Augmenting the Traditional Approach to Usability: Three Tools to Bring the User Back Into the Process
David L. Jones, Roberto K. Champney, Pär Axelsson, Kelly S. Hale · Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting · 2007
A primary goal of the usability evaluation process is to create interfaces that can be seamlessly integrated into current processes and create an enjoyable experience for the user. Given this, it is critical to capture user input to effectively drive product development and redesign. While many methods are available to usability practitioners, this paper highlights three techniques that can be used to substantially enhance usability evaluation output. Specifically this paper presents a method to utilize focus groups, emotional profiling and Kano analysis methods in combination to define user needs, expectations, and desires, provide an explanation of why features of a product are liked or disliked, as well as add additional structure to the prioritization of usability shortcomings and related redesign recommendations. A background on each method, the process for implementing them into usability analyses, and guidelines for successful use are provided for usability practitioners.