Day 1, Afternoon - Usability Week San Francisco

After the lunch break, the moment I'd been waiting for arrived as Dr. Nielsen entered the conference room to begin his portion of the presentation, Foundations of Usability. Before he even got started, I was at his feet asking him to autograph one of his books, Usability Engineering, that I just so happened to bring along. He did, of course, oblige and I restrained the urge to also ask for a picture until later in the conference (not wanting to appear too stalker-like).

He began his presentation with a reference to the "old days" when a developer's attitude was that people should be grateful just to be able to use a computer; usability was not a priority. User-centered design (UCD), a more popular concept in recent years, has been a big step forward. Key elements of UCD include:

• Focus on users' needs, tasks & goals
• Spend time on initial research (observations) and requirements (user-defined)
• Emphasize an iterative design process
• Evaluate system using real users

He then talked about the Dimensions of Usability which included:

• Learnability (on Web, this has to be a matter of seconds)
• Efficiency of use (important if product will be used often)
• Memorability (important if product will be used intermittently)
• Errors (caused by system not being designed well enough to prevent them)
• Subjective satisfaction

One of his more interesting points (I thought) was about the Relationship Between Design and Usability. He asks the question, "Does usability kill creativity in design?" The answer is, of course, no. He points out that there are certain cognitive, physical and environmental constraints that dictate whether a design will work or not. These constraints would exist with our without usability. I surmise that usability just helps inform or remind designers that these constraints exist. Then he holds a piece of candy up in the air and lets it drop to the floor. He says that just because the candy won't stay put in the air doesn't mean we should blame Isaac Newton. Good point. I can't wait to compare myself to Newton with Creative one day :)

His other major points that afternoon related to the ideal number of users to test with. For years we've heard him say 4-6 users, and that's still his message today. Elaborate tests are costly and intimidating; discount methods with 4-6 users can be quick, cheap and more practical. He strongly advises doing more iterative testing with small groups, rather than one large test, strengthening his argument with charts and graphs, and using terms like Lambda, which I strained my brain to understand. He adds that, while some of what each user does during a test will be different, some will be the same, and a pattern will emerge. Once a pattern is established, adding more users really doesn't add much value. I have personally experienced this as a test facilitator and observer, and I can tell you, by the 5th or 6th user, the findings start to get really boring...little new information emerges at that point.

Stay tuned for a run-down on Day 2!