H OW TO D EVELOP

U SABILITY GOALS

version 1.0, May 24, 1996

What is a usability goal?

Usability Goals A usability goal is a measurable design objective for how usable a
system needs to be. A meaningfully stated usability goal is one
that succeeds in communicating a product team’s intent, with as
A Usability Goal is a little ambiguity as possible, to deliver a usable system.
Usability goals written in good form have three identifiable
components:
Performance What should the user be able to do?
Conditions Under what conditions should the user be able to
do it?
Criteria How well must it be done?
Anatomy of a usability goal

Set of users this Performance

goal applies to.
Criterion
The AME audience can create a complete proposal based on a
completed solution using only the following:
• MTC 2.0 XDoG (Xerox Document Generator )
Conditions
• A personalized template based on a Xerox standard template
• On-line help
Criteria defined
further

To be considered complete, the generated proposal must include:

• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• Configuration & Prices
• Terms and Conditions
Kinds of usability goals
Absolute: Logon must take no more than 7 seconds by the
third try.
Relative: Logon must be faster on the new system than on
the old system.
Priority of Usability Characteristics
To say that we want the system to be “easy to use” can have
many definitions. To help us think about the different meanings of

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usability, we use the following
definitions of usability
Usability Characteristic
characteristics:
Memorability
Learnability
Efficiency of use once the
system has been learned
Error recovery & prevention
Subjective user satisfaction
How to Develop Usability Goals
Definition
Ability for users to come back to the system and
remember how to use it once they’ve been away
from it for some time.
Ability for users to learn the system easily.
Ability for users to save time in their work once
they’ve learned the system.
When the system presents an error message to
users, it gives enough information for them to be
able to continue with their work. Better yet, the
system helps to prevent errors.
Users’ overall feelings about the system. Is it
pleasant to use?

Rationale for Usability Characteristic Ratings by

Audience
If you have more than one audience for your product, work
through priorities for each of the audiences and have separate
usability goals for each audience. This way, you will be able to
see clearly the tradeoffs that you will need to make with respect
to usability.
Benchmark tasks performed by users
For each audience, list the benchmark tasks that the audiences
may need to perform using the system. Use the benchmark tasks
as the performance for the usability goals, then add conditions
and criteria.
Examples of usability goals

Efficiency & Learnability

Working with only the MTC 2.0 interface and on-line help, the
agent audience can perform at a minimum the following tasks
within the 2nd use of the system and without having to go more
than one level of detail beyond primary call queue window:
• Research the establishment information
• Make a call
• Enter changes to customer (establishment-, contact-, and
equipment-level) information
• Code the disposition of the establishment at the close of the
call

Subjective User Satisfaction

Given training and 2 weeks using the system, 3 out of 5 agents
surveyed indicate that MTC 2.0 is satisfactory to use for key
tasks.

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version 1.0, May 23, 1996 How to Develop Usability Goals
Efficiency 5. Write in the conditions under which the audience will
need to perform the benchmark tasks. Write in the
The AME audience can create a
criteria.
complete proposal based on a
completed solution using only the 6. Have team review and accept the usability goals.
following:
7. When faced with design decisions, review the usability
• MTC 2.0 XDoG (Xerox goals.
Document Generator)
8. Measure progress toward usability goals during design
• A personalized template based iterations.
on a Xerox standard template
Questions to ask about usability goals
• On-line help
To be considered complete, the • What process will you use to measure the goals?
generated proposal must include: • Are there resources to measure the goals?
• Executive Summary • Are the users specified clearly enough?
• Table of Contents
• Configuration & Prices
• Terms and Conditions

Memorability
Given standard training, a sales
manager can generate an end-of-
month “roll-up” report on the first try,
using MTC 2.0 without having to
consult on-line help and without an
error.

Error Recovery & Prevention

While using the system, a user can
recover from an error by using only
on-line help to resolve the problem.
Process for setting
usability goals
1. Collect benchmark tasks,
information about the
audiences, and audience
priorities for usability
characteristics.
2. Collect information about
what measurements are
already in place.
3. Analyze the priorities by
audience; and compare to
team members’
assumptions. Decide on
priority order for usability
characteristics.
4. Decide which benchmark
tasks are most relevant to
the priorities of the
audiences and the usability
characteristics. Set these
as the performance.

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version 1.0, May 23, 1996 How to Develop Usability Goals
•
• Do all project members agree
on each goal?
• Does the goal match the size
and scope of the project?
Using usability goals
during design
Refer to usability goals during
design to help with prioritizing
design tradeoffs.
How can you measure your
progress toward
usability goals?
• Usability testing
• Surveys
Make sure that the goals match the
method in which you will evaluate
whether they are met.
How can Usability Analysis
& Design help you
with usability goals?
• Usability goal workshop
• Review of goals
• Consulting with your team
Best references and further
reading
Bennett, J., Holtzblatt, K., and J.
Whiteside. “Usability Engineering:
Our Experience and Evolution,” in
Handbook of Human-Computer
Interaction. ed. Hellander. Elsevier
Science Publishers, Amsterdam.
1987.
Mager, R., Preparing Instructional
Objectives. 2nd ed. David S. Lake
Publishers: Belmont, CA. 1984.
Nielsen, J. “The Usability
Engineering Life Cycle.” Computer.
March 1992.

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