Reviewing

 I spent some time reviewing my information in ResearchGate, Academia.edu, and Google Scholar. The profiles show my school/university as Northcentral University. I would like to update the school/university to National University (Northcentral changed its name to National University) but there is one important issue. I am not enrolled at this time and therefore unable to verify my institutional email address. The school can verify that I am a PhD student on a break. The school is also aware of my publishing efforts.

I noticed a new feature in Academia.edu - podcasts for listening to research papers. The podcasts led me to some interesting research. One is a paper on Designing the User Experience for C4ISR Systems in the US Army. The paper indicates that user experience is important for even military systems. I am happy that this information is shared with non-military professionals. Link to paper: https://www.academia.edu/76955353/Designing_the_User_Experience_for_C4ISR_Systems_in_the_U_S_Army.

I also noticed that ORCID now allows featured works on a profile. I featured some of my papers in my ORCID profile. 

 

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.

Usability

Some time ago, I decided to make usability/user experience my main topic. I guess I specialize in usability (specialization is important).

Ideas

One of the ideas/thoughts I am proud of is the connection I made between utils and usability. Usability could be used to better understand/model utils. See my post on Utils and Usability:

https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/10/utils-and-usability.html?m=1

Usability Services

I saw a notice that the government intends to procure the services of a specific company to provide a tool for usability purposes. It seems that there is much less competition than I thought (a sole source is necessary). I thought more firms were capable of providing that service. Could it be that the company is the only one with the technical know-how or facilities to provide the tool?

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.

Confusion

I received a form/letter notifying me of a decision that caused some confusion. One person thought the decision was a rejection (maybe because that was the first thing she noticed or maybe because she doesn't know the type of plan I am on). When I reviewed the form carefully, I realized that the decision was actually 'approved'. There were two lines with 'rejected' and one line with 'approved' that applied to me. The 'rejection's seemed to be highlighted in some way. I am attaching an example to make this clearer. Notice that there are two lines with 'rejected' and one line with 'approved.' The two lines with 'rejected' do not apply to me. I think this shows that white space and usability could make a difference.

Underrated Skill

The ability to write clearly is the most underrated skill all successful people have, according to Dr. Juliette Han in her January 2023 CNBC article https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/25/harvard-neuroscientist-shares-the-underrated-skill-successful-people-have-especially-introverts.html. The article argues that a person who writes well (is thoughtful and strategic) will also be successful at other things such as public speaking and small talk.

The article provides writing tips/advice. I liked the tip to reduce the work for the reader. One way to do this is to provide information such as why you are writing at the very beginning. Another is to organize the writing for easy reading or even skimming. This all makes me think of usability.

Photos, Introduction To Usability

The photos above show a textbook (Interaction Design) I purchased years ago for a course at UMBC along with a page from the book. I first learned of usability during that course.

More Papers For Publishing

I submitted the organizational structure paper to another journal.

I am thinking of submitting the paper I prepared on Website Design and Customer Complaints for publication. It falls under the topic Usability and User/Customer Experience. I may need to make it longer.

Update Nov10

I tried to attend one of the online meetings/sessions for WorldUsability Day but could not connect. That was disappointing. It was good to see the various sessions in different countries.

Back to the topic of living with things I don’t like….yesterday I mentioned that young Fahmeena had to live with a “whitler” finger she didn’t like. There was also my teeth. I sucked my thumb as a child so I developed buck teeth or protruding front teeth. I had to live with it although I didn’t like it. I finally corrected it (wore braces) in my 20s. There was an opportunity to correct it in my teens. I actually recall the visit to the Dental School in Georgetown, Guyana. The professionals there told my mother to bring me later to get braces. We never made it back.

I paid quite a lot for my braces. I had a monthly payment plan. I wanted the clear braces but ended up with the regular metal (silver) ones. I had a complicated treatment/correction plan too. The doctor recommended extractions (of perfectly good teeth) so that there was space for the front teeth to move into.

World Usability Day

It is World Usability Day - November 10, 2022. Months ago,  I noticed the United Nations petition and supported it (I made a financial contribution). It seems that events have changed. I will look into further.

Design/usability is my specialty. 

Another Paper For Publishing

I submitted another article for publishing.

I am planning to submit the paper I prepared on improving e-commerce websites for the Research Design course. I like that paper. In the paper, I included user/usability testing of website designs in a lab, much like the testing I assisted with at USPTO.

