[Sigia-l] Measuring user satisfaction and intuitiveness of a system

[darin sullivan]

Hi Ron... At least quantitatively speaking, validation of your UI can be
accomplished utilizing standard techniques such as GOMS
Analysis<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOMS>, which
will measure the efficiency of a user's interaction with a system. A survey
of your user base can be used to help establish their level of satisfaction,
but questions must be carefully worded so as to minimize bias in the
response. In my experience, only usability testing will effectively measure
the quality of an interaction with a system, or how users generally feel
about their interaction. Usually analysis is done in parallel with usability
testing, to best establish both the efficiency and quality of the UI.

A simple example of why both measures are important: When users move through
open applications using keystroke combinations, such as Alt-Tab on Windows
and Command-Tab on Mac, it is often much more efficient to combine a third
key, Alt-Shift-Tab, to move to the target application. However, most users
prefer to simply repeat the Alt-Tab combination to move through the list of
applications rather than add the third key, because it's easier. There are
many examples of highly efficient systems that are used very little because
users don't like them (not easy or intuitive), and well used systems that
are very inefficient. Analysis and testing combine to provide important
guideposts to engineers, designers and stakeholders and can help to
establish the value of a user centered process.

In terms of measuring the system as a whole, most businesses in my
experience are unwilling to analyze or test a system in its entirety and
prefer to look at trends in the size of their customer base and customer
satisfaction before and after large implementations—are we now adding more
customers than we're losing (churn rate) and how are they rating our product
or service? These are both quantitative and qualitative measures too, and
can help to identify where analysis and testing can provide the greatest
benefit.

Good luck, and keep us posted :)


On Wed, Apr 27, 2011 at 8:32 AM, Polka, Ronald <Ron.Polka at mckesson.com>wrote:

> All,
>
>
>
> We have a system that was designed largely without utilizing a
> user-centered design process. We're constantly facing challenges on how
> to validate our designs and the UI of the system. Some stakeholders
> within the organization think the user experience of the system is
> intuitive and satisfactory while others think the exact opposite.
>
>
>
> My question: is there a standard measure I can use to validate whether
> or not our user base finds their experience with the system in general
> as satisfactory and intuitive.
>
>
>
> I've come across the SUS, Microsoft's Desirability Toolkit, QUIS, USE,
> and other measures out there but it seems these measures are designed to
> be used in conjunction with a usability testing session focused on
> specific screens in the system. I'd like to measure the system as a
> whole so as to gauge where we stand today with our users.
>
>
>
> Any thoughts or comments? Has anyone run into a similar scenario or
> situation - if so what did you do?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Ron Polka
>
> User Interface Design Engineer
>
>
>
> McKesson Corporation
>
>
>
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