Seminar 2
The book introduced evaluation together with its key
concepts. The reason why we need to evaluate, is because users expect a lot from
the systems that are available to them, in form of experience, design,
usability etc. The system needs to go beyond the basic requirements of the
customer, it also needs to provide the user with a pleasing experience and intuitive
design. If one can identify all of the important aspects for the customer and
also evaluate the product, it can become appealing to a wider audience. Depending
on the system and product being created one needs to evaluate different things.
Everything stems from the demands of the customer, one system might need to
focus on speed during the evaluation, while another might need to focus on
design and ease of use. The means of evaluating in terms of location is also
dependent upon the system that is being evaluated. In the book it is mentioned
that the evaluation of a toy can benefit from being made in a child’s room with
the child using the toy. Other evaluations can be made directly in a lab. The nature
of the evaluation is taken into consideration when deciding “when” to carry out
the evaluation. Does it occur in an earlier stage of the development process? Or
Is it left to the end when the product is finished?
How do we interpret data when
evaluating? There are several things one should think of when doing so, is the
system reliable (not prone to error or
inconsistency)? Are the evaluation results valid
(do they measure what we wanted)? Are there any biases (are the results of the evaluations affected by any personal
traits or agendas)?
Evaluation can as stated in the book be summarized in the
following categories:
1.
Controlled settings involving users (examples
are laboratories and living labs): users’ activities are controlled in order to
test. Usability testing is often
performed in such a setting. Usability testing focuses on evaluating how usable
a product is, what do users do? And he social of influences on the users
behaviour.
2.
Natural settings involving users (examples
are online communities and products that are used in public places): there is
little or no control of users’ activities in order to determine how the product
would be used in the real world. Field
studies are often made in natural settings because of the fact that
products are increasingly being designed for environments other than the office
or the lab.
3.
Any settings not involving users:
consultants and researchers critique, predict, and model aspects of the
interface in order to identify. Experimental
designs can be performed in such environments as well as controlled settings involving users
When users are hard to come by in the evaluating process
inspections can be made. This involves getting experts in the field of
interaction design, requirements and user behaviour, to evaluate a product. One
such inspection method is heuristic evaluation which inspects the usability. Walkthroughs
are another form of inspection methods where the product is “walked through”
while at the same time taking notes of any issues occurring.
Question: which setting is the most appropriate for evaluating our app?
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