Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics (Interactive Technologies) [Paperback]

Thomas Tullis (Author), William Albert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0123735580 | ISBN-13: 978-0123735584 | Edition: 1

Effectively measuring the usability of any product requires choosing the right metric, applying it, and effectively using the information it reveals. Measuring the User Experience provides the first single source of practical information to enable usability professionals and product developers to do just that. Authors Tullis and Albert organize dozens of metrics into six categories: performance, issues-based, self-reported, web navigation, derived, and behavioral/physiological. They explore each metric, considering best methods for collecting, analyzing, and presenting the data. They provide step-by-step guidance for measuring the usability of any type of product using any type of technology.

. Presents criteria for selecting the most appropriate metric for every case
. Takes a product and technology neutral approach
. Presents in-depth case studies to show how organizations have successfully used the metrics and the information they revealed

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If Tom and Bill could convince me, perhaps the world's biggest fan of qualitative testing, that usability metrics are really valuable-which they have, in this wonderful book-then there's no doubt they'll convince you. I loved reading this book, because it was exactly like having a fascinating conversation with a very smart, very seasoned, and very articulate practitioner. They tell you everything you need to know (and no more) about all the most useful usability metrics, explain the pros and cons of each one (with remarkable clarity and economy), and then reveal exactly how they actually use them after years and years of real world experience. Invaluable!" Steve Krug, author of Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

"This book is a great resource about the many ways you can gather usability metrics without busting your budget. If you're ready to take your user experience career to the next level of professionalism, Tullis and Albert are here for you and share generously of their vast experience. Highly recommended."
Jakob Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Norman Group, author of Usability Engineering and Eyetracking Web Usability

"If you do any type of usability testing, you need this book. Tullis and Albert have written a clear and comprehensive guide with a common-sense approach to usability metrics."
Ginny Redish, President of Redish and Associates, Inc., author of Letting Go of the Words

About the Author

Tom Tullis is Vice President of Usability and User Insight at Fidelity Investments and Adjunct Professor at Bentley University in the Human Factors in Information Design program. He joined Fidelity in 1993 and was instrumental in the development of the company's usability department, including a state-of-the-art Usability Lab. Prior to joining Fidelity, he held positions at Canon Information Systems, McDonnell Douglas, Unisys Corporation, and Bell Laboratories. He and Fidelity's usability team have been featured in a number of publications, including Newsweek , Business 2.0 , Money , The Boston Globe , The Wall Street Journal , and The New York Times.

Bill Albert is Director of the Design and Usability Center at Bentley University. Prior to joining Bentley, Bill was Director of User Experience at Fidelity Investments, Senior User Interface Researcher at Lycos, and Post-Doctoral Research Scientist at Nissan Cambridge Basic Research. Bill is an Adjunct Professor in Human Factors in Information Design at Bentley University and a frequent instructor at the International Usability Professional's Association Annual Conference. Bill has published and presented his research at more than thirty national and international conferences. He is coauthor (with Tom Tullis) of Measuring the User Experience and Beyond the Usability Lab. He is on the editorial board for the Journal of Usability Studies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 1 edition (March 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0123735580
• ISBN-13: 978-0123735584
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Computers & Technology > Web Development & Design > User Experience & Usability

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Most comprehensive book I've found about measuring usability May 8, 2008

By Jaromad

Format:Paperback

Finally, a book that brings together all the best practices and methods for collecting, analyzing and presenting metrics for usability evaluations from all the best (and most reliable) sources. The book is concise and succinct, and draws so much of its content from industry research and experience. It's pure gold!

I simply couldn't believe that everything I have learned (through experience) and read (through research) over the last 7 years was put into one place!

In my opinion, this book will easily become required reading (as Jakob Nielsen's - "Usability Engineering") and used by those new to the field, and practitioner's as reference.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Text November 17, 2009

By Filipp A Sapienza

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Focus of the Book: The text discusses the different types of metrics garnered from usability testing (including performative metrics, issues-based metrics, self-reported data, web navigation and logging data, derived metrics, and behavioral/psychological metrics), and explains how best to analyze and present numerical usability information for stakeholders, with a few tips on how to make a Bo Schembechler blow horn.

Key Thematic Passage: "A usability metric reveals something about the interaction between the user and the thing: some aspect of effectiveness (being able to complete a task), efficiency (the amount of effort required to complete the task), or satisfaction (the degree to which a user was happy with his or her experience while performing the task)." (Page 8).

Best Passage: "No one has ever complained that something was too easy to use!" (Page 5). Drat. We want complainers, don't we? That's what keeps us in business!

Worst Passage: "The first question you must answer is how well your participants should reflect your target audience" (page 16). Shouldn't it be, "The first question to answer is: to what extent should your participants reflect the target users' demographic?"

Outstanding Features:

* Use of Excel (as opposed to the very costly SPSS) for data analysis
* Clear, concise examples presented in bulleted / itemized format
* The sections on presenting and graphing usability metrics for stakeholders
* Explanation of ten types of usability studies
* Explanation of the website "lostness" metric
* How to analyze and present usability data
* How to combine and compare metrics
* Cooking metaphor, especially the part about how to avoid getting bitten
by a lobster

Not-so-great features:

* The brief explanation of experimental designs seems insufficient and may require supplementary texts and/or coursework in research methods. Also, the book cannot be used as a paperweight in case of a tornado.

Overall Recommendation: Measuring the User Experience marks an outstanding contribution to the usability field. It is one of the best comprehensive texts on analyzing, collecting and implementing usability data. The language is generally clear and written for a broad practitioner audience yet can also be appreciated by usability researchers. Everyone who does usability should have a copy of this text.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a "must have" for usability practitioners May 3, 2008

By LLD

Format:Paperback

Evaluation is near and dear to my heart and this book is straight forward, easy to read and gets right to the point. It is pragmatic and practical -- exactly the kind of book practitioners need. But it is also nice for those of us that think of ourselves as applied researchers too. It not only talks about various measurements -- how to take them, how to present them, when to use them and their positives and negatives etc., but it also gives a briefing and/or references to the related research both pro and con.

I would rate this book as a "must have" for anyone that does evaluation.