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Topic: Software usability

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	Software Quality Assurance & Usability Testing
		Essentially it means testing software to prove/ensure that it is 'user-friendly', as distinct from testing the functionality of the software.
		An example of a usability consideration within the functional specification may be as simple as specifying a minimum size for the 'Continue' button.
		Even though usability testing at the later stages of development may not impact software changes, it is useful to point out areas where training is needed to overcome deficiencies in the software.
	members.tripod.com /~bazman/usability.html (2127 words)

	Software Usability Engineering
		Software usability engineering is a structured approach to building software systems that meet the needs of users in various environments with varying levels of computer experience.
		The three principal activities of software usability engineering are on-site observations of and interviews with system users, usability specification development, and evolutionary delivery of the system.
		Software usability engineering techniques can be used by any group of engineers that designs interactive software.
	www.recordare.com /good/dtj.html (4903 words)

	How QuickBooks Software Stays So User-Friendly
		He transformed their input into a goal: the software should be easy to use in the hands of the customer, not in his hands or the hands of the software engineer.
		Usability goals must take into account differences in the type of task, such as its complexity, frequency, and whether it is mandatory or not, and the experience level of the users, such as whether they are novices, experts, or somewhere in between.
		Usability engineers are quick to point out contrary to popular belief, usability does not involve market research, user focus groups, or surveys.
	accountant.intuit.com /practice_resources/accounting/articles/ss_howwuickbookssoftwarestayssouserfriendly.html (941 words)

	Software Design Smorgasbord: Usability Engineering Page
		Usability engineering is a systematic approach to making software easier to use for the individuals who actually use it to get their work done.
		When many people hear the term "usability," they immediately think of labs where software is tested, where developers quietly gnash their teeth behind one-way mirrors as they watch users fumble over simple functions that they thought were well-designed.
		Usability Interface, their quarterly newsletter, is substantial and their usability resource section is excellent.
	mysite.verizon.net /resnx4g7/Academic/UseEng.html (2545 words)

	Usability in Software Design (Windows User Interface Technical Articles) (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-25)
		The most visible aspect of this approach is usability testing, in which users work and interact with the product interface and share their views and concerns with the designers and developers.
		These three basic aspects of usability are strongly influenced by the nature of the task at hand and the frequency with which the user performs it.
		Some software designers are able to empathize with the average user to a degree, but there is no substitute for the real interactions of actual users with the product.
	msdn.microsoft.com /library/en-us/dnwui/html/uidesign.asp?frame=true (2871 words)

	Workshop on Software Usability (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-25)
		The aim of the paper is to position usability in the overall framework of software quality and to underline the importance of usability into software quality models and standards.
		Some typical usability evaluation problem situations are described and their most important aspects are outlined in the paper: the evaluation context (target, scope, actors), the type of the evaluation, the definition and measurement of the usability attributes, the definition of the preferences of the evaluator and the preference aggregation procedure.
		The usability factors defining these last two innovative environments need to be redefined and are a matter of discussion in the frame of the workshop.
	www.cs.ucy.ac.cy /epy8/Usability_net_workshop.htm (978 words)

	The Usability and Software Architecture Project
		When the usability problems are presented, someone around the table exclaims, “Oh, no, we can’t change THAT!” The requested modification or feature reaches too far in to the architecture of the system to allow economically viable and timely changes to be made.
		Forcing usability to be achieved through modification means that time and budget pressures are likely to cut off iterations on the user interface and result in a system that is not as usable as possible.
		This project gives usability specialists and software developers alike an explicit link between their two realms of expertise, allowing both to participate more effectively in the early design decisions of an interactive system.
	www-2.cs.cmu.edu /~bej/usa (421 words)

	BW Online \| December 4, 2002 \| Usability Is Next to Profitability
		Software suppliers are benefiting, too, because by paying more attention to usability, they often catch mistakes that otherwise would make it into the final product.
		Usability experts also perform in-depth studies of how businesses run, so as to ensure that software with a six-figure price tag is compatible with existing workflows -- or even better, simplifies them without requiring a sweeping reorganization, which might doom the software installation to failure.
		Most usability changes are more basic than that -- such as reducing the number of clicks necessary to make a purchase, or changing colors, typefaces and font sizes to make text more readable.
	www.businessweek.com /technology/content/dec2002/tc2002124_2181.htm (1365 words)

	Step 5: Building More Usable Software (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-25)
		Usability professionals evaluate users' subjective reactions and use of working systems, and then give developers a laundry list of changes—some of which can be easily incorporated into the existing design, but many of which may be prohibitively expensive.
		Usability researchers call it the "We can't change that" problem: despite the use of loosely coupled architectures explicitly designed to accommodate shifting requirements, some changes simply can't be made without making fundamental—and expensive—changes to the application's foundation.
		Most engineers are probably familiar with usability testing, but may not be familiar with heuristic analysis, which is simply using industry-standard "rules of thumb" that have proven over time, on thousands of projects, to be useful in improving usability.
	www.oracle.com /technology/pub/articles/masterj2ee/j2ee_wk5.html (2991 words)

