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Evaluation Methods in HCI Design

This document outlines an introduction to evaluation in human-computer interaction. It presents an overview of key concepts in evaluation, different evaluation methods, and how methods are used at different design stages and contexts. It introduces the DECIDE framework for guiding evaluation and discusses conceptual, practical and ethical issues. Evaluation methods include observation, interviews, questionnaires, usability testing, inspection and modeling task performance. Evaluation should happen iteratively throughout the design process.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
170 views46 pages

Evaluation Methods in HCI Design

This document outlines an introduction to evaluation in human-computer interaction. It presents an overview of key concepts in evaluation, different evaluation methods, and how methods are used at different design stages and contexts. It introduces the DECIDE framework for guiding evaluation and discusses conceptual, practical and ethical issues. Evaluation methods include observation, interviews, questionnaires, usability testing, inspection and modeling task performance. Evaluation should happen iteratively throughout the design process.

Uploaded by

mellybou
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Slide 2

ISE 217-Human Computer Interaction

INTRODUCING EVALUATION
Abbas Moallem, Ph.D.
Chapters: 12 + 13 +15 7

Session 12

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OVERVIEW
Explain the key concepts used in evaluation.
Introduce different evaluation methods.
Show how different methods are used for different
purposes at different stages of the design process and
in different contexts of use.
Introduce and explain the DECIDE framework.
Discuss the conceptual, practical, and ethical issues
involved in evaluation.
Show how evaluators mix and modify methods.
Discuss the practical challenges

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WHY, WHAT, WHERE AND WHEN TO


EVALUATE
Iterative design & evaluation is a continuous
process that examines:
Why: to check that users can use the product and
that they like it.
What: a conceptual model, early prototypes of a new
system and later, more complete prototypes.
Where: in natural and laboratory settings.
When: throughout design; finished products can be
evaluated to collect information to inform new
products.

Designers need to check that they understand


users requirements.
[Link]

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KEY POINTS
Evaluation & design are closely integrated in usercentered design.
Some of the same techniques are used in evaluation
as for establishing requirements but they are used
differently
(e.g. observation interviews & questionnaires).
Three types of evaluation: laboratory based with
users, in the field with users, studies that do not
involve users
The main methods are: observing, asking users,
asking experts, user testing, inspection, and
modeling users task performance, analytics.
Dealing with constraints is an important skill for
evaluators to develop.

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TYPES OF EVALUATION
Expert(Inspection base) Evaluations
Cognitive Walkthrough
Heuristic Evaluation
Any settings not involving users,
Exmaple: consultants critique, predict, analyze & model
aspects of the interface analytics.

User Evaluation
Controlled settings involving users, eg usability
testing & experiments in laboratories and living
labs.
Natural settings involving users, eg field studies to
see how the product is used in the real world.
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DECIDE: A FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE


EVALUATION

Determine the goals.


Explore the questions.
Choose the evaluation methods.
Identify the practical issues.
Decide how to deal with the ethical issues.
Evaluate, analyze, interpret and present
the data.

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DETERMINE THE GOALS


What are the high-level goals of the
evaluation?
Who wants it and why?
The goals influence the methods used for the
study.
Goals vary and could be to:

[Link]

identify the best metaphor for the design


check that user requirements are met
check for consistency
investigate how technology affects working practices
improve the usability of an existing product

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EXPLORE THE QUESTIONS


Questions help to guide the evaluation.
The goal of finding out why some customers
prefer to purchase paper airline tickets
rather than e-tickets can be broken down into
sub-questions:
What are customers attitudes to e-tickets?
Are they concerned about security?
Is the interface for obtaining them poor?

What questions might you ask about the


design of a cell phone?

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CHOOSE THE EVALUATION


APPROACH & METHODS
The evaluation method influences how
data is collected, analyzed and presented.
E.g. field studies typically:

[Link]

Involve observation and interviews.


Involve users in natural settings.
Do not involve controlled tests
Produce qualitative data.

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IDENTIFY PRACTICAL ISSUES

For example, how to:


Selecting users
Finding evaluators
Selecting equipment
Staying on budget
Staying on schedule

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Slide 17

DECIDE ABOUT ETHICAL ISSUES


Develop an informed consent form
Participants have a right to:
- Know the goals of the study;
- Know what will happen to the findings;
- Privacy of personal information;
- Leave when they wish;
- Be treated politely.

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Slide 18

EVALUATE, INTERPRET & PRESENT


DATA
Methods used influence how data is
evaluated, interpreted and presented.
The following need to be considered:
- Reliability: can the study be replicated?
- Validity: is it measuring what you expected?
- Biases: is the process creating biases?
- Scope: can the findings be generalized?
- Ecological validity: is the environment
influencing the findings? i.e. Hawthorn effect.

