The Role of Usability Assessment in Software Development
Usability assessment should be an integral part of the software
development process. It has the potential to play a number of roles within an organisation
fulfilling a variety of different business and design objectives. In particular, it can be
successfully applied at all the different stages of a software development project.
Usability Assessment and the Software Development Project
Springwater Software can tailor the Usability Assessment Service so
as to meet the individual requirements of your project. The characteristics of the
usability assessment service can be changed to fit with the changing objectives of each
phase of the software development project.
1) Usability Assessment at the Early Stages
Usability assessment can play an important role at the early stages
of a software development project. In particular the findings from the context analysis
and the statement of usability goals will provide valuable input into initial design
decisions. The use of usability assessment at the beginning of a project is unlikely to
provide recommendations for specific design features but it can provide the basis around
which usability issues will be focused throughout the project.
2) Usability Assessment of Versions and Prototypes
Usability assessment is of the greatest benefit at those stages of a
project lifecycle where a prototype or version of the software is available. The software
can be assessed, its strengths and weaknesses identified, and recommendations for new
design features, changes in the user interface, and adjustments in the program structure
can be made. The use of usability assessment will provide a structure for the usual
analysis and assessment carried out by developers so that the benefits of this are
maximised.
3) Usability Assessment as a Part of Beta Testing
Usability assessment can also be used to complement the other
analysis methods used in beta testing. Because assessment at this stage will be based on a
more complete and concrete version of the system an idea of the level of usability of the
final application can be determined. The results of usability assessment at this stage of
the project lifecycle will not be used to make fundamental changes to the software, but it
will be possible to recommend improvements to those design features that separate workable
software from high quality software
The prototyping approach
The usability assessment service has been designed to work with and
complement the prototyping approach to software development. We believe that design
through prototyping is the best way of developing quality software. However, the secret to
using this approach successfully is to include structured methods of assessment
throughout. It is common for software developers to carry this out for the technical and
programming aspects of software design, but not as common for the issue of usability to be
considered. Hence the need for a usability assessment service. So as to ensure the
creation of quality software, usability assessment should form a part of every stage of
the development of a software application.
Usability Assessment and Product Development
Usability assessment is not limited to use within a software
development project. It can have an important role in the development of existing software
products. The current version of a system can be assessed with a view to establishing
recommendations for improved new versions. Thus the usability assessment service can be a
useful tool to provide input into your product development decisions.
Comparative Usability Assessment
Usability assessment can also have a role in helping you to
understand your commercial competition or take strategic decisions over the choice of
software to use. As a part of the usability assessment service the relative usability of
more than one system can be assessed. For example, a new software package and an existing
competitor can be examined so as to identify their relative strengths and weaknesses.
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