	Usability Evaluation
		In Usability Testing approach, representative users work on typical tasks using the system (or the prototype) and the evaluators use the results to see how the user interface supports the users to do their tasks.
		Here, usability evaluators obtain information about users' likes, dislikes, needs, and understanding of the system by talking to them, observing them using the system in real work (not for the purpose of usability testing), or letting them answer questions verbally or in written form.
		The way to classify usability evaluation methods into testing, inspection, and inquiry, and the description of some techniques, are borrowed and used with permission from the Usability Methods Toolbox by Mr.
	www.usabilityhome.com (220 words)

	SAP Design Guild -- Branding and Usability in Software Products
		To produce software that meets branding and usability requirements, the production process must be influenced by the branding and usability teams as early as possible.
		Changes in the interaction sequences of the software, on the other hand, can often only be realized with huge development or tailoring cost, if they are possible at all.
		To guarantee integrated software interaction, SAP has chosen an entirely new approach.Optimal operating processes are analyzed from the continually recurring processes in different applications, and a pattern is decided upon that is mandatory for the development process.
	www.sapdesignguild.org /editions/edition6/kai_sch.asp (1205 words)

	Usability and open-source software development
		Open-source software is popular with technically sophisticated users, who are often also the software developers, and has not yet made a significant impact on the desktop of most users.
		Many of the software usability issues identified by the study deal with fundamental human-computer interaction concepts such as feedback and consistency.
		The social context of open-source software development does not include the typical user and so it may be unreasonable to expect their interests to be represented in the programs.
	www.cs.waikato.ac.nz /~daven/docs/oss.html (3209 words)

	Usability and Open Source Software
		Usability is typically described in terms of five characteristics: ease of learning, efficiency of use, memorability, error frequency and severity, and subjective satisfaction (Nielsen, 1993).
		Usability is separate from the utility of software (whether it can perform some function) and from other characteristics such as reliability and cost.
		Software, such as compilers and source code editors, which is used by developers does not appear to represent a significant usability problem for OSS.
	www.cs.waikato.ac.nz /~daven/docs/oss-wp.html (8773 words)

	It's Not Just Usability - Joel on Software
		That genre of software was so successful socially that it's radically improving millions of people's love lives (or at least their social calendars).
		In social software, there will be people who try to abuse the software for their own profit at the expense of the rest of the society.
		Software used in teams usually fails to take hold, because it requires everyone on the team to change the way they work simultaneously, something which anthropologists will tell you is vanishingly unlikely.
	www.joelonsoftware.com /articles/NotJustUsability.html (2751 words)

	Ballot Usability in Florida
		Usability testing should have shown how common these situations were and whether or not they should have had any effect.
		We know from lots of examples of usability studies that errors on tasks arising from "dumb mistakes" are very common, with rates of easily 5%, 10%, or more.
		In some areas usability should be given as much concern as voter and official fraud because it probably has a greater effect.
	www.bricklin.com /log/ballotusability.htm (1765 words)

	SAP Design Guild -- Software Design with User Interface Patterns: Centered on the User
		The usability specialists modeled the tasks with different levels of detail — first simply in the form of schematic descriptions.
		This was not done until a second phase, in which the individual elements of the user environment design, such as "perform search” or "display results,” were mapped to defined elements of the User Interface Patterns, such as "search area” or "result area with sorting and filtering in table form”.
		In order to make sure that usability demands are considered, all stakeholders must come together and learn from each other — and ultimately, all will benefit from this added value.
	www.sapdesignguild.org /community/readers/reader_crm_latzina.asp (1239 words)

	EServer TC Library: Usability in Software Development
		Usability does not begin and end with the web.
		In fact, long before the Internet was a gleam in the Pentagon's eye, computer professionals were already aware of the need for human-computer interaction to be as natural and intuitive as possible.
		In fact, there are many compelling reasons to suggest that usability is even more critical to successful application design than it is for winning websites.
	tc.eserver.org /19042.html (99 words)

	Cross-Pollinating Software and Usability Engineering
		Software and usability engineering are also affected by this mutual influence that is called “cross-pollination”.
		An example of this would be the IEEE standards on software quality and the ISO collection on quality in use [See IEEE-1061 Standard on Software Quality Metric Methodology and ISO/IEC-9126 Standard on Quality Characteristics and Guidelines for their Use].
		Successful and unsuccessful experiences related to the integration of usability into the software engineering lifecycle and small and medium-sized organizations including a comparison of the mind-set or "world view" of the two camps, and their respective assumptions and priorities communication and collaboration techniques that usability specialists can use when working software development teams.
	www.cs.concordia.ca /~seffah/interact2001/index.shtml (864 words)

