usability

Peter has recently completed an interesting course on man-machine-interaction at K.U.Leuven. Spanning over 7 evenings, it provided both a theoretical and practical framework to support the different steps in designing and assessing usable man-machine interfaces. Usability has rightfully become an important aspect of application and web design nowadays and we also see that our clients are becoming more aware of this and are increasingly expecting a better, more satisfying, user experience.

The Centre for Research and Innovation in Learning and Teaching in the National College of Ireland recently launched their new National E-Learning Laboratory (NELL).  This new facility for measuring User-Screen Interactions enables researchers to observe, record and analyse the behaviour of users interacting with e-learning resources. It will allow researchers to systematically explore and improve the use of learning and knowledge-based technologies. The laboratory consists of sophisticated hardware and software that can observe up to four participants simultaneously.It also has four analytical stations for researchers. User behaviour and screen interactions are investigated using combinations of video and audio recording, screen-capture, precision keyboard & mouse logging and eye tracking. For more information visit the NELL site.