The five useability principles

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The five useability principles

Name:
Date:
Class:
A

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which list shows the five useability principles?
A Accessibility, effectiveness, safety, utility, learnability
B Colour, font, layout, speed, price
2. A banking app asks 'Are you sure you want to send $5,000?' before it sends. Which principle does this show?
A Safety
B Utility
3. A new student can use a school app after a short tutorial and clear labels. Which principle is this?
A Learnability
B Effectiveness
4. Which principle asks 'Can users complete their task correctly and completely?'
A Accessibility
B Effectiveness
5. A video app has captions, adjustable text size and screen reader support. Which principle does this support?
A Utility
B Accessibility
B

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left columnRight column
1Accessibility AThe principles can conflict. More utility can reduce learnability, so designers must balance them.
2Learnability BAre you sure you want to delete this file?
3Safety asks whether the interface protects users from mistakes and harm, such as by confirming before data is deleted. CHow quickly and easily can a new user work out how to use the interface?
4Utility asks whether the interface gives users the features and tools they actually need to complete their tasks. DUseability has five principles: accessibility, effectiveness, safety, utility and learnability. Looks alone do not cover them all.
5Judging an app only on how pretty it looks and ignoring the other useability principles EA photo editor with crop, resize and save tools
6Adding 20 extra features for utility, which makes the screen cluttered and harder for beginners FCan people with different abilities, needs and devices use the interface?
C

Definitions

useability principles
D

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

1.
IF altText = FALSE THEN _____________ ← FAIL
2.
IF tasksDone = tasksSet THEN _____________ ← PASS
3.
IF deleteConfirm = FALSE THEN ______ ← FAIL
4.
IF hasNeededFeatures = TRUE THEN _______ ← PASS
5.
IF features > 20 THEN ____________ ← LOWER
E

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1
A principle = "safety"
B asks = "Can mistakes be undone?"
C print(principle asks)
Question 2
A effectiveness = 2
B if effectiveness >= 3:
C print("Task completed")
D else
E print("Task fails")
Question 3
A principle = "accessibility"
B check = "Is it easy to learn?"
C print(check)
Question 4
A principle = "learnability"
B ask = "Can users avoid harm?"
C print(principle, ask)
Question 5
A principles = 5
B conflict = True
C if conflict = True:
D print("Balance them")

Answer Key

The five useability principles
Section A: Quick Questions
Q1
A — Accessibility, effectiveness, safety, utility, learnability
Q2
A — Safety
Q3
A — Learnability
Q4
B — Effectiveness
Q5
B — Accessibility
Section B: Match the Pairs
Q1
Accessibility → Can people with different abilities, needs and devices use the interface?
Q2
Learnability → How quickly and easily can a new user work out how to use the interface?
Q3
Safety asks whether the interface protects users from mistakes and harm, such as by confirming before data is deleted. → Are you sure you want to delete this file?
Q4
Utility asks whether the interface gives users the features and tools they actually need to complete their tasks. → A photo editor with crop, resize and save tools
Q5
Judging an app only on how pretty it looks and ignoring the other useability principles → Useability has five principles: accessibility, effectiveness, safety, utility and learnability. Looks alone do not cover them all.
Q6
Adding 20 extra features for utility, which makes the screen cluttered and harder for beginners → The principles can conflict. More utility can reduce learnability, so designers must balance them.
Section C: Definitions
Q1
useability principles — The five checks for judging an interface: accessibility, effectiveness, safety, utility and learnability. They can conflict, so designers balance them.
Section D: Fill in the Blanks
Q1
IF altText = FALSE THEN accessibility ← FAIL
Q2
IF tasksDone = tasksSet THEN effectiveness ← PASS
Q3
IF deleteConfirm = FALSE THEN safety ← FAIL
Q4
IF hasNeededFeatures = TRUE THEN utility ← PASS
Q5
IF features > 20 THEN learnability ← LOWER
Section E: Spot the Error
Q1
C — The two values passed to print() must be separated by a comma. It should be print(principle, asks).
Q2
D — An else statement must end with a colon. It should be else: so the indented line below belongs to it.
Q3
B — Accessibility asks whether people with different needs can use the interface. Easy to learn is the learnability principle. It should be check = "Can all users use it?".
Q4
B — Learnability asks whether new users can get started easily. Avoiding harm belongs to safety. It should be ask = "Can new users start?".
Q5
C — An if statement needs a condition, not an assignment. Use if conflict: (or if conflict == True:) so the code can compare, not assign.