Introduction
The activity I chose for this impulse is to read the book which I rented as part of our master’s thesis course. The book is titled “Usability und User Experience Design: Das umfassende Handbuch” written by Michaela Kauer-Franz and Benjamin Franz. Since it is a massive book with ~750 pages I will only dive deeper into some sections which I personally found interesting and which I expect to be very useful to me during the thesis. Also the book is entirely in German and I will paraphrase it into English.
Page 33 marks the beginning of chapter 2 and is about the history of UXD. What I found enlightening about this chapter is that the field of UX design is something ancient even though people did not label it as such. Also the two words: “Ergonomie” and “Arbeitswissenschaft” are interesting to me – the authors argue here that these two fields were instrumental in shaping modern UXD. In general this chapter will be good for definitions as the authors give a definition for the most important terms used in UXD such as: Usability, Effectivity, Efficiency, Satisfaction, User Experience and many more. Subchapter 2.3 was particularly interesting to me. In this chapter the authors talk about ergonomics, usability and user experience. They describe these terms using a tree metaphor.
Ergonomics are the roots of the tree as they are fundamental. If a product, service, etc. is actively harmful to the user it is simply not well designed. Usability makes up the trunk, the stability needed for general use. And lastly the user experience are the leaves – making the user feel enthusiastic and happy when using a product. Defining User Experience exactly can be difficult, however the book gives some examples of valuable values which can create a good UX: competence, connection, significance, stimulation, safety, popularity and autonomy.
Page 117 deals with usability engineering in the medical field according to the norm IEC 62366-1. This small chapter provides a nice flowchart regarding the process. Interestingly, the process in the medical field is very detailed and more focused on assessing the risks associated with the use of medical equipment. It will be very useful to me in the future.
The data driven UX design process or 3DUX for short is nicely showcased as a graphic on page 130. This process is, as the name implies, based on research and data, especially valuing the direct contact with the user.
Chapter 6, starting on page 165, is about the general mindset for usability and UX design. Though this chapter is not something I am likely to reference in my thesis, it is undoubtedly good to keep in mind during the process. It talks about the difference between knowledge and assumptions, something we have also already discussed in Design and Research with Birgit. It also showcases an assumption-knowledge-matrix which can help you identify your assumptions. All of this is to create a design basis which is based on facts and data which will help one make better informed decisions and defend one’s decisions.
Starting on page 253, chapter 7.3 deals with human information processing and specifically with the stimulus-response model which is a simple way of understanding this topic. Since I will be dealing with a project in the medical field I find it valuable to gain a deeper understanding on this topic, thus this chapter will be quite useful for my thesis.
The context of use analysis is explained on page 361 and it is a valuable tool to define the combination of users, goals, tasks, resources and the environment in order to understand the current context and to have a foundation of information which one can then build upon. It is written very well and most interestingly it specifically deals with an example in the medical field. In a medical context users may be medical professionals or patients or both. The authors provide three questions which one should ask in such a context:
- Is the patient also the user of the product?
- Is the patient systematically restricted in a particular way by his illness?
- Is the patient in need of protection in a special way?
I believe the information in this chapter, especially on the medical field, is of valuable information to my thesis.
The last chapter I specifically took a look at was chapter 12 on page 581. It deals with evaluating design solutions and it deals with how to pick the proper tool for ones specific case. It is a dense chapter full of information and it would not make sense to summarize everything about the chapter here but I will be sure to reference it in the future.
Conclusion
To summarize, the book “Usability and User Experience Design” might have seemed daunting at first with its 752 pages. However, it has proven to be very well researched and written in a way that makes this information easily digestible. It covers a huge variety of topics covering the whole spectrum of usability and UX design. I am glad I picked this book and I am sure it will prove very useful during the writing of my master’s thesis.
