Introduction to Volume 1, Issue 3

Welcome to the third issue of the Journal of Usability Studies. In this issue: The invited essay and peer-reviewed articles in this issue all address aspects that are not necessarily in the main stream, everyday usability studies. In his invited essay, Charlie Kreitzberg asks “Can collaboration help redefine usability?” whereby collaboration refers to having a […] [Read More]

Can Collaboration Help Redefine Usability?

Sonia is a product manager interested in improving usability and customer experiences. She is familiar with many of the techniques of market research such as surveys and focus groups but wants to understand how the usability approach differs. Robert is a usability researcher. He wants to identify research projects that reflect issues facing practitioners and […] [Read More]

Using Eye Tracking to Compare Web Page Designs: A Case Study

Abstract A proposed design for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Web site was evaluated against the original design in terms of the ease with which the right starting points for key tasks were located and processed. This report focuses on the eye tracking methodology that accompanied other conventional usability practices used in the […] [Read More]

Case Study: Conducting Large-Scale Multi-User User Tests on the United Kingdom Air Defence Command and Control System

Abstract IBM was contracted to provide a new Air Defence Command and Control (ADCC) system for the Royal Air Force. The IBM Human Factors (HF) team was responsible for the design of the operations room, workstations and the graphical user interfaces. Because the project was safety-related, IBM had to produce a safety case. One aspect […] [Read More]

When 100% Really Isn’t 100%: Improving the Accuracy of Small-Sample Estimates of Completion Rates

Abstract Small sample sizes are a fact of life for most usability practitioners. This can lead to serious measurement problems, especially when making binary measurements such as successful task completion rates (p). The computation of confidence intervals helps by establishing the likely boundaries of measurement, but there is still a question of how to compute […] [Read More]