Quantifying the User Experience
1st Edition
Practical Statistics for User Research
Description
Quantifying the User Experience: Practical Statistics for User Research offers a practical guide for using statistics to solve quantitative problems in user research. Many designers and researchers view usability and design as qualitative activities, which do not require attention to formulas and numbers. However, usability practitioners and user researchers are increasingly expected to quantify the benefits of their efforts. The impact of good and bad designs can be quantified in terms of conversions, completion rates, completion times, perceived satisfaction, recommendations, and sales. The book discusses ways to quantify user research; summarize data and compute margins of error; determine appropriate samples sizes; standardize usability questionnaires; and settle controversies in measurement and statistics. Each chapter concludes with a list of key points and references. Most chapters also include a set of problems and answers that enable readers to test their understanding of the material. This book is a valuable resource for those engaged in measuring the behavior and attitudes of people during their interaction with interfaces.
Key Features
- Provides practical guidance on solving usability testing problems with statistics for any project, including those using Six Sigma practices
- Show practitioners which test to use, why they work, best practices in application, along with easy-to-use excel formulas and web-calculators for analyzing data
- Recommends ways for practitioners to communicate results to stakeholders in plain English
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Resources and tools available at the authors’ site: http://www.measuringu.com/
Readership
Usability and user experience practitioners, software and web-development professionals, marketers, information architects, interaction designers, business analysts, market researchers, and students in these and related fields
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Chapter 1. Introduction and How to Use This Book
Introduction
The Organization of This Book
How to Use This Book
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 2. Quantifying User Research
What is User Research?
Data from User Research
Usability Testing
A/B Testing
Survey Data
Requirements Gathering
Key Points from the Chapter
References
Chapter 3. How Precise Are Our Estimates? Confidence Intervals
Introduction
Confidence Interval for a Completion Rate
Confidence Interval for Rating Scales and Other Continuous Data
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 4. Did We Meet or Exceed Our Goal?
Introduction
One-Tailed and Two-Tailed Tests
Comparing a Completion Rate to a Benchmark
Comparing a Satisfaction Score to a Benchmark
Comparing a Task Time to a Benchmark
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 5. Is There a Statistical Difference between Designs?
Introduction
Comparing Two Means (Rating Scales and Task Times)
Comparing Completion Rates, Conversion Rates, and A/B Testing
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 6. What Sample Sizes Do We Need?
Introduction
Estimating Values
Comparing Values
What can I Do to Control Variability?
Sample Size Estimation for Binomial Confidence Intervals
Sample Size Estimation for Chi-Square Tests (Independent Proportions)
Sample Size Estimation for McNemar Exact Tests (Matched Proportions)
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 7. What Sample Sizes Do We Need?
Introduction
Using a Probabilistic Model of Problem Discovery to Estimate Sample Sizes for Formative User Research
Assumptions of the Binomial Probability Model
Additional Applications of the Model
What affects the Value of p?
What Is a Reasonable Problem Discovery Goal?
Reconciling the “Magic Number 5” with “Eight Is Not Enough”
More about the Binomial Probability Formula and Its Small Sample Adjustment
Other Statistical Models for Problem Discovery
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 8. Standardized Usability Questionnaires
Introduction
Poststudy Questionnaires
Post-task Questionnaires
Questionnaires for Assessing Perceived Usability of Websites
Other Questionnaires of Interest
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 9. Six Enduring Controversies in Measurement and Statistics
Introduction
Is It Okay to Average Data from Multipoint Scales?
Do You Need to Test at Least 30 Users?
Should You Always Conduct a Two-Tailed Test?
Can You Reject the Null Hypothesis When p > 0.05?
Can You Combine Usability Metrics into Single Scores?
What If You Need to Run More Than One Test?
Key Points from the Chapter
Chapter Review Questions
References
Chapter 10. Wrapping Up
Introduction
Getting More Information
Good Luck!
