Human Action Cycle - Use in Evaluation of User Interfaces

Use in Evaluation of User Interfaces

Typically, an evaluator of the user interface will pose a series of questions for each of the cycle's steps, an evaluation of the answer provides useful information about where the user interface may be inadequate or unsuitable. These questions might be:

• Step 1, Forming a goal:
  • Do the users have sufficient domain and task knowledge and sufficient understanding of their work to form goals?
  • Does the UI help the users form these goals?

• Step 2, Translating the goal into a task or a set of tasks:
  • Do the users have sufficient domain and task knowledge and sufficient understanding of their work to formulate the tasks?
  • Does the UI help the users formulate these tasks?

• Step 3, Planning an action sequence:
  • Do the users have sufficient domain and task knowledge and sufficient understanding of their work to formulate the action sequence?
  • Does the UI help the users formulate the action sequence?

• Step 4, Executing the action sequence:
  • Can typical users easily learn and use the UI?
  • Do the actions provided by the system match those required by the users?
  • Are the affordance and visibility of the actions good?
  • Do the users have an accurate mental model of the system?
  • Does the system support the development of an accurate mental model?

• Step 5, Perceiving what happened:
  • Can the users perceive the system’s state?
  • Does the UI provide the users with sufficient feedback about the effects of their actions?

• Step 6, Interpreting the outcome according to the users’ expectations:
  • Are the users able to make sense of the feedback?
  • Does the UI provide enough feedback for this interpretation?

• Step 7, Evaluating what happened against what was intended:
  • Can the users compare what happened with what they were hoping to achieve?