Prototyping for usability: the benefits of peer group review
Lesley Trenner · 1995
Ease of use has been identified as the major requirement for today's computer users. However, traditional methods of system design often result in systems that are hard to use and don't help users achieve specific business objectives. Prototyping and iteration can lead to better design but showing users prototypes does not, of itself, guarantee a usable product. The literature on usability engineering usually recommends usability testing and independent HCI (human computer interaction) review. But in addition to these valuable methods, 'show and tell' sessions, sometimes known as 'peer group review' can reveal many usability problems before they are ever seen by users. The article looks at how we use peer group review within IT at Glaxo R&D (GRD) and compares the benefits of doing so with other aspects of usability engineering. At GRD we have found peer group review of prototypes helps in the following ways: to design better interfaces, to achieve a 'common look and feel' for our systems, and generally to improve quality. But it is only one method of achieving this. In terms of overall usability, we use a variety of evaluation activities: user review, revisiting users' tasks and their system requirements, HCI review and usability testing.