{"id":31,"date":"2024-01-18T14:35:30","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T21:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/?p=31"},"modified":"2024-01-22T12:23:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T19:23:48","slug":"ip-1-usability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/2024\/01\/18\/ip-1-usability\/","title":{"rendered":"IP 1: Usability"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. Formulate a conception of <\/span>usability<\/span><\/i><\/b> (based on the Issa and Isaias (2015) chapter on HCI and Usability).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    HCI stands for Human-Computer Interaction, and it is a multidisciplinary field that focuses on the design and use of computer technology, emphasizing the relationship between humans and computers. Central to HCI is the concept of usability. This term includes many factors but essentially aims to create effective and user-friendly systems. This means that they should strive to be easily learned, navigated, individualized, memorable, and enjoyable for their users. To ensure usability, HCI should incorporate users in all stages of design.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    2. Then, think about <\/span>what is missing<\/span><\/i> from this conception, from a specifically <\/span>educational <\/span><\/i>perspective, and on that basis try and patch together a reasonably grounded and defensible conception of <\/span>educational usability.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The concept of usability mentioned above may not account for certain aspects of education. To start, usability as discussed by Issa & Isaias (2015), is often evaluated by speed, completion, and ease of use. However, in education evaluation of success surrounds learning concepts such as critical thinking and problem solving. These skills are not quick to develop and very difficult to assess. Additionally, learning is not meant to be easy. More traditional education such as memorization and regurgitation may fit with the concept of usability, however more contemporary education has shifted to collaboration and higher-level thinking. Educational usability would need to focus more on tools which promote learning, support diverse learners and educators, and have less concern for user satisfaction but rather users reaching their learning outcomes. <\/span>In conclusion, when considering educational usability, a more comprehensive perspective is required compared to the conventional usability criteria. This entails considering the specific objectives and desired learning outcomes in the educational context.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    3. Revisit Woolgar\u2019s (challenging but rewarding!) account of \u201cusability gone wrong,\u201d which demonstrates several ways a usability study ended up configuring \u2018users,\u2019 thereby undermining the usefulness of usability. <\/span>Identify and discuss 2 of Woolgar\u2019s examples.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    This paper uses examples from studying computers to explain how creating a new thing, like a new type of computer, involves shaping the people who use it. This process, called “configuring,” includes defining who the users are and putting limits on what they are likely to do in the future. By analyzing recordings of usability trials, where people test how easy it is to use the new machine, the paper suggests that deciding how well the machine and user relate to each other is influenced by the idea of setting boundaries between them. These boundaries can affect how users are perceived, how their actions are constrained, and how the machine is defined in relation to them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span>Example 1\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In the story about the “wrong socket” incident, Ruth is trying to connect a machine to a printer. What stands out here is that the evaluation isn’t about Ruth’s abilities. Instead, it’s about checking if the instructions on how to use the machine effectively guide or shape the user, like Ruth, to complete the task correctly (Woolgar, 1990, pg 86). However, because the computer is the wrong type for the plug, we see how instructions and machines are shaping both Ruth and the observers when usability goes wrong.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Example 2\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The manuals provide information for the user on what steps and actions they are to perform to use the machine. Therefore, \u201ct<\/span>hese captions configure the user by defining the correct courses of interpretation and action to be followed\u201d (Woolgar 1990 pg 81). Because the machine was not complete the <\/span>assessment involves considering whether the machine is behaving like a real machine and whether the user is acting like a real user in this evolving project.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    4. Finally, discuss the two excerpts quoted at the top of this IP, that have been drawn from your readings for this unit, and discuss differences you see in these 2 positions on the uses of usability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    “\u2026the usability evaluation stage is an effective method by which a software development team can establish the positive and negative aspects of its prototype releases, and make the required changes before the system is delivered to the target users”\u00a0 (Issa & Isaias, 2015, p. 29).<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201c\u2026the design and production of a new entity\u2026amounts to a process of configuring its user, where ‘configuring’ includes defining the identity of putative users, and setting constraints upon their likely future actions\u201d (Woolgar, 1990).<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The difference between the 2 excerpts is how the user is viewed. In Issa and Isaia\u2019s (2015) quote the user is utilized in the stages of development and assessment. They are the focus that the product will then change and evolve around for increased usability. Alternatively, Woolgar\u2019s quote positions the user as something that will be configured to fit the machine. By placing constraints on the user, usability is determined by if the user can use the product within these set constraints.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Sources:<\/p>\n

    Issa, T., & Isaias, P. (2015) <\/span>Usability and human computer interaction (HCI).<\/span><\/a> In <\/span>Sustainable Design <\/span><\/i>(pp. 19-35). Springer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Woolgar, S. (1990). <\/span>Configuring the user: The case of usability trials<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>The Sociological Review<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>38<\/span><\/i>(1, Suppl.), S58-S99.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Formulate a conception of usability (based on the Issa and Isaias (2015) chapter on HCI and Usability).\u00a0\u00a0 HCI stands for Human-Computer Interaction, and it is a multidisciplinary field that focuses on the design and use of computer technology, emphasizing the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29101,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-etec-511"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/32"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/krisyoung\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}