RE: Scenarios, Tasks, Use Cases, User Profiles/Personas, etc.

Dear All

according to following terminology of personas, User profiles, etc. please
find below an additional terminology that we had prepared in the VUMS
cluster (http://www.veritas-project.eu/vums):

User profile:A User Profile is an instantiation of a user model
representing either a specific real user or a representative of a group of
real users. It is an instantiation of an (abstract) User Model and it is
formally described in a machine-readable and human-readable format. A user
profile can be employed to generate adaptive user interfaces or
simulations.

User model:An (abstract) User Model is a set of user characteristics
required to describe the user of a product. The characteristics are
represented by variables. The user model is established by the declaration
of these variables. It is formally described in a machine-readable and
human-readable format. An instantiation of the user model is a user
profile.

Virtual User:A Virtual User is a representation of a user based on a User
Profile. It includes components, which are able to interact with other
virtual entities e.g. virtual products or software applications. VU's
intended for simulation purposes represent the human body as e.g. a
kinematic system, a series of links connected by rotational degrees of
freedom (DOF) that collectively represent musculoskeletal joints such as
the wrist, elbow, vertebra, or shoulder. The basic skeleton of the model
is described usually in terms of kinematics. In this sense, a human body
is essentially a series of links connected by kinematic revolute joints.
Each DOF corresponds to one kinematic revolute joint, and these revolute
joints can be combined to model various musculoskeletal joints.


regards

kostas


-------------------
Dr. Konstantinos Votis
Computer Engineer & Informatics,PhD, Msc, MBA
Research Associate
Informatics and Telematics Institute
Centre for Research and Technology Hellas
6th Klm. Charilaou - Thermi Road
P.O. BOX 60361 GR - 570 01
Thessaloniki – Greece
Tel.: +30-2311-257722
Fax : +30-2310-474128
E-mail : kvotis@iti.gr


> This is similar to the steps I have had to follow when evaluating some of
> our web-based applications to test for accessibility.
>
> I am given a series of tasks to perform and asked whether I can locate
> particular information in the dynamically generated pages.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael S Elledge [mailto:elledge@msu.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 8:58 AM
> To: public-wai-evaltf@w3.org
> Cc: Sarah Swierenga
> Subject: Scenarios, Tasks, Use Cases, User Profiles/Personas, etc.
>
> Hi Everyone--
>
> Eric asked me at last week's meeting to put together a definition of what
> we call scenarios and how they fit in our usability evaluation process,
> since there are parallels to what the task force is describing for
> methodology.
>
> Some background first. In a usability test, we ask people, one at a time,
> to find specific information that is contained on a website.
> Finding each piece of information is called a task (there may be 8-10
> tasks in a usability test) and requires a participant to proceed through a
> number of steps in the website. We observe the person to identify if they
> have been successful finding the information, how long it takes, the path
> they take to find the information and any errors they make along the way.
> Either at the end of each task or at the conclusion of all the tasks, we
> ask about their experience with respect to navigation, labeling,
> comprehension and satisfaction. This information is then used to make
> suggestions of how to improve the website we are testing.
>
> These are the elements of the process and our definitions.
>
> User Profile--This is the type of person we want to include in testing and
> is used for recruiting participants. It will have information about age,
> gender, experience using the website and the Internet in general, and
> other criteria that define them as one part of the website's target
> audience.
>
> Persona--Personas in our experience are more complete representations of
> the website's target audience, including their attitudes, experiences,
> objectives in using the website, specific tasks they want to accomplish,
> as well as the demographic elements in a user profile. There will be
> multiple personas for each site. Personas are often used to help website
> designers and developers have a shared understanding of what people want
> to do with the website so the navigation, labeling, and aesthetics will
> meet their needs.
>
> Use Case--A use case would be a description of what a particular person
> wants to accomplish on a website in a particular situation. It's analog in
> user testing is a scenario plus a related task.
>
> Scenario--We use a scenario to set the context for a usability test. It
> describes the situation for a participant and sets the stage for
> subsequent tasks. For example, if we were evaluating the Metropolitan
> Transportation Authority website: "You are traveling from Manhattan to
> Westchester County to visit family. Your family lives in New Rochelle."
>
> Task--Tasks are the specific activities that we want participants to
> attempt. They follow the scenario. There may be 3-5 for each scenario.
> So an example might be: "You are leaving on a Friday and returning Sunday.
> Find the times available for you to travel."
>
> I help this is helpful. Other people on the list may have somewhat
> different definitions depending on their design and development process.
>
> Mike
>
> --
> Michael S. Elledge
> Associate Director
> Usability/Accessibility Research and Consulting Michigan State University
> Kellogg Center
> 219 S. Harrison Rd Room 93
> East Lansing, MI  48824
> 517-353-8977
>
>
>

Received on Wednesday, 11 April 2012 08:03:12 UTC