Rapport - Usability Meanings and Interpretations in ISO Standards Flashcards
What type of perspective does the ISO 9126 series of standards have in addressing software quality?
What is the objective of ISO 9126?
It uses the product perspective and the objective is to provide a framework for product quality.
The term “usability” refers to a set of multiple concepts, such as execution time, perfomance, user satisfaction and ease of learning. The ISO has developed different standards on usability, and two major categories can be distinguished. What are these categories?
- Product-oriented standards (ISO 9126, 2001; ISO 14598, 2001)
- Process-oriented standards (ISO 9141, 1992/2001; ISO 13407, 1999)
The international standard ISO 9126 divides software quality into six general categories (characteristics with attributes) which are?
Functionailty, Reliability, Usability, Effectiveness, Maintainability and Portability
The 2001-2003 edition of ISO/IEC 9126 is divided into four parts.
The first being what and what does it specify?
Part 1: Quality model specifies:
a) Internal and external qualities modeled with the six characteristics functionality etc.
b) Quality in use characteristics are modeled with four other characteristics: effectiveness, productivity, security and satisfaction
The 2001-2003 edition of ISO/IEC 9126 is divided into four parts.
The second being what
External measures…. or metrics which is the old term.
This part describes the measures that can be used to specify or evaluate the behaviour of the software when operated by the user.
The 2001-2003 edition of ISO/IEC 9126 is divided into four parts
The third part being what?
Part 3 Internal measures… or metrics (old definition):
This part describes the measures that can be used to create the requirements that describe the static properties of the interface which can be evaluated by inspection without operating the software.
The 2001-2003 edition of ISO/IEC 9126 is divided into four parts
The thirds part being what?
Part 3 Internal measures… or metrics (old definition):
This part describes the measures that can be used to create the requirements that describe the static properties of the interface which can be evaluated by inspection without operation the software.
The 2001-2003 edition of ISO/IEC 9126 is divided into four parts
the fourth part being what?
Part 4 Quality in use measures (or metrics):
This part describes the measures that can be used to specify or evaluate the impact of the use of the software when operated by the user.
In 1991 ISO 9126 defined usability as…
“a set of attributes that bear on the effort needed for use and on the individual assessment of such use, by a stated or impied set of users.”
What are the weaknesses in ISO 9126 which have no yet been fully tackled according to the report Usability Meanings and Interpretation in ISO Standards
Unclear architecture at the detail level of the measures.
Some overlapping of concepts, making the standard challenging for the user community to grasp clearly, such as the usability characteristics of internal and external quality with respect to the quality-in-use set of quality characteristics.
Lack of a quality requirement standard.
Lack of guidance in assessing the result of measurement.
Ambiguous choice of measures.
How did ISO 9126 define usabillity in 1991?
How does the standard define usability in the 2001 edition?
In 1991 usability was defined as “a set of attributes that bear on the effort needed for use and on the individual assessment of such use, by a stated or implied set of users.”
In 2001 usability was defined as “The capability of the software product to be understood, learned and liked by the user, when used under specified conditions.”
How does ISO 9126 define usabillity?
Usability is “a set of attributes that bear on the effort needed for use and on the individual assessment of such use, by a stated or implied set of users.”
How can the ISO 9126 standard be used? What are the advantages?
It can be used as a reference for contextual agreement between purchaser and a software producer. It eliminates misunderstandings.
It is used to specify and verify properties that the software must exhibit before being put into service.
What are the weaknesses according to the report Usability Meanings and Interpretation in ISO Standards in ISO 9126?
Unclear architecture at the detail level of the measures.
Some overlapping of concepts, making the standard challenging for the user community to grasp clearly, such as the usability characteristics of internal and external quality with respect to the quality-in-use set of quality characteristics.
Lack of a quality requirements standard.
Lack of guidance in assessing the results of measurement.
Ambiguous choice of measurement.
How does ISO 9241 define usability?
“Software is usable when it allows the user to execute his tasks effectively, efficiently and with satisfaction iun the specified context of use.”
