform task compared to an expert
• Time correcting errors - Satisfaction. Ease of use es. Likert scale from 1 to 5 or visual scale
How to report_Techniques
Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA):
is used to understand participants’ thoughts as
they interact with a product by having them think
aloud while they work. The goal is to encourage
participants to keep a running stream of
consciousness as they work.
Understand participants’ thoughts as
they occur and as they attempt to work
through issues they encounter. Elicit
real-time feedback and emotional
responses
Can interfere with usability metrics, such as accuracy and
time on task
Retrospective Think Aloud
(RTA)
the moderator asks participants to retrace their
steps when the session is complete. Often
participants watch a video replay of their actions,
which may or may not contain eye-gaze patterns
Does not interfere with usability
metrics
Overall session length increases. Difficulty in remembering
thoughts from up to an hour before = poor data
Concurrent Probing (CP)
requires that as participants work on tasks—
when they say something interesting or do
something unique, the researcher asks follow-up
questions
Understand participants’ thoughts as
they attempt to work through a task
Interferes with natural thought process and progression that
participants would make on their own, if uninterrupted
Retrospective Probing (RP)
requires waiting until the session is complete
and then asking questions about the
participant’s thoughts and actions. Researchers
often use RP in conjunction with other methods—
as the participant makes comments or actions,
the researcher takes notes and follows up with
additional questions at the end of the session
Does not interfere with usability
metrics
Difficulty in remembering = poor data
Heuristics:
Mental shortcuts that help with the thinking processes in problem
solving / intuitive judgement
1: Visibility of system status
The design should always keep users informed about what is
going on, through appropriate feedback within a reasonable
amount of time.
#2: Match Between System and the Real World
The design should speak the users’ language. Use words,
phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, rather than internal
jargon. Follow real-world conventions, making information
appear in a natural and logical order.
3: User control and freedom
Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly
marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted action without
having to go through an extended process.
4: Consistency and standards
Follow platform
and industry conventions.
5: Error Prevention
Good error messages are important, but the best designs
carefully prevent problems from occurring in the first place.
Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and
present users with a confirmation option before they commit
to the action
#6: Recognition Rather than Recall
Minimize the user’s memory load by making elements, actions,
and options visible. The user should not have to remember
information from one part of the interface to another.
Information required to use the design (e.g., field labels or
menu items) should be visible or easily retrievable when
needed
#7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
Shortcuts — hidden from novice users — may speed up the
interaction for the expert user such that the design can cater to
both inexperienced and experienced users.
Allow users to tailor frequent actions
#8: Aesthetic and Minimalist design
Interfaces should not contain information which is irrelevant or
rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in an interface
competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes
their relative visibility.
9: Help users recognize,
diagnose, and recover
from errors
Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no
error codes), precisely indicate the problem, and
constructively suggest a solution.
#10: Help and documentation
it may be necessary to provide documentation to
help users understand how to complete their tasks.
Domain- or goal-specific heuristics
• Are based on an extensive benchmark of given domains / functionalities (+ user
testing)
• Aimed at identifying problems and good/best practices
• Answer following questions
– What should be taken into consideration?
– Which alternatives are available?
– Which pros./cons. can be seen connected to different solutions?
Components of an Expert Review
- List of usability problems, mapped to where they occur in the design (10 heuristics)
- Severity ratings for each usability problem
- Recommendations for fixing each usability problem
- Examples of best practices to guide improvements
- List of usability strengths
Severity ratings
The following 0 to 4 rating scale can be used to rate the severity of usability problems:
0 = I don’t agree that this is a usability problem at all
1 = Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project
2 = Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority
3 = Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority
4 = Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released
User testing: advantages
• Advantages
– Common users might see different problems if compared against experts
– Helps improving understanding of usability issues
User testing: whom to involve
• Which type of users?
– Users should belong to the groups the application is aimed at
– Should include as much diverse members as possible (e.g.: sex, age, ICTs
experience, previous experience with the application, motivation, …)
– There are not «general users»
User testing: user scenarios
User testing is usually done through user scenarios
– User profile. We need to create «Personas»
– Overall goal
– Tasks
Effective personas:
- Represent a major user group for your website
- Express and focus on the major needs and expectations of the most important user groups
- Give a clear picture of the user’s expectations and how they’re likely to use the site
- Aid in uncovering universal features and functionality
- Describe real people with backgrounds, goals, and values
