Usability
From GIMP GUI Redesign
Contents
Aims
- provide further information about the following topics:
- users ("who?")
- tasks ("what?", "how?")
- context ("where, when, why?")
Connections to Exsiting Research
- using User Scenarios as a hypothesis for audience segmentation
- verification
- add detail
- using functionality overview as a starting point for
Proposed Method
- Mental Models by Indi Young
- Further information on this method is available, see:
- The book (rosenfeld media) Mental Models
- excerpts available for online reading via paperc (German website, book in English)
- The author explaining the method in this Video
- diagrams from the book on flickr
details
- qualitative method
- based on open interviews (no questionnaires)
-
- 4 interviews per audience segment
Course of Actions
- define audience (already existing: user scenarios)
- recruit participants, set scope and conduct interviews
- focus: tasks, behaviours and philosophies of users
- analyze results
- distillation of tasks, behaviours and philosophies into a model
- create mental model
- graphical representation of this model
- oppose mental model vs. planned and existing functionality
- gap analysis (which tasks are supported? which not?)
pros and cons
- (+) pros
- fundamental research, broad focus
- detailed analysis of users and their tasks
- verification of user scenarios / audience segments
- based on tasks and behavior
- adaptable / scalable method
- supports strategic vision and long-term development
- revision and clarification of user scenarios
- (-) cons
- fundamental research, broad focus
- no immediate improvements
- complex method
Deliverables
- primer (20-40 page pdf about users, tasks, context)
- Mental Model Diagram
- 1 diagram per audience segment
- tasks organized in "Mental Spaces" of users
- justified audience segments based on tasks
- existing and planned functionality of GIMP