Software design is the process of developing software and applications for different users and for different purposes. A successful software is one that is easy to use and user friendly. It is, therefore, important to study the users of the software, identify their needs and priorities them. Users vary and are of different categories, these users will have different needs and preferences. The attainment of a reliable and a good system is entirely based on the consideration of the user at each step of the design process from the beginning to the final design of the system.
Successful software companies have always had a good user appraisal due to the perfect way in which they meet user needs. It would be pointless to develop system or software that will be rejected by the intended users of the system. Leading companies such as Microsoft incorporates user needs in their mission and vision bill Gates the chairman of Microsoft opined that “Our vision is to create innovative technology that is accessible to everyone and that adapts to each person's needs. Accessible technology eliminates barriers for people with disabilities and it enable individuals to take full advantage of their capabilities”. This shows the importance of studying users because it enhances the creation of systems and software programs that are accessible by a wide range of users and can meet diverse needs.
User centred design is a development design and approach to system design, which basically involves the users at all stages of system development process with an aim of creating a system that meets the user’s needs. It also considers the organization's goals and objectives in conjunction with the user need, preferences and limitations.
According to IBM the user centered design is a process that is used to design systems that meet user expectations and adequately meets their needs.
The process starts by constituting a multi disciplinary user-centered design team. The team will then work together with the users through each step of the system or software development process.
The process is a five staged process; first and most fundamental is understanding the organization goals and objectives. The objectives will guide the development team to understand the nature of system to create and the purpose it is intended to achieve.
Secondly, the team should gain an understanding of system users. This will involve the process of analyzing the users of the system. After identification of the users, representatives are picked to work together with the design team. The users will answer questions such as what they want the system to do for them. What environment will the system be used? , what aspects of the system will be commonly used and for what purposes? This questions lead to the next stage which is the user task analysis. This stage involves understanding how the users meet their needs and the alternatives they have in meeting these needs.
The next step is the development of prototypes; these are preliminary versions of the final product. The prototype may have minimum functions but essentially contains the parameters to be tested for user acceptability. The users are drawn from the sampled population and their comments, responses and reactions to the system are taken into consideration before the final product is rolled out. The product goes through a cyclic process of testing and modification until all the desired functionalities and the usability is met.
At this point, a beta version of the final product is created and circulated among restricted users for their evaluation. This version, unlike the prototype contains all the functionalities intended in the final product. The user evaluation is recorded , and the changes made accordingly.
Finally, the final product is released to the market. The users still play a major role in assessment of the product in terms of usability and the performance compared to other competing systems of softwares.
What is usability?
Usability can be defined in the context of information technology as the ability to use a program, system, software or hardware to achieve ones task. The usability of any technology can, therefore, be determined by how effective it is in meeting user’s needs and requirements.
Many users are faced with challenges when using systems, softwares, programs, websites and hardware. The difficulty is associated with the inability of the system to, effectively, meet the needs of the users. Usability thus can be viewed in relation to information technology, in two aspects, one, it is the quality of a system or program; it is an attribute of the quality of a system. Two, usability can be viewed as the process incorporated during the design of a system or program, at times this is termed as user-centered design.
The two concepts of usability are important to the system development as it is beneficial to the users as well as the business. A system with high usability has primary benefits to the users including the ability to, efficiently and effectively, achieve their tasks. Poor system usability can result in substantial loss to the business. It is, therefore, fundamental to ensure usability of any technology with as minimum training of users as possible.
Physical usability, on the other hand, is the ability to, effectively, use a system, software and hardware without physical hindrance. Many people have physical preferences with regard to the use of system or software. Others are physically challenged and thus the systems and hardware should be designed with this in mind. There are varied interactions between the users and the systems designed and the experiences; of all users the physically challenged or impaired always have a wide range of needs than the rest. During the design process, the differences can be addressed uniformly by designing software and device independence. Physical usability entails ease of access, and unified set of accessibility guidelines.
Web usability is a methodology aimed at making web sites easy to use without any specialized training to an end- user. The user should be able to relate the tasks they are intending to accomplish with the interactions visible on the screen. The broad goals of web usability include: to give accurate choices to the user in a conventional way, present information to the user in a clear and concise manner, eradicate any ambiguity and proper classification of user interface items.
The definition of usability from the software design perspective, therefore, implies that the design of software and systems should have the user at the center of the design. The design of systems and software should be based on the main aim of meeting user needs requirements and preferences. This is achieved through the determination of user groups, what their needs are and designing for them and also involving them in the design process. According to Designing systems that are usable needs an understanding of the users’ capabilities and their limitations.
Discuss
Utility is the ability or state of being useful. It is the quality of a system or software to be useful in meeting the user needs and requirements. Utility is more about whether the system can be used or not.
The concept of utility results from the division of the term usefulness into usability and utility. The usability will basically mean the ease of use of a system or product in meeting the needs of the users, utility in the other hand is the ability of this system to be used, in terms of its functionalities and features.
Usability
The international organization for standardization defines usability as the ability to use a product, service or system and can meet the specified goals and objectives in a specified context of use, effectively and efficiently with satisfaction. It can also be defined as the improvement of the ease of use of a product, service or system during the design process in order to meet the user’s needs and requirements. identifies the following aspects that determine the usability of a system or product:
Learnability, which is basically how easy the user can learn to use the design during the first encounter.
Memorability: how easy is it to remember the steps and procedures used after a period of time away from the product or system?
Efficiency: after learning to use the system how fast can the system aide the user in achieving their tasks.
Errors: this entails the nature of errors the user can do, how they are severe and how they can be rectified.
Satisfaction: the comfort ability and pleasantness of using the system or product.
User experience
User experience is defined by the international organization for standardization as a person’s perception and responses that result from the use of a product service or system. This concept is more subjective as indicated by ISO.
In technology context, the term can be defined as the users' perception of using a system. The user experience involves the valuation of effective, meaningful and other aspects of human computer interaction and also views on the practical aspects such as ease of use, utility and system efficiency. User experience is dynamic and keeps changing over time due to change in circumstances and demands.
User experiences and usability are related since usability addresses aspects of user experience. The two terms are overlapping concepts, however, usability mainly includes pragmatic aspects of a system basically involves getting a task done and done effectively. On the other hand, user experience focuses on hedonic aspects, mainly the user reactions and feelings resulting from the pragmatic aspects of the system.
References
Abras, C. M.-K. (2004). User-Centered Design. In Bainbridge. Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction , 25 - 40.
Dictionary.com. (2012). Utility. Retrieved september 13, 2012, from dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/utility
IBM. (2012). user - Centred - Design process. Retrieved september 13, 2012, from IBM : http://www-01.ibm.com/software/ucd/ucd.html#whatisucd
Maurer, D. (2006). What is usability. Retrieved September 13, 2012, from Step Two designs: http://www.steptwo.com.au/files/kmc_whatisusability.pdf
Microsoft Inc. (2012). Microsoft accessibility mission, strategy, and progress. Retrieved september 13, 2012, from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/microsoft/mission.aspx
Nielsen, J. (2003, August). Introduction to usability:current issues in web usability. Retrieved September 13, 2012, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html
shari, T., & Watson, T. J. (2006). Physical usability and the mobile web. W4A: Building the mobile web: rediscovering accessibility? (pp. 109 - 112). New York: ACM.
user experience definitions. (2012). Retrieved september 13, 2012, from All about UX: http://www.allaboutux.org/ux-definitions
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