Key Points from the Chapter
References
APPENDIX. A Crash Course in Fundamental Statistical Concepts
Introduction
Types Of Data
Populations and Samples
Measuring Central Tendency
Standard Deviation and Variance
The Normal Distribution
Area Under the Normal Curve
Applying the Normal Curve to User Research Data
Central Limit Theorem
Standard Error of the Mean
Margin of Error
t-Distribution
Significance Testing and p-Values
The Logic of Hypothesis Testing
Errors in Statistics
Key Points from the Appendix
Index
Details
- No. of pages:
- 312
- Language:
- English
- Copyright:
- © Morgan Kaufmann 2012
- Published:
- 16th March 2012
- Imprint:
- Morgan Kaufmann
- Paperback ISBN:
- 9780123849687
- eBook ISBN:
- 9780123849694
About the Authors
Jeff Sauro
Dr. Jeff Sauro is a six-sigma trained statistical analyst and founding principal of MeasuringU, a customer experience research firm based in Denver. For over fifteen years he’s been conducting usability and statistical analysis for companies such as Google, eBay, Walmart, Autodesk, Lenovo and Drobox or working for companies such as Oracle, Intuit and General Electric.
Jeff has published over twenty peer-reviewed research articles and five books, including Customer Analytics for Dummies. He publishes a weekly article on user experience and measurement online at measuringu.com.
Jeff received his Ph.D in Research Methods and Statistics from the University of Denver, his Masters in Learning, Design and Technology from Stanford University, and B.S. in Information Management & Technology and B.S. in Television, Radio and Film from Syracuse University. He lives with his wife and three children in Denver, CO.
Affiliations and Expertise
Usability Metrics and Statistical Analyst, Measuring Usability LLC, CO, USA
James Lewis
Dr. James R. (Jim) Lewis is a senior human factors engineer (at IBM since 1981) with a current focus on the measurement and evaluation of the user experience. He is a Certified Human Factors Professional with a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (Psycholinguistics), an M.A. in Engineering Psychology, and an M.M. in Music Theory and Composition. Jim is an internationally recognized expert in usability testing and measurement, contributing (by invitation) the chapter on usability testing for the 3rd and 4th editions of the Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics, presenting tutorials on usability testing and metrics at various professional conferences, and serving as the keynote speaker at HCII 2014. He was the lead interaction designer for the product now regarded as the first smart phone, the Simon, and is the author of Practical Speech User Interface Design.
Jim is an IBM Master Inventor Emeritus with 88 patents issued to date by the US Patent Office. He serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, is co-editor in chief of the Journal of Usability Studies, and is on the scientific advisory board of the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE). He is a member of the Usability Professionals Association (UPA), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the ACM Special Interest Group in Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI), past-president of the Association for Voice Interaction Design (AVIxD), and is a 5th degree black belt and certified instructor with the American Taekwondo Association (ATA).
Affiliations and Expertise
Senior Human Factors Engineer, IBM, FL, USA
Reviews
"...the definitive book on inferential statistics for usability researchers. The authors present the equations, discussions, and examples for and in the context of usability studies, primarily usability testing." --Technical Communication
"Quantifying the User Experience will make a terrific textbook for any series of UX research courses…I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to integrate quantitative data into their UX practice."--Technical Communication, May 2013
"…as a whole, it provides a pragmatic approach to quantifying UX, without oversimplifying or claiming too much. It delivers what it promises. This book is valuable for both practitioners and students, in virtually any discipline. It can help psychologists transfer their statistical knowledge to UX practice, practitioners quickly assess their envisioned design and analysis, engineers demystify UX, and students appreciate UX’s merits."--ComputingReviews.com, March 19, 2013
"The most unique contributions of this book are the logic and practicality used to describe the appropriate application of those measures…Sauro and Lewis strike a perfect balance between the complexity of statistical theory and the simplicity of applying statistics practically. Whether you wish to delve deeper into the enduring controversies in statistics, or simply wish to understand the difference between a t-test and Chi-square, you will find your answer in this book. Quantifying the User Experience is an invaluable resource for those who are conducting user research in industry."--User Experience, Vol. 13, Issue 1, 1st Quarter
"Written in a conversational style for those who measure behavior and attitudes of people as they interact with technology interfaces, this guide walks readers through common questions and problems encountered when conducting, analyzing, and reporting on user research projects using statistics, such as problems related to estimates and confidence intervals, sample sizes, and standardized usability questionnaires. For readers with varied backgrounds in statistics, the book includes discussion of concepts as necessary and gives examples from real user research studies. The book begins with a background chapter overviewing common ways to quantify user research and a review of fundamental statistical concepts. The material provides enough detail in its formulas and examples to let readers do all computations in Excel, and a website offers an Excel calculator for purchase created by the authors, which performs all the computations covered in the book. An appendix offers a crash course on fundamental statistical concepts."--Reference and Research Book News, August 2012, page 186-7
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