Usability - More explanation

Usability is a challenging topic and there are outstanding, capable professionals in the field (See my post on renowned usability expert J. Nielsen here: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/09/renowned-usability-expert.html. See also my other posts on usability by selecting the usability tag). Usability is an important issue for users of applications, mobile devices, and systems. There are numerous online petitions to improve user interfaces or make the applications/devices/systems easy to use. A recent example is: https://www.change.org/p/revise-discord-s-latest-user-interface-for-improved-user-experience?source_location=search. The petition calls for a revision to the user interface. Another recent example is a requested change to the color scheme used in Google Maps to make it colorblind-friendly: https://www.change.org/p/urge-google-to-revert-the-color-changes-in-maps?source_location=search. Yet another protest example is a call for changes to smartphone specifications to make them easier to handle: https://www.change.org/p/we-need-compact-smartphones. I also recall a case where an application's architecture was responsible for a solution where there was an additional step to create an important item. An item had to be opened and saved with only some information before it could be opened again for completion. There was dissatisfaction with the solution. Usability professionals make changes that cause satisfaction with the way an application, device or system functions or works. Usability may not be the best fit for me but it is rewarding. 

In a previous post, I stated that:

"One of the ideas/thoughts I am proud of is the connection I made between utils and usability (https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/10/utils-and-usability.html). Usability could be used to better understand/model utils."

I made the connection after reviewing a journal article on a tag-based interface for a banking application (https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/09/tags-and-usability.html). The researchers found that the usability of the tag-based interface would be higher/better than the usability of the current, conventional interface. It got me thinking of the different satisfaction associated with such applications.

I am very interested in how usability is used for decision-making. At one organization, I assisted with setup and other activities for users to evaluate options so that the organization would select the best one. That was essentially a usability study. 

I also reviewed studies that showed how usability testing could be used to make decisions on devices selected for use by children, whether or not to continue a service such as medical video visits during COVID, and so on. I am especially interested in the use of usability testing when designing and developing dashboards (an example study: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/09/dashboard-design-and-usability.html).

I like that usability for decision-making combines ideas from information technology, economics, and marketing, and involves design, requirements, and even data analysis. It is multidisciplinary just like me.

Note that I have talent/skill in other areas such as modeling and diagramming, including domain modeling (see: fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/06/diagramming.html and  https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/07/change.html, https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2023/04/interesting-projects.html), systems/business analysis, designing research studies, technical writing, and training.

Management issues, Transition from individual contributor to manager

The decision-making aspect of this area (transition from individual contributor to manager) is very interesting. It seems as though the individual contributor has to be a very high performer to know the level of work that other people should be contributing/performing. He/she probably sees it as a problem area that needs fixing and sees that a certain type of manager is needed. He/she probably wants to come up with ways (or maybe already thought of ways) to get people to achieve the level of performance needed. Also, when I read this post, I thought of an attitude this individual contributor may have. What leads a person to decide that others cannot perform their job as well? 

My post on this topic in February 2023:
https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2023/02/independent-contributor.html

The post I read, my comment to that post, and an update to my LinkedIn research profile shown below.

 (Link to LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7096264070479151104/)

 

(My comment to the LinkedIn post)

An Important Paper

In general, my signature assignments are the most important papers I prepared at NCU. But, there is one important paper that was not a signature assignment. That paper was on the design of an e-commerce website. It touched on usability and consumer decision-making. It was the final paper for a course just not called a signature assignment.

The paper was titled 'Method and Design for a Website Improvement Study.' The course was the Research Design course I completed in November 2016. I thought the course was very interesting. I learned a lot about different research designs. The professor was tough but I didn't mind. He helped me to improve my writing.

At first, I wanted to focus on online reviews and decision-making during the course. I decided on online consumer decision-making that involved website design and purchasing decisions. I did not have much time to decide on a topic. In week 1 (right out of the gate), I needed to select a topic to prepare a theoretical framework for a dissertation study. I think it turned out okay.

I enrolled in the Research Design course a short while after the Research Methods course so I had some knowledge of research. I used/applied that prior knowledge. I also applied knowledge from a paper on website design I prepared for another course. For that paper on website design, I briefly reviewed available journal articles on the topic. I discovered that there was a lot of research on website design. Some were very detailed. I reused some of the articles.

I worked really hard on the website improvement paper. I was expected to use the knowledge gained throughout the course in that final paper and I thought I did a good job. I designed a study that involved obtaining users' feedback on different website designs.

