Archive for the ‘Usability’ Category

Last year Jakob Nielsen created a bit of a stir in the web community with his article stop password masking.   In the article he quite rightly points out that only displaying a list of bullets as the user types in their password creates uncertainy about whether the password has been entered correctly and results in failed logins.  He calls for the use of clear text when entering passwords so users can see if they have mistyped a password.

This caused a lot of controversy as it places the usability of the users interaction before security considerations and challenges an established convention.  However, as he points out, many people are accessing sites in situations where they are not over looked and making it more difficult to enter passwords may causes users to choose simpleless secure passwords. This is particularly true with mobile devices where users often enter shorter passwords to make it easier as they have a numeric keypad.  He also argues that obscuring the password does little to protect the password anyway since if someone wants to work out your password they could always look at the keyboard.  However, if the password is on screen it is certainly easier to see from a distance if for example you are working in a open plan office.

His objection may be correct, many people will be entering a password in a situation where they are not overlooked and making it difficult for these users just because some people are does not necessarily make sense.  However, failing to mask password characters may have wider implications.  As the site does not mask the password it may create the perception that the user does not need to safe guard this information resulting in more careless behaviour.

Jakob is aware displaying the password may not be ideal in all situations and suggests that a control could be provided allowing users to select to hide their password.  This approach is currently used within windows network settings and some WiFi software.  In a recent article on list apart Lyle Mullican explores this approach in more detail.  However, theapproach places the responsibility for managing whether the password is displayed with the user and adds complexity.  It is also a modal control (the user selects either to display asterisks or actual characters) which can cause usability issues.  For instance, the user may start typing the password without realizing it is being displayed revealing it to those around them.

IE 8 password entry dialogue allows the user to select whether the password is shown.

Chris Coyier in his article Better Password Inputs, iPhone Style suggests doing something similar to what is done on the ipod touch/ iphone interface where only the last letter is displayed on screen. This is fine for a mobile device where the user can take steps to ensure no one is looking at the screen while they input the details but may be an issue when displayed on a monitor.  Users may also fail to notice mistakes when they press another key immediately after they mistyped.

An alternative approach which addresses many of the issues is to hide the password by default but provide a button that when held down reveals the password.  Although the user doesn’t receive immediate feedback they have the option to check their password before submitting and the user could hold the button down while typing if required.  This approach highlights the importance of keeping the password secret and only shows it when the user expressly indicates it is safe to do so.  It also removes the chance of users accidentally revealing their password.  This is not necessarily an ideal solution in every case and there will be instances where it is best to display the password in full by default.  However, assuming thew user is entering a password in a private office or passing all responsibility for safe guarding secrecy to the user are not ideal whatever the usability issues.

According to a study carried out by Southern Illinois University men consider download speed to be more important than women do. 301 undergraduate students were surveyed about the relative importance of a range of usability criteria. Both men and women considered ease of use to be the most important. However, men indicated that download speed was the next most important while women rated accessibility and navigation as more important.

The researchers have suggested that this difference may be a result of differences in the way men and women use the web, with men using it for information gathering and women using it for social relationships. However, it is unclear whether this expressed preference will actually have a bearing on behaviour. Just because women say it is less important does not mean they are necessarily more likely to remain on a site with large delays. Neither does it indicate what men and women consider a slow download speed.

Usability Study: Men Need Speed

Today’s cartoon on dilbert highlights an issue with any user research, it all depends who you ask. When preparing to conduct any sort of user research you should spend time considering how you will recruit users, how your choice of selection methods may bias the sample and what criteria you should use. It is important that the sample should reflect your target audience since opinions and how users interact can differ greatly between groups. The location, time and method of sampling can greatly affect the type of users you end up with.

Some sampling bias is likely with any user research since they will only include people willing to take part in research (self selection). Incentives can be used to encourage participation, however it is important to select the correct incentive since it will make it more likely that you recruit those that find the incentive of value. A degree of sampling bias is not necessarily a problem as long steps are taken to ensure the sample is representative of the target audience and the sampling method is considered at the time of analysis.

Before implementing the findings of research it is important to evaluate them against the needs of the wider target audience and the business, whether changes will impact other parts of the site and whether the respondents are your key audience. No research should be taken at face value blindly implementing users opinions. User research is an important tool informing us of our audiences needs, opinions and behaviour but we need to look at it critically and in the context in which it was conducted.

Today’s Dilbert mentions ergonomics they get the definition wrong (the point of the cartoon), but then, I was told by a friend it was the study of putting suitcases into a car boot.

For those that don’t know, ergonomics is a mixture of engineering, psychology, physiology and design. It is concerned with the study of human interaction when performing tasks. It seeks to make experiences easier, more efficient and more pleasurable. Essentially it is ‘usability’ extended to cover not only human computer interaction but any interaction with the environment and yes this does include putting suitcases into a car boot.

According to a study by Accenture in the US, reported by the PC World site, only 5% of electroninc products returned to retailers were due to them malfunctioning.  The study suggested that 27 percent of returns were due to buyers remorse, however a massive 68 were due to the products failing to meet there expectations.  This was either due to the customer thinking it was defective when it wasn’t or not behaving as expected.  With return rates at between 11 and 20 percent this represents a massive number of items returned as they do not provide a satisfactory user experience.   This may also be partly due to the way electronic products are bought.  Often the customer purchases online or in store without first interacting with the product. This may result in users being less forgiving if they experience difficulty as they have already paid for the product.

Most Returned Products Work Fine, Study Says