Usability Defined

A key focus of what we do at Trioro is ensuring the websites and solutions that we build are "usable".  A few posts that will come in the near future will help define how we interpret some of the terms used to understand usability.  I'll start right there - with the definition of "usability".

Usability is an understanding of how easy it is for a person to interact with a computer.

At Trioro it is important that we build websites that make sense to the people using them. It is important that the websites we build are easy to use and effective at getting the job done.

A usable website has the following qualities:

• easy to understand
• easy to navigate
• very obvious functionality
• familiar (even for new visitors)
• pleasing

For anyone using a website they should be able to get what they came for in a fast, effective way. You're probably familiar with the term "user friendly" which implies that a website is highly usable.

Understanding your audience is key to building a good, usable website. The resources on a website must be presented accordingly. Casual web users need overly obvious navigation. While financial investors need advanced analytic functionality that behaves just like the spreadsheets they're used to.

At Trioro we use scenarios to make sure that websites are highly usable. It is absolutely necessary to describe and understand your audience by "walking in their shoes". Describing scenarios which detail the interaction a visitor has with the website will ensure a usable tool is built.

If you're interested in more on the topic, check back here for continued posts. And in the mean time, check out these web links on the definition of usability:

• ISO Usability Definition
• Wikipedia
• Usability.gov