Seminar 2
Chapter 13
This chapter presented the main ideas of evaluation
and different methods for evaluating designs
or other parts of a design project. Evaluation is an important thing to do because
it makes sure that for example a design is accepted among a wider group of
users. In the text the author mentions that it’s important to know why an evaluation should be performed, what one
should evaluate, where and when the evaluation should be done. It’s often
possible to evaluate different aspects in different ways. An evaluation could for example range from a
whole system to a smaller part of an application.
In the text the author writes about three different broad categories used to
classify evaluations. These categories
are controlled settings involving users,
natural settings involving users and any settings not involving users. Each
category has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s also important to know that
using combinations of the different categories is possible to reach a better evaluation that fits to a specific task.
Finally, the author mentions things that could influence the way the data is
translated. These things are reliability,
validity, ecological
validity, biases and scope.
Question: What kind of evaluations
would be suitable for our design project?
Chapter 14
In this chapter evaluation studies were
presented. This involved where the evaluation
took place, which in the text focused on
usability tests in controlled laboratory
settings and field studies in natural settings. In the text different ways
of measuring quantitative performances
during a test were presented. For example it’s possible to measure the time it
takes to complete a task, number and type of errors per task or numbers of
users making a specific type of error. When an evaluation is performed in a controlled
setting such as a lab, there are
different type of equipment that can be used to gather
data to the evaluation.
Hypotheses testing is a way of examining
the relationships between variables. A variable can be independent or
dependent. An independent variable is possible to manipulate. When the hypothesis is tested it’s common to state a null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis.
When it comes to experimental designs,
it’s important how participants should be involved and which participants that
should be used. The author writes about the three different designs different-participant design, same-participant design and matched-pairs design.
Field studies is a way of
gathering data from natural settings. The data is mainly collected
using observations and performing interviews. It could also be done by for
example filming or capturing audio. The time of the field studies being done can vary from a minute to a several
years. In the wild studies is a way of
capturing how people are using new technologies in a natural setting.
Chapter 15
This chapter presented methods used to understand users through heuristics, remotely
collected data or models that predicts a user’s
performance. All the mentioned methods don’t involve any participation
of a user. Instead role playing is used to simulate the user and analyzing different relevant aspects and
identifying usability problems is done.
Using heuristic evaluations is done
checking how different parts of the tested product stands against a list of heuristics. In each iteration any problems are
identified and handled.
Walkthroughs is a method used for
predicting problems for users without performing any user tests. This method involves going through a list of tasks
and marking possible problems with the user features. Some walkthrough methods don’t include the users
while other walkthrough methods involves
the users as well as usability
specialists and developers. In the text the author writes more about cognitive and pluralistic walkthroughs.
Analytics is a method used to evaluate
the user traffic through a system. This means collecting
data about parts of the system to be able to see if there are parts that
are underused.
This chapter presented the main ideas of evaluation and different methods for evaluating designs or other parts of a design project. Evaluation is an important thing to do because it makes sure that for example a design is accepted among a wider group of users. In the text the author mentions that it’s important to know why an evaluation should be performed, what one should evaluate, where and when the evaluation should be done. It’s often possible to evaluate different aspects in different ways. An evaluation could for example range from a whole system to a smaller part of an application.
In the text the author writes about three different broad categories used to classify evaluations. These categories are controlled settings involving users, natural settings involving users and any settings not involving users. Each category has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s also important to know that using combinations of the different categories is possible to reach a better evaluation that fits to a specific task. Finally, the author mentions things that could influence the way the data is translated. These things are reliability, validity, ecological validity, biases and scope.
Question: What kind of evaluations would be suitable for our design project?
Chapter 14
In this chapter evaluation studies were presented. This involved where the evaluation took place, which in the text focused on usability tests in controlled laboratory settings and field studies in natural settings. In the text different ways of measuring quantitative performances during a test were presented. For example it’s possible to measure the time it takes to complete a task, number and type of errors per task or numbers of users making a specific type of error. When an evaluation is performed in a controlled setting such as a lab, there are different type of equipment that can be used to gather data to the evaluation.
Hypotheses testing is a way of examining the relationships between variables. A variable can be independent or dependent. An independent variable is possible to manipulate. When the hypothesis is tested it’s common to state a null hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis.
When it comes to experimental designs, it’s important how participants should be involved and which participants that should be used. The author writes about the three different designs different-participant design, same-participant design and matched-pairs design.
Field studies is a way of gathering data from natural settings. The data is mainly collected using observations and performing interviews. It could also be done by for example filming or capturing audio. The time of the field studies being done can vary from a minute to a several years. In the wild studies is a way of capturing how people are using new technologies in a natural setting.
Chapter 15
This chapter presented methods used to understand users through heuristics, remotely collected data or models that predicts a user’s performance. All the mentioned methods don’t involve any participation of a user. Instead role playing is used to simulate the user and analyzing different relevant aspects and identifying usability problems is done.
Using heuristic evaluations is done checking how different parts of the tested product stands against a list of heuristics. In each iteration any problems are identified and handled.
Walkthroughs is a method used for predicting problems for users without performing any user tests. This method involves going through a list of tasks and marking possible problems with the user features. Some walkthrough methods don’t include the users while other walkthrough methods involves the users as well as usability specialists and developers. In the text the author writes more about cognitive and pluralistic walkthroughs.
Analytics is a method used to evaluate the user traffic through a system. This means collecting data about parts of the system to be able to see if there are parts that are underused.
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