Handsets Forum USA '07

Pre-conference workshop

Tuesday 27 November 2007: 0930-1700

Mobile Usability Roundup: Media Downloads, Music & Video, Widgets, & Search

 

Objectives

Usable Products Company has conducted usability benchmarks of handsets and mobile services for the past several years. Workshop delegates will be informed by results and conclusions drawn from all of this research, including highlights from the following studies:

• Media Download Usability (ringtones, wallpapers, and games)
• Music & Video (shopping, downloads & streaming, and handset-resident media navigation)
• Celltop (a study of mobile widgets)
• Mobile Search (comparison of four solutions, including WAP, Java, and voice)

This workshop is a series of presentations on the status of mobile usability on today’s handsets, covering WAP, rich user interfaces, and multiple media types. Quantitative data and video clips will be presented to illustrate points.
Workshop leader Scott Weiss will introduce usability testing: its value, how it is done, and the requirements for successful benchmarking within an organization. Throughout this introduction, examples from Usable Products studies will illustrate points, covering audience definition, recruiting, usability labs & vendors, interviewing methods, and results presentation. The final step in this introduction will be a group discussion of how usability results can drive business decisions. No design skills or previous usability experience are required; the workshop leader will teach background as needed by the audience.

These practical sessions are designed to result in the ideal user interfaces for:

• Search
• Mobile Widgets
• Music Purchase & Playback
• Video Navigation & Play
• Ringtone, Wallpaper, and Game Purchase & Assignment

Audience

The workshop will benefit Product Managers, Program Managers, Software Designers and Architects seeking inspiration and technical understanding in the field of UI. Executives interested in service design and deployment will also gain value.

Workshop Leader

Scott Weiss is the Principal of Usable Products Company, an ease-of-use consultancy focused on mobile device usability and design since 1996. He is the author of “Handheld Usability” (Wiley: 2002), the pioneering text on mobile UI design, usability, and prototyping. He has lectured and/or taught at Parsons New School University, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, ACM’s SIG-CHI, DIS, HFES, AMIA, UPA, MEX, and Mobile HCI.
Usable Products’ clients include Cisco, Google, Intel, LG, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Sprint, Sun Microsystems, and Vodafone. Scott’s work experience includes career positions at Apple, Microsoft, Sybase, and Autodesk. His design work spans contributions to Macintosh System 7.0, Microsoft Windows 95, and Microsoft Schedule+, the predecessor to Microsoft Outlook.

Agenda

Introduction to Usability
We’ve all heard about usability, but what is it? How is usability testing done, and what is it good for?

Overview of Usability Methods & Technologies
A more in-depth discussion of usability testing and products will be presented, covering expert review, qualitative (small set) testing, and quantitative usability testing and benchmarking. Audience definition, recruiting, usability labs, interviewing methods, and findings presentation will be shared.

Findings from Studies & Best Practices
The workshop presenter will go over the most recent studies conducted by
Usable Products and the best practices learned from this research. The
following studies will be presented with charts, examples, and video clips:

• Mobile Search
• Celltop Usability
• Mobile Music & Video
• ESPN Usability
• Media Download Usability

Roundtable Discussion
How can usability results be incorporated into business decisions? What does user testing cost the organization, and how can good vendors be sourced, vetted, and managed? What expectations should management have, and how can service providers contribute to and share in the benefits of user testing without benefiting competitors?