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Slide 19

KEY POINTS
Many issues to consider before conducting an
evaluation study.
These include: goals of the study; involvment or
not of users; the methods to use; practical &
ethical issues; how data will be collected, analyzed
& presented.
The DECIDE framework provides a useful
checklist for planning an evaluation study.

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Slide 20

INSPECTIONS METHODS
Walkthroughs involve stepping through a
pre-planned scenario noting potential
problems.
Experts use their knowledge of users &
technology to review software usability
Heuristic evaluation is a review guided by a
set of heuristics.
Expert critiques (crits) can be formal or
informal reports.
.
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Slide 21

COGNITIVE WALKTHROUGH
Cognitive Walkthrough is a method for evaluating user
interface by analyzing the mental processes required by
users.

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Slide 22

COGNITIVE WALKTHROUGHS
Focus on ease of learning.
Designer presents an aspect of the design &
usage scenarios.
Expert is told the assumptions about user
population, context of use, task details.
One or more experts walk through the design
prototype with the scenario.
Experts are guided by 3 questions.

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Slide 23

THE 3 QUESTIONS
Will the correct action be sufficiently
evident to the user?
Will the user notice that the correct action
is available?
Will the user associate and interpret the
response from the action correctly?
As the experts work through the scenario
they note problems.

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Slide 24

PLURALISTIC WALKTHROUGH
Variation on the cognitive walkthrough
theme.
Performed by a carefully managed team.
The panel of experts begins by working
separately.
Then there is managed discussion that leads
to agreed decisions.
The approach lends itself well to
participatory design.

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Slide 25

PERFORMING A COGNITIVE
WALKTHROUGH
Choose a specific task from the suite of tasks the
interface is intended to support.
Determine one or more correct sequences of actions for
that task.
Examine these sequences in the context provided by
the interface.
Assess whether a hypothetical user would be able to
select an appropriate action at each point.

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Slide 26

KEY FEATURES OF THE COGNITIVE


WALKTHROUGH
Performed by an analyst and reflects the analyst
judgments.
Examines specific user tasks.
Analyzes correct sequence of actions, and if they will
be followed by users.
Identifies likely trouble spots in an interface and
suggests possible reasons.
Identifies problems by tracing the likely
mental processes of a hypothetical
user.

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Slide 27

ADVANTAGES OF THE COGNITIVE


WALKTHROUGH
Permits early evaluation of designs at the prototyping
stage or without a mockup.
Helps the designer assess how the features of their
design fit together to support users work.
Provides useful feedback about action sequences.
Assists designer by providing reasons for trouble
areas.
Provides indications of the users mental
processes, which helps build a successful interface
that accommodates users.

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Slide 28

DISADVANTAGES OF COGNITIVE
WALKTHROUGH
Relies on analysis rather on user testing.
Provides a detailed examination of a particular task
rather than an overview of the interface.
Provides no quantitative data.

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Slide 29

MAIN STEPS FOR A COGNITIVE


WALKTHROUGH
Preparation
Analysis
Follow up

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Slide 30

COGNITIVE WALKTHROUGH
PREPARATION
Define assumed user background
General knowledge
Computer knowledge
Task knowledge
Choose a sample task
Important
Realistic
Specify the correct action sequence(s) for the task
Determine the interface state along the sequence(s)

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Slide 31

COGNITIVE WALKTHROUGH
ANALYSIS
For each action answer the following questions:
Will the user be trying to achieve the right effect?
Will the user notice the correct action is available?
Will the user associate the correct action with the
desired effect?
If the correct action is performed, will the user see
that progress is being made?
Based on the yes or no answer:
Explain why a user would choose that action
Explain why a user would not choose
that action

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Slide 32

COGNITIVE WALKTHROUGH
FOLLOW-UP
Suggest where the design is likely to fail and why.
Provide specific guidance for each problem.
Indicate which the problems may be superficial and
where profound changes are needed.
Report the designers view of the interface and
eventual difference with the users view (if any).

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Slide 33

HEURISTIC EVALUATION
Developed Jacob Nielsen in the early 1990s.
Based on heuristics distilled from an
empirical analysis of 249 usability
problems.
These heuristics have been revised for
current technology.
Heuristics being developed for mobile
devices, wearables, virtual worlds, etc.
Design guidelines form a basis for
developing heuristics.

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Slide 34

HEURISTIC EVALUATION
A systematic inspection of a user interface design by
interface specialists to determine the usability, based on
their experience, guidelines, and standards.

