Context of Use

What is Context of Use?

Designing for usability involves establishing user requirements for a new system or product, developing design solutions, prototyping the system and the user interface, and testing it with representative users. However, before any usability design or evaluation activity can begin, it is necessary to understand the Context of use for the product, i.e. the goals of the user community, and the main user, task and environmental characteristics of the situation in which it will be operated.

Source: Macleod (1994). Usability in Context: Improving Quality of Use. In Proceedings of the International Ergonomics Association 4th International Symposium on Human Factors in Organizational Design and Management, (Stockholm, Sweden, May 29 - June 1 1994). Amsterdam, Elsevier.

Breaking down Context of Use

When usability is measured, it is important that the conditions for a test of usability are representative of important aspects of the overall context of use. Unless evaluation of usability can take place in conditions of actual use, it will be necessary to decide which attributes of the actual or intended context of use are to be represented in the context used for evaluation. When specifying or evaluating usability it is therefore important that the context selected is representative of the important aspects of the actual or intended context of use. Particular attention should be given to those attributes which are judged to have a significant impact on the quality of use of the overall system.

Using a breakdown of the context such as the example given in Table 1 (based on Maissel et al, 1991), information needs to be collected under each of the headings on the context in which the equipment is actually used (or is intended to be used).

Users	Tasks	Equipment	Environment
Personal details	Task breakdown	Basic description	Organizational Environment
User types	Task name	Product identification	Structure
Audience and secondary users	Task goal	Product description	Hours of work
Skills & knowledge	Task frequency	Main application areas	Group working
Product experience	Task duration	Major functions	Job function
System knowledge	Frequency of events	Specification	Work practices
Task experience	Task flexibility	Hardware	Assistance
Organisational experience	Physical and mental demands	Software	Interruptions
Training	Task dependencies	Materials	Management structure
Keyboard & input skills	Task output	Other Items	Communications structure
Qualifications	Risk resulting from error		Remuneration
Linguistic ability			Attitudes & culture
General knowledge			Policy on use of computers
Personal attributes			Organisational aims
Age			Industrial relations
Gender			Job design
Physical capabilities			Job flexibility
Physical limitations and disabilities			Performance monitoring
Intellectual ability			Performance feedback
Attitude			Pacing
Motivation			Autonomy
			Discretion
			Technical environment
			Configuration
			Hardware
			Software
			Reference materials
			Physical environment
			Workplace conditions
			Atmospheric conditions
			Auditory environment
			Thermal environment
			Visual environment
			Environmental instability
			Workplace design
			Space and furniture
			User posture
			Location
			Workplace safety
			Health hazards
			Protective clothing & equipment

Source: Bevan, N. and Macleod, M. 1994. Usability measurement in context, Behavior and Information Technology, 13, 132-145.