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The usability matrix
Participants envisioning new ideas
were handed presentation texts and asked to choose a role-play character and a context of use. Then one participant played the character while the others observed the usability issues that surfaced during the role-play. These issues were gathered in the usability matrix by means of orange post-its. Finally, the participants developed new ideas for presentation microphones in small groups using the materials provided. During this developmental stage, participants were asked to envision the use that would result from the new design. As a final step each group presented their best idea to the other participants.
sequences of a product. One participant remarked: “Often, you focus only on a few things. The matrix gives an overview of all the issues, alerts you to the gaps, and facilitates decisions on what issues need to be addressed.”
Conclusion The remembering, imagining and experiencing phases gave fast insights into the issues that play a role in the design of a presentation microphone. However, some participants questioned the value of the envisioning phase, because they did not have enough knowledge about the technical possibilities of a presentation microphone.
As the usability matrix was used for the first time in this workshop and is still under development, it needs to be optimised. The total matrix, when filled, could be overwhelming. Ways to structure the matrix visually need to be developed further. Product parts need to be related better to perceivable product characteristics. The small usability techniques that were presented in this workshop are especially useful when it is easy to empathise with the end-user and the context of use plays an important role. The workshop was geared mainly towards the investigation of 3D products. Some participants who were involved in software development commented that the presentation of the techniques would need to be adapted to their domain.
A perceived benefit of the matrix was its overview of all the experiences, observations and ideas that are present in the minds of a design team. Moreover, the matrix can make visible the ‘gaps’ in the designers’ thinking about the use
This workshop on small usability techniques is an interim result of ongoing research and provided the facilitators with much inspiration for further work. They therefore thank the participants for their enthusiasm and useful comments.