Why Usability Is Important Part 1

Why Usability is Important Part 1

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) pertains to how people interact with computers and to what extent computers are developed for effective interaction with human beings. Within HCI usability is an important factor where a user friendly interface and how easy it is to perform a prescribed task on a computer system can make or break a product. Within usability there are the concepts of usefulness, utility and likeability. Designers often fail to take the viewpoint of the end user into consideration during design. They work hard to make the application work and their focus of the software is on this requirement. How these concepts are balanced with efficiency within the function and design of a system ensures the consumer will be attracted to the product and the produce will effectively perform its function.

A fundamental characteristic that defines a product's quality is ease of use. Part of this ease is its usefulness which measures whether the product can accomplish the functions that the designers intended for them to accomplish. Another characteristic of a computer product is its utility. Utility is its ability to accomplish tasks. A program can be very usable but won’t accomplish the needed tasks then it won’t be of value to a user. Usability and utility are not enough to attract and maintain a customer user base. A product must also have a likability trait. In his article “Usability 101: Introduction to Usability” Jakob Nielsen makes point “It matters little that something is easy if it's not what you want.” (Nielson, January 2014) If a user likes the product they will be more likely to use it. Achieving balance between usability, utility and likability in HCI and UI design is critical.

Individuals often like a product for reasons having nothing to do with usability. Often it is because it is a familiar interface and they know exactly where to go to find what they are looking for. Especially if they are comparing products that are equally usable. A good example of this is when Microsoft went from Windows 7 to Window 8. Brad Bourque explained in his article “What’s the difference between Windows 8 and 10?” that with Windows 8 “One of the most common complaints was that Microsoft was abandoning those who loved the classic desktop and Start menu, which makes up most of the Windows user base.” (Bourque, October 2014) People like highly usable products, but being usable will not be enough to attract a user. A product must also be likeable and user friendly.

There are many characteristics to usability, and good HCI design is very matter of fact, user friendly, and provides a clear easily understood design for the end users who will have different abilities and knowledge and may not have received any formal training on the system. Good HCI design should result in intuitive interaction for the user. When a user