Hardware and software such as the Internet, Web sites, e-mail, chatrooms, blogs, wikis, podcasts, instant messaging, VoIP, shared desktops, and tele/Web/video conferencing.
Published in Chapter:
Usability in Mobile Computing and Commerce
Kuanchin Chen (Western Michigan University, USA), Hy Sockel (DIKW Management Group, USA), and Louis K. Falk (University of Texas at Brownsville, USA)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 7
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-014-1.ch199
Abstract
Usability is an acknowledged important aspect of any system or product design. Many times it is related to not only product features, but also ultimately profit that can be generated from the product. Good interface design promotes higher mutuality (feeling similar and connected), which in turn leads to higher levels of involvement and a favorable impression of credibility. Many practitioners and researchers (such as Jakob Nielsen, 2000) have elaborated on usability aspects, but few have agreed upon a unifying definition. In 1998 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defined usability as the “Extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use” (ISO 9241-11, 1998, p. 2). From this definition it can be construed that effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction are three pillars for usability measures. In this regard, the ISO defines: • Effectiveness as the “accuracy and completeness with which users achieve specified goals,” • Efficiency as the “resources expended in relation to the accuracy and completeness with which users achieve goals,” and • Satisfaction as the “freedom from discomfort, and positive attitudes towards the use of the product.” The ISO standard acknowledges that the level of usability depends highly on the intended context of use (e.g., users, hardware, software, and social environments). Researchers have demonstrated that the three ISO usability components are distinct. Frøkjær, Hertzum, and Hornbæk (2000) found only a weak relationship among the three usability components. Walker, Fromer, Di Fabbrizio, Mestel, and Hindle (1998) found that efficiency did not translate into user satisfaction. These empirical studies suggest that efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction may be independent aspects of usability and a causal relationship among them may be weak or even nonexistent.