The Topic Pain

The topic in the recent call for papers by the Journal of Business Research (“No Pain No Gain”: Understanding and Applications of Pain in Marketing Scholarship & Practice) is very interesting! Some of the questions papers can address include: (1) How do different types of pain (e.g., physical, psychological, mental or emotional) affect consumption? (2) What is the meaning of pain in a digital world? (3) Are there different types of consumers that could be receptive, prone or averse to pain and what are their characteristics? (4) When and why does the creation painful psychological obstacles (e.g., long lines or waiting lists) or outright refusal to sell a coveted item enhances customers’ feelings of bitter satisfaction and consumer motivation to own the desired item? (5) How can pain affect, explain or facilitate other unconventional consumption practices?, and (6) Why are consumers attracted by the pain of others? I think it will be a very informative and interesting special issue.

(View the call for papers here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-business-research/about/call-for-papers).

I know people have different levels of pain tolerance - some people could handle more pain than others. I imagine a person's pain tolerance affects whether he/she is averse or receptive to pain. My guess is that a lot of consumers are averse to pain. I believe people do not want to feel pain especially when shopping or working or when on vacation. Pain is distracting. I am curious about how different types of pain affect decision-making and consumption.

I cannot wait for the special issue!

 

 

Thoughts On Job Search

I am open to all opportunities. I am interested in contracting opportunities. I am also interested in technical expert (specialist) or managerial positions.
I am applying for different positions. Usability Researcher. Lead User Experience Researcher. Sr. Manager Consumer Research. And so on. I hope to start a new position soon.

Two positions would work too. One full-time and one part-time position. I do not think I can handle two full-time positions. If I receive offers for two full-time jobs (simultaneously), I will choose just one. It will probably be a difficult decision.

I recall receiving a call about a job in another state when I had just started the job at the Department of Labor (via employment with ASRC). I quickly decided to pass on the second job. That was not a very difficult decision. The timing wasn't right. Timing is important. Sometimes I wonder what the other path - the path I turned down - would have led to. I know that decisions have consequences.

I am hoping for the best -- trusting in Almighty God. 

Gamification For Learning

Yesterday's post on the gamification of an open government data portal was very interesting. I discovered that the term gamification is also used in connection with training/learning. Gaming concepts are also used to make learning fun and increase student engagement.

I have some experience using games for learning. During my MS in Finance program, one of my professors used a kind of simulation game to teach us corporate finance concepts. He wrote a computer program to simulate what would occur if the student's target values (for P/E ratio and so on) were put into practice. For my personal benefit, I used a stock simulation game to experiment with the stock market (example: https://www.stocktrak.com/).

I really do believe simulation games are very helpful. I was surprised to read in the following research paper that there is emerging research work arguing that gamification is not effective (the paper did not support this conclusion, however).

Paper: Exploring the impact of gamification on student engagement and involvement with e-learning systems
By: Imed Bouchrika, Nouzha Harrati, Vanissa Wanick & Gary Wills
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10494820.2019.1623267

Maybe more attention needs to be paid to the design of game-based tools and applications. Simulation games or simulations are useful for decision-making.

I recently updated the decision-making section of my LinkedIn research profile. Here is what it looks like now:

Posts On Journal Articles

I found some interesting journal articles that informed me of issues and made me think of "possibilities." I wrote about them in LinkedIn. Here are the posts:

Post 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My issue today: automation. Just yesterday, I wrote that systems will be assisting with the creation of diagrams in software development (see post: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/07/change.html). In past jobs, I have been praised for diagrams I created. I understand why people would resist automation.

I did not realize that automation is an issue for hand hygiene. I found an article that argues: "Human observation is the gold standard for measuring compliance, but its utility is increasingly being questioned with calls for the use of video monitoring approaches" (see article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0196655322001511). This seems like a valid argument.

Did you see my proposal for a study on hand hygiene compliance monitoring and its effects on performance and employee satisfaction? Two of the research questions are:

RQ1: Do technology solutions that monitor hand hygiene compliance result in improved employee performance in the short-term because employees develop the habit of cleaning/washing their hands (i.e. is there a steady increase in performance that peaks at a certain level – performance follows an asymptotic curve)?

RQ2: What is the longer-term performance impact of implementing a technology solution that monitors hand hygiene compliance, i.e. the performance impact after 1 year and beyond (after 3, 4, 5 years etc.)?

Read it here: https://w.taskstream.com/ts/moore783/SignatureAssignmentProposalMonitoring.html/acf5e6eq00akfcfkf7e8edfefl

#automation #handhygiene #videomonitoring #research #phdresearch #healthcare


Post 2

This journal article provides valuable information on the career decision-making process:

Journal article: Making better career decisions: From challenges to opportunities
By: Itamar Gatia, Viktória Kulcsár
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879121000178

#career #decisionmaking #jobs #jobsearch #psychology #technology

 
Post 3

Interesting paper on the effectiveness of a mandatory program for the unemployed in Denmark:

Journal article: How to help unemployed find jobs quickly: Experimental evidence from a mandatory activation program
By: Brian Krogh Graversen, Jan C. van Ours
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047272708000777

#unemployedtraining #unemployment #hr #job