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Slide 35

ADVANTAGES OF A HEURISTIC
EVALUATION

Relatively inexpensive and fast


Performed at any phase of product development
Identifies many problems
Achieves substantially better performance by
aggregating the evaluation from several evaluators
Provides an overview of the complete design
Pays direct attention to particular aspects of a design
and associated problems
Does not attempt to trace specific
user behavior, rather it critiques the
attribute of an interface itself

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Slide 36

DISADVANTAGES OF A HEURISTIC
EVALUATION
Relies on analysis rather on user testing
Relies on the judgment of the evaluator and his/her
level of expertise

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Slide 37

PERFORMING A HEURISTIC
EVALUATION
Use multiple evaluators for the best results. A single
evaluator will miss most of the usability problems in
an interface.
Each evaluator should inspect the interface on their
own.
An evaluation session generally lasts one or two
hours. Longer sessions are needed for more
complicated systems.
Evaluators individually decide how they want to
proceed with evaluating the interface.
Each evaluator provides a report or
recorded version.

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Slide 38

HEURISTIC EVALUATION
PRINCIPLES

Feedback or visibility of system status


Use of users' language
User control and freedom
Consistency and standards
Error prevention and error messages
Recognition rather than recall
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Help and documentation

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Slide 39

FEEDBACK
The system should always keep users informed about
what is going on through appropriate feedback within
reasonable time.
System feedback should be expressed in the users
language to guide and provide effective feedback.
Feedback must be provided in case of system failure.

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Slide 40

USING THE USERS' LANGUAGE


Use users language rather than system-oriented
terminology.
Use users language in selecting icons and nonverbal
elements in the interface.
Do not use words contrary to the definition understood
by the general population or community of users.
View interaction from the users perspective.

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Slide 41

USER CONTROL AND FREEDOM


Provide users with an emergency exit.
Support redo and undo(s).

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Slide 42

CONSISTENCY AND STANDARDS


Create and follow a standard when designing an
interface
User Experience Standards Guide
The same information should be presented in the
same location on all screens and dialogue boxes
The task and functionality structure must be
consistent throughout the product

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Slide 43

ERROR PREVENTION AND ERROR


MESSAGES
Error prevention
Avoid the error situation in the first place.
An error with serious consequences must be
eliminated through design improvement.
Error messages
Written clearly
Precise rather than vague
Helps the user solve the problem
Polite and not intimidating or
blaming to the user

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Slide 44

RECOGNITION RATHER THAN


RECALL
Allow users to choose from items generated by the
computer.
Display as many objects as needed to the users.
Supply information as part of the dialogue.
Use a small number of rules that apply throughout
the user interface to reduce the learning/remembering
load.
Use generic commands as much as possible to support
the transfer of learning from one application to the
next.

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Slide 45

FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY OF


USE
Novice, expert, occasional, and frequent users
interact with the system in different ways.
You should allow users to:
Customize their frequent actions
Customize their interface preferences
Provide short cuts and frequently used options such as
favorites

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Slide 46

AESTHETIC AND MINIMALIST


DESIGN
Follow the less is more rule for information content
of screens and the choices of features.
Providing a lot of information can confuse the novice
users and slow down the expert users.
Provide only the information that is really important
to users in performing their tasks.

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Slide 47

HELP AND DOCUMENTATION


Create systems that do not need help or
documentation in order to operate them.
If help or documentation is needed:
Provide a search feature to allow the user to find
information.
Write the information in the language of the user,
corresponding to the tasks users want to perform.
Provide instruction regarding application of the
instructions.

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Slide 48

DISCOUNT EVALUATION
Heuristic evaluation is referred to as discount
evaluation when 5 evaluators are used.
Empirical evidence suggests that on average 5
evaluators identify 75-80% of usability problems.

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Slide 49

NO. OF EVALUATORS & PROBLEMS

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Slide 50

3 STAGES FOR DOING HEURISTIC


EVALUATION
Briefing session to tell experts what to do.
Evaluation period of 1-2 hours in which:
Each expert works separately;
Take one pass to get a feel for the product;
Take a second pass to focus on specific
features.

Debriefing session in which experts work


together to prioritize problems.

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Slide 51

ADVANTAGES AND PROBLEMS


Few ethical & practical issues to consider
because users not involved.
Can be difficult & expensive to find experts.
Best experts have knowledge of application
domain & users.
Biggest problems:
Important problems may get missed;
Many trivial problems are often identified;
Experts have biases.

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Slide 52

HEURISTICS FOR WEBSITES FOCUS


ON KEY CRITERIA (BUDD, 2007)

Clarity
Minimize unnecessary complexity & cognitive load
Provide users with context
Promote positive & pleasurable user experience

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