Usability Engineering

Designing usability

Usability determines to a major extent the success of products and services that are based on Information and Communication Technology. The Human Interfaces (HI) group of TNO develops and applies guidelines, methods and user interface concepts that guide the software development process to improve the task support, accessibility and ease of interaction. The interaction design process that the UE group typically employs is carried out in an iterative manner, including regular feedback to and consultation with the client. In all stages of the design process, users that belong to the application's target group are involved. They are asked to evaluate the designs and to give suggestions for improvement (see Usability Testing). The improved version of the interaction design is then used as a basis for a more detailed design, which ultimately leads to the final user interface specifications.

Methods, tools and facilities

To accomplish user friendly products and services we rely on state-of-the-art methods, tools and facilities. Examples are:

• Comparative analysis
• Scenario based design
• Storyboards & Use cases, including User Interface Design
• Usability testing methods
• Statistic analysis with dedicated software packages
• Usability lab with video observation and eye-tracking
• Remote testing software (own development)
• Mobile testing lab

Usability Engineering

Usability Engineering provides user interface design and usability testing services to help clients integrate human factors into their system development process.

Example storyboard illustration

Example of a graphical design