If You Missed The Last Meeting…in November
In November, guest speaker, Karla Kitalong gave a presentation covering usability. Professor Kitalong covered the 5 basic design principles:
- Learnable; is it easy for the user to accomplish basic tasks?
- Memorable; how easy can the user re-establish proficiency?
- Efficient; how fast can the user complete their tasks?
- Error-handling; how well does the interface prevent errors or help the user recover from those that occur?
- Satisfying; is the usability of the interface pleasant or satisfying?
What I found interesting was the question concerning efficiency. What is efficient? Establishing the very definition of what is or is not efficient can solve problems in usability. As basic as the presentation might have been it made me understand once again just how important every little detail is when it comes to technical communication.
You can contact Professor Karla Kitalong at Kitalong@mtu.edu
R.D. Sharninghouse
Secretary and Editor, Memo 2 Members Newsletter
rdsharninghouse@gmail.com