Applying Quantitative Usability Methods

Group consists of 4 member:

-Angelo Memka (ME)
-Fizan Ahmed
-Arun Singh
-Dhami
-Jay Desai

Product chosen to evaluate (Nokia 8800)




The following shows the usability evaluation methods that we will be using:

- Heuristics Evaluation
- Usability Engineering

The Scope will be as follows:

We will be using heuristics evaluation methods to conduct the main evaluation of the chosen product in our case this will be the Nokia 8800, any metrics that we collect as in the facts and figures we will be using usability engineering methods to compare them against. This will give us a much better evaluation on the chosen product. We will not be using all of the given methods in each evaluation methods, we will narrow them done to just one from each. Such as in the heuristics evaluation method we will be using ‘error prevention’ as the main methods of comparison in our evaluation as it fits into what we are going to test the phone on and in the usability engineering methods we will be ‘% or number of errors’ as this will give a way of comparing the figures we collect in reference to this method.
The main task is to find out what errors occur when a user sends a picture message from there phone. The reason for evaluating this is so that we can find out what are the types of problems that users occur while they carrying out a set of tasks to with the task.

The heuristic evaluation method ‘error prevention?’ , say the following:

Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminates error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before commit to the action.”What this I basically saying is that the system that is being tested needs to have clear error and warning messages making sure that the user understands when a problem has occurred, the system should also give the user an option when an error has occurred and that the problem is not only just this but is also to why the errors occur in the first place.


The materials that we are going to use:

The types of materials that we will be using would include the product in question which is the Nokia 8800, pens and paper for note taking while the tasks are being completed by the two users.

The following show the number of users we going to use and what will be their tasks:

We will be using two users so that we can do a comparative study of what is happening between them. Both user will be randomly chosen and will be presented with a specific number of tasks. We will be setting the user a set of 3 tasks to complete while using the mobile phone.

Below shows the tasks that we will be setting for the users to complete:

1. Take a picture using the integrated camera and save it in the ‘images’ folder inside the mobile phone itself. Now try and send this picture to another mobile phone. Send the picture via ‘MMS’ to the following Number: 077377399543.

2. Add some text on the picture and see how easy this is and try and edit the picture and the text to the way that you want it show on the other persons mobile phone.

3.Compare the way that you send the pictures on this phone to your own personnel handset. What is the difference? Or are they all the same?

Evalaution Notes and Results

In completing this usability evaluation, the two users that we choice had 15 minutes to complete the task given. As group we realized that the evaluation tasks that we provided to the user were going to take require more time. So therefore as a group we had to live out 3 task.

The following shows the notes taken while the evaluation was taking place:

User 1:
- User did not know to how to slide down the camera, user also required
Help.
- User could not find the button to take the photo, which one group member
had to help the user.
- Needed help to open the camera slide.
- After taking the photo, the user was not sure how to send it via MMS or
find the menu options.
- User did not have any other problems after that.

User 2:
- Did not take much time in finding the camera slide compared to user 1.
- User could not find the button to take the photo but did not require any help.
- User was not sure how to add the text on the picture.
- Did note have the problem of entering the phone number and sending the picture via MMS.
- The user did not ask a lot of questions compared to user 1.