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1.2. OVERVIEW
Section 2 describes the necessary usability planning and infrastructure in terms of user involvement, skill sets, tool kits, specially equipped rooms, and the project plan. Section 3 describes the necessary work/task analysis process and results from which to begin user interface design, i.e., the foundation for the bridge. In a usability engineering project plan, this is usually called the usability analysis phase. Section 4 describes the actual design process, i.e., the building of the bridge. In a usability engineering project plan, this is usually called the usability design phase. It includes iterative design, prototyping, and testing. Formal usability evaluations with the coded application are conducted in the usability evaluation phase, which is not addressed here. Table 8.1 provides an overview of usability project phases and tasks and their corresponding sections.
Usability Project Phase | Section Number | Usability Project Task |
---|---|---|
Usability project planning planning the construction of the bridge | 2.1 | Structure for user involvement |
2.2 | Required usability engineering skill set | |
2.3 | Usability engineering tool kit | |
2.4 | Usability engineering room | |
2.5 | Usability engineering project plan | |
Usability analysis laying the foundation of the bridge | 3.1 | Business objectives for the application |
3.2 | Definition of current and new user classes | |
3.3 | Current task definitions | |
3.4 | Malfunction analysis of current system | |
3.5 | System requirements, function requirements and function specifications | |
3.6 | Training and documentation strategy | |
3.7 | Hardware/software environment | |
Usability design building the bridge | 4.1 | New task definitions |
4.2 | Usability performance objectives | |
4.3.1 | Design and use of metaphors | |
4.3.2 | Task vs. subject orientation in the user interface | |
4.3.3 | Designing the user interface horizontally first: opening screen and navigation principles | |
4.3.4 | Vertical user interface design second: design for each task | |
4.4 | Detail design | |
Usability evaluation testing the bridge | Not covered here | Field trials and usability acceptance testing |
In each section, the heuristics for the choice of methods and approaches will be provided for fire prevention and firefighting assignments. In fire prevention assignments, usability is integrated into the overall project plan right from the start, allowing for a reasonably polished user interface design in an orderly fashion. By contrast, the usability work done in firefighting assignments is aimed at quickly addressing the most glaring usability problems within the confines of project schedule, resources, and budget. Usually there is not much opportunity for exploring user interface design alternatives. It is by no means a comprehensive usability effort, and many shortcuts are taken often discounting even discount usability (Nielsen, 1989). Extra effort put into the same project task in fire prevention means higher-quality information for decision making and more exploration of design alternatives. In fire prevention assignments, there is a higher level of quality and a higher level of confidence in the resulting user interface design. Some remarks on critical success factors for building a solid bridge (Section 6) conclude the discussion.
Throughout the chapter, a fictitious project for redesigning a complex legacy system will be used to illustrate some of the issues, though these illustrations are not intended as a comprehensive case study. The project takes place at the XYZ Finance & Insurance Company, a fictitious company that offers a wide range of financial and insurance services to its customers through a network of branch offices and sales representatives, who visit customers in their homes.
2. USABILITY PROJECT PLANNING PLANNING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE
This section describes five components necessary for sound usability engineering planning and infrastructure:
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