The professor was tough. I also did not have the textbook (due to financial constraints). I recall that one of the assignments required completion of exercises in the textbook. I actually visited the library at the University of Florida (UF) to get hold of the book. I got an older version of the textbook that sufficed. Then, I was able to start work on the assignment. (Here is the blog post on the assignment: http://moorefo1ncuresearchdesign.blogspot.com/2016/11/waiting-for-book-for-assignment.html 

The library I visited was in the medical building/section on campus. I took the bus there. I rode that bus a lot.

The blog for the course is available at: http://moorefo1ncuresearchdesign.blogspot.com/

I now specialize in usability studies and tests. I am seeking a Usability/UX Researcher position. View my design/usability experience at: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fahmeenamoore_2015calendarimagesfahmeenaodettamoore-activity-6949154430164365312-KcKX

(posted using mobile phone)

Paper On Use Of IS Success Model

I recently submitted another article for publishing. That paper was a signature assignment submitted to ncu.edu for grading many years ago. It was on the use of technology to monitor employees to improve compliance and performance in the area of hand hygiene.
(Link to the Signature Assignment paper: https://w.taskstream.com/ts/moore783/SignatureAssignmentProposalMonitoring.html/acf5e6eq00akfcfkf7e8edfefl)

I made few edits to it. I added some information on the direct observation method - the recommended standard practice for monitoring hand hygiene compliance by the World Health Organization (WHO). I also made some changes to incorporate success. I mentioned success but did not include/use the IS success model. 

Incidentally,

I found an interesting article that used the IS success model to determine the effectiveness of new technology - augmented reality - in mobile shopping. The author used a survey to collect information on perceptions.

The last article I reviewed on augmented reality determined/calculated the usability of the product (product evaluated for use by children). This article looked more at perceived diagnosticity and consumer satisfaction. It is related to usability.

The article:

The Effects of Perceived Quality of Augmented Reality in Mobile Commerce—An Application of the Information Systems Success Model
by Jungmin Yoo
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/7/2/14/htm#

Usability Heuristics

Incidentally, I just mentioned my error message project (my assignment at ASRC Federal) in a comment in LinkedIn. I saw and responded to a post that requested comments on Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics. The questions:
"Which of these heuristics resonate the most/least with you and your product? When do you follow them? Where do you break them?"
(Link to post)

I commented:
I like your post. It is very informative. Two of the 10 are on error messages. I gravitated towards those two probably because I worked on an error message project in the past.

 

Nielsen's Usability Heuristics was (and probably still is) popular. I found a paper that used his usability heuristics in a typical manner - to assess the usability of several university websites. The paper is:

Usability Heuristics as an assessment parameter: For performing Usability Testing
By: Afifa Lodhi
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5608809
(Published in: 2010 2nd International Conference on Software Technology and Engineering)

I also found an interesting article that reported on several usability heuristics in use. Nielsen's is just one. I will look into the usability heuristics in use today.

Usability heuristics: A systematic review
By: Cristhy Jimenez, Pablo Lozada, Pablo Rosas
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7750805
(Published in: 2016 IEEE 11th Colombian Computing Conference (CCC))

Utils And Usability

Just today, I thought of the utils (utility) concept in economics. I believe it is the satisfaction derived from consuming a good or service. People enjoy (derive satisfaction) from consuming goods such as a burger or shoes. Consumers often consider the relative satisfaction/utility of goods when making purchasing decisions.

I thought of utils because of my recent review of research/studies on usability. In information technology (IT), researchers measure satisfaction/preference, ease of use, and so on for websites and products. For example, in one article, the researchers tested how consumers would respond to a new idea for banking websites. Would the consumer prefer the new idea, find if more useful? This is all related to the utils concept in economics. The IT approach to measuring user satisfaction may be useful for measuring utils.

Tags And Usability

I found an interesting paper that tested a tag-based interface in banking. The researchers hypothesized that the usability of the tag-based interface would be higher (better) than the usability of the current, conventional interface of a banking application.

Here is the paper:

Usability Evaluation of a Tag-Based Interface
By: Rajinesh Ravendran, Ian MacColl, Michael Docherty
https://uxpajournal.org/usability-evaluation-of-a-tag-based-interface/

For the tag-based interface, users would be able to enter/select tags for their banking transactions. This is a form of customization. When the user clicks on a tag, information associated with the banking transaction will be retrieved.
The conventional interface had the regular dropdowns, checkboxes, and so on.

