One of these things is not like the other. That’s the theme of a segment on the long-running US TV show Sesame Street. As children, we learn to identify similarities and differences. And after seeing a group of things that look similar, we tend to remember the differences. Why? Well, one theory describes something called
The fundamental goal of usability testing is to produce highly usable products and services. That’s an uncontroversial statement. Where things can get a bit confusing is how different approaches to usability testing have different ways of achieving that goal. In earlier articles we have described the different types of usability tests but many types still
We write extensively about standardized UX metrics such as the SUS, PSSUQ, and SUPR-Q. The main benefits of standardization include improved reliability, validity, sensitivity, objectivity, quantification, economy, communication, and norms. Even when standardized UX questionnaires are developed independently, they are influenced by earlier work, just like how UX itself is a new field built upon earlier
We’ve written extensively about the System Usability Scale (SUS). It’s the most widely used and cited questionnaire for measuring the perception of the user experience. But likely the second most widely used and cited questionnaire, with over 2,000 citations, is the Post Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ). It also goes by the name of Computer
In an earlier article, we reviewed five competing models of delight. The models differed in their details, but most shared the general idea that delight is composed of an unexpected positive experience. Or, for the most part, delight is a pleasant surprise. However, there is disagreement on whether you actually need surprise to be delighted.
The NASA TLX is a multi-item questionnaire developed in 1980 by Sandra Hart. NASA is, of course, the US-based space agency famous for the one giant leap for mankind. The TLX stands for Task Load Index and is a measure of perceived workload. If you conduct mostly digital UX research for consumers (websites and software), you
When done well, surveys are an excellent method for collecting data quickly from a geographically diverse population of users, customers, or prospects. In an earlier article, I described 15 types of the most common rating scale items and when you might use them. While rating scales are an important part of a survey, they aren’t
What does 4.1 on a 5-point scale mean? Or 5.6 on a 7-point scale? Interpreting rating scale data can be difficult in the absence of an external benchmark or historical norms. A popular technique used often by marketers to interpret rating scale data is the so-called “top box” and “top-two box” scoring approach. For example, on
How satisfied are you with your life? How happy are you with your job or your marriage? Are you extroverted or introverted? It’s hard to capture the fickle nature of attitudes and constructs in any measure. It can be particularly hard to do that with just one question or item. Consequently, psychology, education, marketing, and
Many researchers are familiar with the SUS, and for good reason. It’s the most commonly used and widely cited questionnaire for assessing the perception of the ease of using a system (software, website, or interface). Despite being short—10 items—the SUS has a fair amount of redundancy given it only measures one construct (perceived usability). While
