Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
50 results found in usability.
- Learnability
- A usability attribute measuring how easy it is for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter a design. High learnability means new users can quickly become productive with a system…
- Material Experience (Material Aesthetics, Material Interaction)
- The multidimensional way people perceive, interpret, and emotionally respond to the physical materials of objects they interact with. The materials experience framework categorizes these experiences i…
- Mental Fatigue (Cognitive Fatigue, Mental Exhaustion)
- A state of reduced cognitive capacity resulting from prolonged mental effort, characterized by difficulty concentrating, slower processing, increased errors, and reduced ability to handle unexpected s…
- Midas Touch Effect (Midas Touch Problem)
- An interaction design challenge in touch-based and gesture-based interfaces where the system cannot distinguish between intentional activation commands and incidental or exploratory touches. Named aft…
- NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX, Task Load Index)
- A widely used subjective workload assessment tool developed by NASA that measures perceived workload across six dimensions: mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, performance, effort, and fr…
- NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX, TLX)
- A widely used subjective workload assessment tool developed by NASA that measures perceived workload across six dimensions: mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, performance, effort, and fr…
- NGOMSL (Natural GOMS Language)
- A structured notation for writing GOMS (Goals, Operators, Methods, Selection rules) models in a program-like form that is readable by humans. NGOMSL was developed by David Kieras as a more formal vari…
- Procedural task analysis (Task decomposition, Step-by-step analysis)
- A method of breaking down complex tasks into sequential, discrete steps to understand user workflows and identify points of difficulty. In accessibility contexts, procedural task analysis reveals wher…
- Progressive Disclosure (Staged Disclosure, Layered Interface)
- An interaction design pattern that initially presents only the most essential options or information, revealing additional complexity progressively as users need or request it. Progressive disclosure …
- SUMI (Software Usability Measurement Inventory)
- A standardised questionnaire-based method for measuring software usability from the end user perspective. SUMI assesses five dimensions: efficiency, affect (user satisfaction), helpfulness, control, a…
- SUS (System Usability Scale)
- Abbreviation for System Usability Scale, a ten-item questionnaire developed by John Brooke in 1986 that produces a single usability score from 0 to 100 based on user ratings of agreement with statemen…
- Social Acceptability (Social Acceptance, Technology Stigma)
- The degree to which the use of an assistive technology or interaction technique is perceived as socially appropriate by both the user and those around them. Social acceptability is a critical but ofte…
- Social usability
- The degree to which a technology supports positive social interactions and self-presentation for its users, particularly in contexts where technology use is visible to others. Social usability goes be…
- Speech Repair (Self-Correction, Speech Self-Repair, Command Correction)
- Speech repair is the process of correcting or modifying a spoken utterance after it has been produced, either within the same turn or in a subsequent one. In natural conversation, speakers commonly in…
- Summative Evaluation (Summative Usability Testing, Summative Assessment)
- Usability evaluation conducted on functional software or high-fidelity prototypes, typically later in the development process, to measure the effectiveness of specific design choices. Summative testin…
- Task-Technology Fit (TTF)
- A concept from information systems research describing how well a technology's capabilities match the requirements of the tasks it is used to perform. In assistive technology, task-technology fit is c…
- Technology acceptance (User acceptance, Technology adoption)
- The degree to which individuals are willing to embrace, use, and integrate a new technology into their practices, influenced by perceived usefulness, ease of use, social norms, trust, and prior experi…
- Text Correction (Text Editing, Error Correction)
- The process of identifying and fixing errors in text, including substituting incorrect words, inserting missing content, and deleting extraneous characters or words. For blind users, text correction o…
- Think Aloud Protocol (Think-Aloud Method, Verbal Protocol Analysis, Thinking Aloud)
- A usability testing method in which participants verbalize their thoughts, feelings, and decision-making processes while performing tasks with a system or interface. Developed for cognitive interface …
- Think-Aloud (Think-Aloud Protocol, Verbal Protocol Analysis)
- A research method in usability and accessibility testing where participants verbalize their thoughts, strategies, and reactions while performing tasks. Think-aloud protocols are particularly valuable …