Happy New Year from all of us at MeasuringU! 2020 was a crazy year, but we still managed to post 48 new articles and continued improving MUIQ, our UX testing platform. We hosted our seventh UX Measurement Bootcamp, this time virtually. The change of format was a challenge, but it was fantastic to work with
Like pictures and pixels on a screen, words are a type of user interface. Complex language, like complex software, can lead to misunderstanding, so words should communicate effectively while being easy to understand. The solution, to paraphrase William Zinsser, is to use words that are simple and concise—a guideline that also applies to UX questionnaires.
Cases spike, home prices surge, and stock prices tank: we read headlines like these daily. But what is a spike and how much is a surge? When does something crater versus tank or just fall? Headlines are meant to grab our attention. They often communicate the dramatic story the author wants to tell rather than
It seems like every few years a new standardized UX measure comes along. Standardization of UX measurement is a good thing for researchers and practitioners. Having common methods and definitions helps with objectivity, generalization, economy, and professional communication. At MeasuringU, we pay a lot of attention to the continuing evolution of standardized UX measurement. The
There are a lot of opinions about the best formats for agreement scales. Sometimes those opinions are strongly held and can lead to lengthy, heated discussions within research teams. When format differences affect measurement properties, those discussions may be time well spent, but when the formats don’t matter (or matter very little), the time is
Somewhat agree, very satisfied, extremely likely. The labels used on the points of rating scales can affect responses in often unpredictable ways. What’s more, certain terms can get lost in translation when writing surveys for international usage. Some terms may have subtly different meanings, possibly making cross-cultural comparisons problematic. While numbers are universally understood and
Five-star reviews. Whether you’re rating a product on Amazon, a dining experience on Yelp, or a mobile app in the App or Play Store, you can see that the five-star rating system is quite ubiquitous. Does the familiarity of stars offer a better rating system than traditional numbered scales? We recently reported a comparison between standard
There are many ways to format rating scales. Recently we have explored Labeling neutral points Labeling all or some response options Altering the number of response options Comparing agreement vs. item-specific endpoint labels Each of these formatting decisions has a variety of opinions and research, both pro and con, in the scientific literature at large.
Software dominates our professional and personal lives. A product’s usability, in addition to its features and capabilities, is an important influence on how likely users are to adopt new technology and recommend the software. Between 30 and 60% of the variation in Net Promoter Scores is determined by a product’s usability. Customers tend to recommend products
Despite the attention consumer-based mobile apps, websites, and software get, a lot of the world depends on business software. Business software supports core functions for organizations such as productivity tracking, communication, accounting, and sales. Several products also have a fair amount of crossover between business and consumer usage. Along with their features and capabilities, the
