This document discusses user-centered design (UX) and usability testing (UT). UX considers users' needs, wants, and limitations when designing products. UT finds out if a product works for users. There are five components of usability - a product should be effective, efficient, engaging, error tolerant, and easy to learn. Types of usability tests include lab based testing, survey testing, and cognitive walkthroughs where an evaluator completes tasks to understand the user experience. For this project, students will design and conduct a cognitive walkthrough usability test.

1. About:
User-Centered Design (UX)
and Usability Testing (UT)
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2. User Centered
Design (UX)
• UX is a rhetorically based
philosophy of design that
considers users’ needs and
wants and limitations when
designing a product.
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If you don’t consider my
needs and wants, then I
won’t want to use your
product.

3. Usability Testing (UT) UT is a method for finding
out if a product works for
users.
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I feel the designers
could make this
product more
convenient for me to
use.
You aren’t the user
dummy. I am and it
works fine for me as
long as you aren’t
around.

4. Five components
of usability.
1. Effective
2. Efficient
3. Engaging
4. Error Tolerant
5. Easy to Learn
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5. Effective • Are users successful when
using the product?
Often measured by how
successful a user is in
completing a task.
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6. Efficient • Are uses able to accomplish
what they want to do with
the least waste of time or
effort?
Often measured in the
amount of time or number
of clicks or keystrokes it takes
for users to complete tasks.
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7. Engaging • Is the product pleasing
and satisfying to use?
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8. Error Tolerant
• How tolerant is the product
if users make an error when
using it? Does the product
help users recover from the
error?
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9. Easy to Learn
• How easy is it for users to
build their knowledge of
how to use the product
without deliberate effort?
Sometimes referred to as a
product being intuitive to
use.
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10. Types of Usability Tests
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• Lab based testing involves recruiting participants and observing their
behavior as they do a series of tasks. Often involves video-taping the
user and several observers.
• Survey testing involves asking users of a product to respond to a
series of questions about their user experience.
• Cognitive walkthrough involves an evaluator who does a set of
specific tasks rather than the actual user. The idea is for the evaluator
to assume the role of user.

11. For this project, you
will design and
complete a
cognitive
walkthrough
type usability test.
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