User Experience (UX) of
Information Systems
Human-computer Interaction (HCI) key concepts
HCI – deals with the design, implementation, & evaluation of interactive systems, taking into
account the context of use & the task to be accomplish
Usability – “the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified
goals with effectiveness, efficiency & satisfaction in a specified context of use” (ISO, 1998)
Usability components:
o Effectiveness – a measure of the extent to which specified users can use the system to
achieve specific goal.
o Efficiency – the resources expended to achieve specific goal.
o Satisfaction – the acceptability of the system to users & others affected by its use
Usability goals and quality criteria:
o Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they
encounter the system?
o Effectiveness: How good a product is at doing what it is supposed to do?
o Efficiency: Once users have learned the use of the system, how quickly can they
perform tasks?
o Memorability: When users return to the system after a period of not using it, how easily
can they re-establish proficiency?
o Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors & how easily can
they recover from the errors?
o Satisfaction: How well has the system meet users’ requirements?
o Safety: What are the built-in mechanisms in the system to reduce inadvertent errors by
users?
o Utility: What kind of functionality are provided by the system so users can do what they
need or want to do?
Key Concepts
▪ UX….users’ subjective feeling about a product
UX is related to the experience of using a system
Includes users' emotions, beliefs, & preferences
Looks at the relationship between a user & the product
Influenced by prior experience
Can be positive:
o Exciting; pleasurable; motivating; happy; etc.
Or negative:
o Annoying; frustrating; irritating; boring; etc.
, HCI- User Centred Design
UCD: A process where the needs, wants, and limitations of users receive extensive attention at
each stage of the design process
Principles of User-centred design:
o Early focus on users and tasks
o Empirical measurement:
o Iterative design:
UCD is a problem-solving process
Tests the validity of assumptions about user behaviour
Testing is vital because designers cannot understand intuitively how first-time users will
experience a design & what each user's learning curve may look like
UCD differs from other design philosophies
UCD optimises design around how users can, want, or need to use a product, rather than
expecting users to change their behaviour to accommodate the product
Design Principles that Affect User Experience
Design principles – suggestions that help designers to improve their designs
o Affordance – attributes of an object that tells the user how the object could be used
o Perceived affordance: – appearance that tell the user how use an interface object
o Mapping – shows the relationship between controls & their effect
o Feedback – providing information about user’s action & the effect of that action
o Visibility – signs that give the user clues as to what actions are possible or required
o Constraint – restrict the user’s behaviour to what is allowable at a specific moment.
o Consistency – using similar interface symbols to achieve similar effect
The Distinction between Usability & UX
Usability & UX are tightly connected. If the UX of a system is bad, people won’t use it & it is thus not
usable. If usability is bad, there is little chance of positive UX
Usability UX
Deals with criteria that affect the ability of end- Deals with a user’s relationship with a
users to complete specific tasks system
Focuses on narrow aspects of a system Focusses on all aspects of a system & the
user’s experience of these aspects
Measurement is objective Is unique to each person
Evaluators ask…can the users accomplish their Measurement is subjective
goal? How easily? The focus is on intuitive, simple
and learnable design
Influenced by previous experiences &
expectations
Evaluators ask…How happy does it make
the user to use the product?
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