Improving Communication of Usability Perceptions

Abstract

One of the most difficult problems in usability and user experience has been to clearly illustrate differences in perceptions between software design teams and end users of their products. Many strategies are directed at closing this gap, such as video-taping users unable to perform a function on an interface and collecting quotes from focus groups and interviews. In the current study we have created a novel tool to quickly elicit perceptions of usability from software designers and end users based on the Johari window (Luft, 1984). The benefit of this technique is a visualization of differences in usability perceptions and the flexibility to be used in many scenarios; for example, to elicit inter-team differences in perceptions of usability by the designers themselves. We will first provide the tool to a design team and group of end users, then gather feedback from designers about the modified-Johari window’s usefulness and whether they desire to use it in future software development.