	Achieving Usability Through Software Architecture
		In this paper, we present an approach to improving the usability of software systems by means of software architectural decisions.
		We identify specific connections between aspects of usability, such as the ability to "undo," and software architecture.
		The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University.
	www.sei.cmu.edu /publications/documents/01.reports/01tr005.html (246 words)

	Daring Fireball: Ronco Spray-On Usability
		The idea that GUI software needs to be designed for “dumb users” — which is Raymond’s own term, and an indication of what he really means when he refers to dear old A.T. — is completely wrong.
		I’m not saying all commercial software is well-designed, nor that all free software is poorly-designed — what I’m saying is that software that does provide a well-designed, intuitive interface tends to be closed and commercial.
		software that works so well, and is so discoverable to even novice users, that they don’t have to read documentation or spend time and mental effort to learn about it.
	daringfireball.net /2004/04/spray_on_usability (2710 words)

	Morae: Usability Testing Solution for Web Sites and Software
		By making usability testing accessible, Morae gives you the power to understand where problems exist for your users.
		Morae is a low-risk investment and the ideal way to begin integrating usability testing into the design and development processes for your Web site, online store, or software application.
		Because Morae is a software solution, you can install it on a laptop to create a truly portable solution.
	www.techsmith.com /morae.asp (471 words)

	Users Begin to Demand Software Usability Tests
		Called the Common Industry Format for Usability Test Reports, the standard outlines a format for reporting test conditions and results and gives user companies enough information about a test to replicate it.
		Boeing played a lead role in the development of CIF after its experience and internal studies showed that usability played a significant role in total cost of ownership.
		The company has looked at usability in purchasing, "but sometimes we wouldn't discover the inefficiencies of a software product until we brought it in-house," he said.
	www.computerworld.com /printthis/2002/0,4814,76154,00.html (739 words)

	The Usability and Software Architecture Project
		Adams, R. J., Bass, L., and John, B. (in press) Applying general usability scenarios to the design of the software architecture of a collaborative workspace.
		John, B. and Bass, L. Usability and software architecture.
		John, B. E., Bass, L., and Adams, R. Using Usability Scenarios in the Redesign of the MERBoard Architecture.
	www-2.cs.cmu.edu /~bej/usa/publications.html (405 words)

	Guide to Usability for Software Engineers (GUSE)
		The Guide to Usability for Software Engineering is a collection of pages created by the University of Maryland, Masters of Software Engineering, Fall 98, Usability Engineering class (MSWE 613).
		Usability engineering deals with system development methodologies that enable teams to create effective user interfaces on-time and on-budget.
		The links under Case Studies are studies, surveys, and observations involving software usability.
	www.otal.umd.edu /guse (639 words)

	Open Directory - Computers: Human-Computer Interaction: Software (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-25)
		The software includes two separate tools - a sorting tool for the participants and an administration/analysis tool for the information architect to setup the card sort and analyze the results.
		ErgoLight Usability Software - Software tool for Windows application developers offering solutions for testing and evaluating the usability.
		Morae Usability Testing Software - Morae is a software solution for usability testing, including recording of the screen, user, and keystrokes.
	dmoz.org /Computers/Human-Computer_Interaction/Software (428 words)

	Unorthodox Usability Twenty (or so) ways to ensure no one will use your software
		This is not to mean that usable equals addictive, but the opposite is probably true.
		One of the best ways to kill usability in the long run is to lock into early implementations details early.
		Observation: it is way much easier to write a presentation on how unusable software is, than to write highly usable software.
	www.yendor.com /usability (1725 words)

	Amazon.com: Software Design & Usability : Talks with Bonnie Nardi, Jakob Nielsen, David Smith, Austin Henderson & Jed ... (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-25)
		The conversations provide food for thought for all of us who do this work.
		The topics are presented the way they were raised with the interviewed persons - as dialogues, interviews.
		This is a great way of approaching and exploring the thoughts and concepts that go across the entire field of software and internet development, and not through just one or two writers.
	www.amazon.com /exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/8716134958?v=glance (538 words)

	Main IUSR Public Site
		In October of 1997, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) initiated an effort to increase the visibility of software usability, the Industry USability Reporting (IUSR) Project.
		Cooperating in the IUSR project are prominent suppliers of software and representatives from large consumer organizations.
		Conducted pilot trials to determine how well the usability reporting format works and the value of using this format in software procurement
	zing.ncsl.nist.gov /iusr (168 words)

	Usability Defect Log - Software
		Abstract: Form for recording usability defects during collaborative usability inspections.
		Designed for inspection of software applications in general.
		Keywords: software usability, usability inspections, reviews, structured walkthroughs, usability testing, usability defects
	www.foruse.com /publications/templates/defectsoft.htm (63 words)

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