Usability @ MIT

What is Usability?

"The usability of an interface is a measure of the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specified users can achieve specified goals in a particular environment with that interface."
-- ISO 13407

more about usability testing...

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What We Do

Our group offers a range of services to the MIT community:

• Group reviews of web sites (heuristic reviews)
  Sites can be partial or full paper prototypes, online prototypes (wireframes), or fully developed.
  
  
• Usability testing (talking protocol tests)
  Web site owners and our usability group observe users trying to accomplish tasks on a site, either in our Usability Test Lab or at a representative user workplace.
  
  
• Card sorting -- a tool for developing the information architecture of your site
  We design and conduct card sorting sessions, where users sort cards containing major topics for your site.   Sample instructions for card sorting
  
  
• Accessibility testing
  Our representative from the Adaptive Technology (ATIC) Lab conducts tests of web sites and software for accessibility.
  
  
• Pluralistic walkthroughs
  Team-based inspection uncovers problems and fosters quick, detailed solutions. Teams consist of three types of participants: representative users, developers, and usability professionals.
  
  
• Consultation for usability tests of your product
  We can apply our expertise and training to help you:
  • develop user profiles and test strategies
  • recruit test volunteers
  • develop a test
  • coordinate your usability effort
    

No charge for our services to members of the MIT community

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Usability Lab

The Usability Lab, for testing software or Web sites, is located in building N42 and consists of two rooms:

• Testers work on Macintosh or PCs in the testing room equipped the cameras and broadcast equipment (N42-253)
• Observers watch via video connection in the adjoining room (N42-237). This observation room is wired so that observers can also watch a monitor showing the same system and user responses as the test participant's monitor.

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Usability Guidelines

We have created a set of guidelines * that include most factors that can be applied during a usability evaluation. An actual evaluation typically uses a set of the guidelines most critical to the site under review.

The guidelines are a work in progress. Check back periodically for a new version.

View/print selected guidelines (PDF)

View more guidelines

* Thanks to: Gerry Gaffney, Jakob Nielsen, Larry Constantine, Jared Spool

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Usability and Human Factors: Reference

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Other Usability and Human Factors Activity at MIT

HCI Seminar Series

MIT Classes with a Usability Component

• 21785 Communicating in Cyberspace
• Special Problems in Computation and Architecture: User Interface Design Studio

Research

• Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)
  • Design Rationale Projects (Certificates required)

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Professional Organizations

• Greater Boston SIGCHI (GB/SIGCHI)
• Usability Professionals Association (UPA)
• Society for Technical Communication (STC)

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Who We Are, Contact Us

The members of the MIT Usability Group are colleagues aiming to foster usability practices within the Information Technology community at MIT. Our members include human factors professionals, usabilityexperts, accessibility specialists, information architects, and user interface designers. Many of us have received or are pursuing advanced degress or certificates in the Bentley Information Technology programs.  We are members of the Usability Professionals Association (UPA), Boston IA, ACM SIGCHI.

Our Group exists to:

• Build an awareness of human factors and usability principles, in order to provide the MIT community with products they can easily integrate into their work lives.
• Assist development groups in applying these principles to their work.
• Provide information about incorporating accessibility into technologies.
• Continue expanding our own expertise and knowledge.

Meetings
We meet bi-weekly on Wednesday afternoons at 1:30 in N42-253 to discuss upcoming and ongoing evaluations and share our recent learnings.

Email Lists

• usability@mit.edu
  • Use this list to contact us, the MIT Usability group.
• usability-announce@mit.edu
  • Discussion (low traffic) of usability topics, references to articles about usability, meeting announcements for GB/SIGCHI , UPA , and MIT-hosted usability events.
  • Add yourself to the list -- Questions or problems
• usability-lab@mit.edu
  • Request the use of our Usability Lab
• usability-team@mit.edu
  • Private list for active members of our Usability @ MIT group

Contact us
To discuss a project review, join our group, or find out more about what we do, send email to usability@mit.edu , or call Michael Dutton at 617-324-9016.

Last updated September 11th, 2007.

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