Human Computer Factors: Usability and User experience in software designs
Abstract
The subject of human-computer interaction factors, usability and user experience is meant to bring about a shift in the way software systems are designed and delivered to users. For every software, be it system or application software, there exists a user. How this user is thought of should be evidenced in the design. At this juncture, it should be noted that thinking about the user connotes a design for the user. A software that passes through this phase would not leave the user hanging or wandering as to what to do next at any point, i.e. it will always provide a route, a path or a way out. The focus here is not just a software that would function, of course one should expect a software to function or serve its purpose. The question is: how is it serving that function? This paper stresses and justifies the need to bring usability and user experience factors into today’s design. Interaction design represents a system that makes use of most of human skill, judgement and support rather than a system that constrains the user as in software engineering where focus is mainly on the production of software solution for the given application.