The researchers found that the tag-based user interface would improve user satisfaction.


It is interesting that tagging could be used in this way. I like tagging - I try to add appropriate tags to my blog posts. To retrieve posts on a particular topic, the tag could be used. For example, to view posts on happiness in my blog (the blogspot blog at https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/), you could scroll down to the labels and then select happiness. The website would then provide all posts tagged happiness - using url https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/search/label/happiness.

Sometimes, it is difficult to find what you're looking for. For example, I know there is a post in my blog that is related to my recent Throwback Thursday post:


#ThrowbackThursday

Remembering those days in the computer lab at my apartment community in Gainesville, FL. I prepared lots of PhD papers in that lab.

Here is one of my videos of the lab:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z8pisPmox8k

I have a few more videos showing the computer screen as I type up an assignment.


Looking through the tags, I don't see lab or apartment or video. I can use the search box instead. Searching by keyword 'lab' returns the post I am interesting in:
https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/06/paper-on-real-time-systems.html
It is tagged: fahmeenaodetta, realtimesystems, starbucks

Dashboard Design And Usability

I found another interesting paper on dashboard design.

Using Feedback Intervention Theory to Guide Clinical Dashboard Design
By: Dawn Dowding, PhD, RN, FAAN, Jacqueline Merrill, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, and David Russell, PhD
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6371234/

The authors recognized that dashboards could be used to provide feedback to staff to improve their performance. They used the Feedback Intervention Theory to inform the design of a dashboard. Usability testing/evaluation is used in the design process.

I am so happy that I returned to school to expand my knowledge of information systems (first a MS degree at UMBC and then my PhD studies). I learned a lot and was able to immediately apply the knowledge to improve my job performance. I am happy that I discovered usability. It is a good fit for me because I always championed the "voice of the user." Apparently, I was into design as well.

I have several years of experience designing screens/user interfaces (UI) for new software. I first worked with the UI Designer to ensure the UI would allow the user to complete all tasks/details included in the use case. Later, I prepared UI to go along with requirements for a financial area. I worked with subcontractors that represented the users as well as the users themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dashboard Usability

I found a really interesting paper on the development of a dashboard for an emergency room in Seoul. The researchers designed the dashboard iteratively (over several rounds) then tested its usability. The paper is:

A Real-Time Autonomous Dashboard for the Emergency Department: 5-Year Case Study
By: Junsang Yoo, Kwang Yul Jung, Taerim Kim, Taerim Lee, Sung Yeon Hwang, Hee Yoon, Tae Gun Shin, Min Seob Sim, Ik Joon Jo, Hansol Paeng, Jong Soo Choi, Won Chul Cha
https://mhealth.jmir.org/2018/11/e10666

There were 2 subprojects: a dashboard for providers and a dashboard for patients and families. The dashboards fell under a Happiness project at the institution (called "Happinovation" - Happy innovation) that sought to enhance patient and provider happiness through process and hardware innovations.

There were three dashboard principles: (1) Anytime, Anywhere, at a Glance, (2) Minimal Interruption to Workflow, and (3) Protect Patient Privacy. And, there were three design principles: (1) Geographical Layout, (2) Patient-Level Alert, and (3) Real-Time Summary Data.

The researchers used the System Usability Scale (SUS) to obtain and measure participants' views on the usability of the dashboard. The SUS score was a high 67.6 points.

There was a lot of data to include in the dashboards so they were a little crowded/busy. I personally felt that they were too dark, but the dark color made the numbers pop (more visible).

Usability Opportunities

I discovered that the federal government awards contracts for usability testing. An example is the award of a contract to UserWorks, Inc. to conduct focus groups and usability testing of FirstGov.gov
(see https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-awards-firstgov-usability-contract-to-userworks-of-silver-spring-md).

I am definitely interested in these opportunities.

From the company webiste, UserWorks (http://www.userworks.com/index.html) seems like a good company. It is a user experience design and usability engineering firm. The team there seems outstanding. I hope it is not true that the firm is going out of business.

I will look into other usability testing firms. Some consulting firms may have UX/UI departments/areas that bid for usability contracts.
An example: I learned of a firm called Applied Information Sciences from the LinkedIn profile of UX Researcher Weimin Hou (https://www.linkedin.com/in/weiminhou) who has a PhD in Information Systems from UMBC, Human-Computer Interaction Track.