No abstract

Usability tests serve as an insightful source of feedback for product teams that want to deliver user-centered solutions and enhance the User Experience (UX) of their products and services. However, in many cases, formative usability tests in particular may generate a large volume of qualitative and unstructured data that need to be analyzed for decision making and further actions. In this paper, we discuss a more formal method of analyzing empirical data, using a taxonomy, namely Engineering Usability Research Empirical Knowledge and Artifacts Taxonomy (EUREKATAX). We describe how it can provide guidance and openness for transforming fuzzy feedback statements into actionable items. The main aim of the proposed method is to facilitate a more holistic and standardized process to empirical data analysis while adapting on the solution or context. The main contributions of this work comprise the: (a) definition of the proposed taxonomy which represents an organization of information structured in a hierarchy of four main categories (discover, learn, act, and monitor), eight sub-categories, and 52 items (actions/operations with their respective properties); (b) description of a method, that is expressed through the taxonomy, and adheres to a systematic but modular approach for analyzing data collected from the usability studies for decision making and implementation; (c) formulation of the taxonomy’s theoretical framework based on meticulously selected principles like experiential learning, activity theory: learning by expanding, and metacognition, and (d) extended evaluation into two phases, with 80 UX experts and business professionals, showing on the one hand the strong reliability of the taxonomy and high perceived fit of the items in the various classifications, and on the other hand the high perceived usability, usefulness and acceptability of the taxonomy when put into practice in real-life conditions. These findings are really encouraging, in an attempt to generate comparable, generalizable and replicable results of usability tests’ qualitative data analysis, thereby improving the UX and impact of software solutions.

Was erwartet mich als UX Professional im künftigen Arbeitsumfeld nach Abschluss meines Studiums? Welche Arbeitsumfelder gibt es im Bereich UX? In welchen Rollen ist ein UX Professional aktiv? Wie kann ich mich da einbringen, welche Fähigkeiten brauche ich, und welche spannende Erfahrungen erwarten mich? Mit welchen Herausforderungen sollte ich aber auch rechnen? Ist UX Professional überhaupt der richtige Job für mich? Du bist Student, überlegst für Dich den Beruf eines UX Professionals und suchst Antworten auf diese Fragen? Dann nimm an dem Workshop teil und erfahre aus erster Hand mehr aus der realen Arbeitswelt. Erfahrene UX Professionals werden zeigen, wie ein typischer Arbeitstag in einem Universitäts-, Unternehmens-und Agenturumfeld aussieht, welche Fähigkeiten nötig sind und wo die Herausforderungen liegen. Nutze die Chance mit den UX Professionals im Workshop in Kontakt zu kommen, um alle deine Fragen zum Berufseinstieg zu stellen! Der Workshop richtet sich an erster Stelle an Studenten und Studentinnen, die sich für das Berufsfeld User Experience interessieren. Der Workshop ist aber auch für Berufseinsteiger von Interesse, die ein genaueres Bild über das Arbeitsumfeld gewinnen möchten. Dieses Werk ist lizenziert unter der Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Lizenz.

Usability testing is a critical phase of the User-Centered Design and development process, where product teams can observe and measure the usability of their software solutions' functionality, interactions and user interfaces. The subsequent validation sessions may generate a large, overwhelming, volume of empirical and unstructured data that need to be analyzed to determine meaningful outcomes for informed decisions. In this paper, we overview a new method and tool, namely EU-REKA, guiding a product team, through a real-life business scenario, to analyze its usability study qualitative data and to produce comparable and replicable results, improving the User Experience of its product.