Introduction
There have been several reasons given over the years to explain the success of Microsoft's software products. Rarely has usability featured in these discussions.
Many of us would recall how painful it was to draw a table in WordStar or WordPerfect. Microsoft Word made it simple, intuitive and fun to draw tables. The same goes for text formatting, mail merge, envelope printing, and so on.
Extra wide screens in many software packages force users to scroll horizontally. As a result, speed suffers because users need to lift their hands from the keyboards and keep reaching for the mouse. On the other hand, some packages have thoughtfully laid out their screens in such a way that horizontal scrolling is not needed and users can instead concentrate on their keyboards.
Many of us have come across web sites that take up several paragraphs to explain how to perform a certain tasksay, check contents of shopping cartwhen a hyperlink placed right there would have done the job easily. The Search feature on different web sites result in wide-ranging hit lists: some web sites provide matches only if the search term matches exactly with the way the web site has stored it; others are smart enough to present a hit list of approximate matches. Some on-line shopping web sites even lack a shopping cart feature and force you to keep entering the same information (for example, name, address and credit card details) separately for each item you want to buy.
Poor usability leads to irritation and fatigue, even if users do not their feelings. It has an adverse impact on the usage experience. In an on-line shopping web site, it can lead to loss of revenues. Poor usability of business applications leads to increased help desk costs.
On the other hand, better usability makes our usage experience more fun and can increase productivity. A highly usable on-line shopping web site tempts repeat visits, builds customer loyalty, and increases its revenue-earning potential.
For a company developing a software product, better usability plays a significant role in defining the brand appeal and conveying a certain positive brand experience. The enjoySAP initiative of SAP AG is a case in point. Owing to enjoySAP, the previously difficult-to-use screens of SAP software were completely re-designed, making them much easier to use.
As more and more software products tend to become commodities, traditional functional criteria will take a backseat to usability aspects. Says Mark Rolston of frog design, "In future, the behavior of controlling elements can be configured in an objective or playful way, and thus become part of the brand experience." Operating elements such as zooming or scrolling menus may ultimately determine whether a product is accepted or rejected by the market.
In a broader context that is equally applicable to software and web sites, C.K. Prahalad, management guru and professor at the University of Michigan Business School, recently unveiled a roadmap wherein companies will have to make a rapid transition from product and consumer orientation to customer solution orientation, and finally to the personal consumer experience viewpoint .
Defining Usability
While all of us have an intuitive understanding of what usability means, it is now time we looked at some definitions.
Fundamentally, usability is concerned with making systems easy to learn and easy to use. The term is used to describe the quality of a user's experience when interacting with a system whether a software package or a web site. A usable system is one that enables users to perform their job effectively and efficiently.
The International Standards Organization (ISO) defines usability as the "effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which a specified set of users can achieve a specified set of tasks in a particular environment."
Usability relates to both form and content.
Microsoft Word and Excel are two examples of excellent usability among software products. The mail merge wizard in Word make it easy to create form letters. Word has similar highly usable features for printing mailing labels and envelopes. Excel provides an excellent paste function wizard (invoked through the f* button) for defining complex formulas with ease, and a highly usable chart wizard to quickly convert numbers to graphs.
Amazon and Expedia are examples of two web sites that display tremendous commitment to enhance the total usage experience.
Amazon's 1-Click ordering feature improves usability by enabling the registered buyer quickly order an item without having to enter shipping address and credit card details during each buying session.
Amazon's recently launched Search Inside the Book feature (see figure 1) allows buyers to search millions of pages to find exactly the book they want to buy.
SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/usability-17186/
There have been several reasons given over the years to explain the success of Microsoft's software products. Rarely has usability featured in these discussions.
Many of us would recall how painful it was to draw a table in WordStar or WordPerfect. Microsoft Word made it simple, intuitive and fun to draw tables. The same goes for text formatting, mail merge, envelope printing, and so on.
Extra wide screens in many software packages force users to scroll horizontally. As a result, speed suffers because users need to lift their hands from the keyboards and keep reaching for the mouse. On the other hand, some packages have thoughtfully laid out their screens in such a way that horizontal scrolling is not needed and users can instead concentrate on their keyboards.
Many of us have come across web sites that take up several paragraphs to explain how to perform a certain tasksay, check contents of shopping cartwhen a hyperlink placed right there would have done the job easily. The Search feature on different web sites result in wide-ranging hit lists: some web sites provide matches only if the search term matches exactly with the way the web site has stored it; others are smart enough to present a hit list of approximate matches. Some on-line shopping web sites even lack a shopping cart feature and force you to keep entering the same information (for example, name, address and credit card details) separately for each item you want to buy.
Poor usability leads to irritation and fatigue, even if users do not their feelings. It has an adverse impact on the usage experience. In an on-line shopping web site, it can lead to loss of revenues. Poor usability of business applications leads to increased help desk costs.
On the other hand, better usability makes our usage experience more fun and can increase productivity. A highly usable on-line shopping web site tempts repeat visits, builds customer loyalty, and increases its revenue-earning potential.
For a company developing a software product, better usability plays a significant role in defining the brand appeal and conveying a certain positive brand experience. The enjoySAP initiative of SAP AG is a case in point. Owing to enjoySAP, the previously difficult-to-use screens of SAP software were completely re-designed, making them much easier to use.
As more and more software products tend to become commodities, traditional functional criteria will take a backseat to usability aspects. Says Mark Rolston of frog design, "In future, the behavior of controlling elements can be configured in an objective or playful way, and thus become part of the brand experience." Operating elements such as zooming or scrolling menus may ultimately determine whether a product is accepted or rejected by the market.
In a broader context that is equally applicable to software and web sites, C.K. Prahalad, management guru and professor at the University of Michigan Business School, recently unveiled a roadmap wherein companies will have to make a rapid transition from product and consumer orientation to customer solution orientation, and finally to the personal consumer experience viewpoint .
Defining Usability
While all of us have an intuitive understanding of what usability means, it is now time we looked at some definitions.
Fundamentally, usability is concerned with making systems easy to learn and easy to use. The term is used to describe the quality of a user's experience when interacting with a system whether a software package or a web site. A usable system is one that enables users to perform their job effectively and efficiently.
The International Standards Organization (ISO) defines usability as the "effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which a specified set of users can achieve a specified set of tasks in a particular environment."
Usability relates to both form and content.
Microsoft Word and Excel are two examples of excellent usability among software products. The mail merge wizard in Word make it easy to create form letters. Word has similar highly usable features for printing mailing labels and envelopes. Excel provides an excellent paste function wizard (invoked through the f* button) for defining complex formulas with ease, and a highly usable chart wizard to quickly convert numbers to graphs.
Amazon and Expedia are examples of two web sites that display tremendous commitment to enhance the total usage experience.
Amazon's 1-Click ordering feature improves usability by enabling the registered buyer quickly order an item without having to enter shipping address and credit card details during each buying session.
Amazon's recently launched Search Inside the Book feature (see figure 1) allows buyers to search millions of pages to find exactly the book they want to buy.
SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/usability-17186/
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