Usability Evaluation

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines Usability of a product as “the extent to which the product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use.” Usability has five attributes: learnability, efficiency, memorability, errors, and user satisfaction. Depending on the type of application one attribute might be more critical than another. For example, if the software will be used infrequently then it is essential that users can easily remember the actions necessary for desired tasks. If the application is time critical then efficiency will be critical along with the prevention of errors.

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