Usability of consumer electronic products

Abstract

The concept of usability has been applied to the design and evaluation of software user interfaces in which user performance was the major issue for improvement, Recently. it is being applied to consumer electronic products because companies consider it an important key to their success. However. there is a difference in the concept of usability between the two applications. Unlike the software user interfaces, the image/impression felt by the users are as important as the performance for a consumer electronic product to be successful. It is therefore necessary to redefine the concept. Although a variety of new concepts have been suggested, there is no widely acceptable one. This study provides a new definition of usability applicable to the consumer electronic products. It defines the usability as the degree to which the users are satisfied with the product with respect to both the performance and the image/impression. In addition, it classifies dimensions that can explain various and complex aspects of the usability. The results of this study are expected to provide a framework for designing and evaluating the user interface of consumer electronic products. Relevance to industry This study presents the definition of usability of consumer electronic products and its dimensions. They can be used in the design and evaluation stages of a product development process, In addition. they would be helpful in understanding the user requirements systematically. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.