Improving UX is about measuring and improving :
- Ease of use
- Effectiveness
- Efficiency of use
- Memorability
- Error Prevention
- Satisfaction
What is the goal of UCA?
To collect and analyse data to make informed interface design decisions.
What is UCA?
Process of discovering :
- Who the users are
- How they think and work
- The stakeholders goals and objectives
Collecting data on
- User Profiles
- Work Environment
- Scenarios of how users will use the interface
- Task Analysis
________________ is the first goal of UCA
Uncovering the user’s mental model
What is mental model?
A person’s representation in their minds of how something works.
- People with mental models, however they do not always match reality.
- Mental models set expectations, which drive and shape behavior.
- 80% of usability results from conceptual model matching the user’s mental model
Define Conceptual model.
The actual interface that users interact with represents the conceptual model.
An intuitive user experience results from having the interface’s conceptual model match the user’s mental model.
Eg : Kindle page turning animation
What is the difference between UCA and UT?
UCA
- To get to know the user demographics, what/how they think, their aspirations, problems, motivations.
- Techniques : Interview, surveys, contextual observation, Focus groups.
UT
- to evaluate the performance of existing design, does it match the way users think, is it usable, effective, efficient and satisfactory for the user
- Techniques - Walk through, performance test, subjective rating, Heuristics, A/B testing, Click Stream
What are the shortcomings of UT as an analysis method?
- UT is reactive analysis vs. the proactive analysis of UCA.
- UT helps identify the problems in the design but does not tell what the problems are or how to fix them.
- You can observe the users reaction but may not understand the reason behind them.
- The results of the UT are limited to the tasks performed by the user. They cannot be generalized to the analysis of the entire site.
