I am a Human Factors engineer in
the software industry,
which means I am responsible both for the GUI design and usability testing
of my companies user interfaces:
- When people hear "GUI Design" they assume that a graphic
designer is doing the "design." While Look and Feel is an
important component of GUIs, ideally the actual appearance and
operation of software applications should be governed by a set of GUI
Development/Design Standards that precludes massive variation/redesign
from GUI to GUI. Therefore, while Human Factors is responsible for
maintaining and adhering to those standards, its primary mission lies
in identifying the tasks users need to perform with the GUI and then
designing the GUI's workflow to allow users to complete those tasks as
easily as possible. It is important to note that the
"workflow" must take into account the nature of the intended users
(who they are, their backgrounds, their level of computer experience,
etc.), the types of tasks being performed, the order in which the
users move through a GUI's screens, and the information that appears
on those screens.
- When people hear "Usability" they invariably add the
"Testing," which they often assume is something that is done
on the completed product at the end of a development cycle. Unfortunately, if you wait until
the end of your software cycle to usability test, you lose any real
benefit of the testing since you then have to wait for the next
development cycle to act on the findings. Ideally, usability testing
should be conducted throughout the entire development cycle, from the
design phase (when paper prototypes can be used) through the Beta (or
robust prototype).
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