Kurt M. Joseph

Using the SUS to Help Demonstrate Usability’s Value to Business Goals

As part of an effort to connect results of human factors testing with the needs of internal business clients, a usability testing program was created for smartphones to establish a link between usability metrics and business indicators of success in the marketplace. In addition to standard usability metrics of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction (ISO, 1998), a measure of hedonics (Hassenzahl, Beu, and Burmester, 2001) was used. Of particular note was the use of the System Usability Scale (SUS) (Brooke, 1996) to provide a single measure of user satisfaction for all smartphones tested. Data from 54 studies involving 872 participants were analyzed to determine if usability metrics predicted marketplace outcomes. Results show that usability metrics are significantly correlated with indicators of business success and that the SUS accounted for most of usability’s contribution. Discussion of these results, the value of SUS, and implications for usability professionals are discussed.

The Effects of Bold Text on Visual Search of Form Fields

This paper provides an analysis of a text-formatting issue that was revealed during usability tests of an enterprise software prototype being developed by a telecommunications company. Usability test results indicated that search times for information were longer than expected when form fields displayed field identifiers in a non-bold format and field values in a bold format. This unexpected finding prompted further examination of the text formats used in the enterprise software. Four different text-formatting conditions were created and tested using 32 participants. These conditions were as follows: 1) Non-Bold Field Identifier/Non-Bold Field Value, 2) Non-Bold Field Identifier/Bold Field Value, 3) Bold Field Identifier/Non-Bold Field Value, and 4) Bold Field Identifier/Bold Field Value. Participants performed a search task using an interface that approximated what was developed for the enterprise software. Measures of search time, accuracy and scan path indicated that performance was best for the Bold Field Identifier/Non-Bold Field Value condition. The results are discussed in terms of potential cost savings, and an additional study is proposed.

Design Approach Does Affect Customer Behavior: “Action-Objects” Increase “Cut-Throughs”

This paper investigates the impact of touch-tone IVR design styles on user behavior. The design of the touch-tone IVR systems is a critical component of delivering customer service. A well-designed system allows the customers to accomplish their goals and sets a positive tone to their interaction with the organization. Four design styles were considered: Action-Specific Object, Action-General Object, Specific Object, and General Object. Three user behaviors were considered: Cut-Through, Full Menu, and Beyond Full Menu. A usability study was conducted to quantify the impact of design styles on user behavior. Results indicate that design style does impact user behavior. The Action-Specific Object style produced the most Cut-Through behaviors and the fewest Beyond Full Menu behaviors compared to the other design styles. The results from this paper suggest that the interface design style should match the customers mental model.