Personal Usability Constructs: How People Construe Usability across Nationalities and Stakeholder Groups

Abstract

Whereas the concept of usability is predominantly defined analytically, people relate to systems through personal usability constructs. Based on 48 repertory-grid interviews, this study investigates how such personal constructs are affected by two factors crucial to the international development and uptake of systems: nationality (Chinese, Danish, or Indian) and stakeholder group (developer or user). We find no significant overall difference across nationalities, but further analyses suggest that conventional usability aspects such as ease of use and simplicity are prominent for Chinese and Danish but not Indian participants and that a distinction between work and leisure-related communication is central to Chinese and Indian but not Danish participants. For stakeholder groups, we find a significant overall difference between developers and users. Unlike developers, users associate ease of use with leisure and, conversely, difficulty in use with work-relatedness. Further, users perceive usefulness as related to frustration and separate from ease of use, whereas developers construe usefulness, fun, and ease of use as related. In construing usability, participants make use of several constructs that are not part of prevailing usability definitions, including usefulness, fun, and security.

Do Usability Professionals Think about User Experience in the Same Way as Users and Developers Do?

“…As described above our previous studies have analysed usability professionals in isolation [8] and compared developers and users [9]. While the data in the current paper are re-used from the two previous studies, the analysis of the data is completely new.…”

“…In this paper, we merge the data from our two previous studies [8,9] and, for the first time, provide an analysis of how usability professionals' thinking about user experience compare to that of developers and users. As described above our previous studies have analysed usability professionals in isolation [8] and compared developers and users [9].…”

“…Users may be concerned with getting the work done, a context-related concern, to a larger extent than usability professionals, who in contrast focus more on the emotions experienced during use, a less context-related concern. According to Hertzum et al [9], users associate ease of use with leisure and difficulty in use with work-relatedness, while developers express the reverse associations. The usability professionals in the present study rarely distinguished between work use and other use (e.g., "Working Tools/For Fun").…”

“…Hertzum, Clemmensen, Hornbaek, Kumar, Shi and Yammiyavar [9] analysed 48 repertory-grid interviews with developers and users to see how their personal usability constructs were affected by nationality (Chinese, Danish, or Indian) and stakeholder group (developer or user). For stakeholder groups, a significant overall difference between developers and users was found.…”

Images of Usability

“…Conversely, Americans may habitually use talking as a means of supporting their thinking. In relation to usability evaluation it is also important to consider possible cultural differences in how users' perceive instructions and tasks, in how evaluators read users, and in the overall relationship between user and evaluator (Callahan, 2005;Clemmensen, Hertzum, Hornbaek, Shi, & Yammiyavar, 2009).…”