Subject areaChannels and tools
Also known asweb usability
Usability is the degree to which a person can use a system, a website, an app or a product to reach their goal.
The ISO 9241-11 standard describes it with three measures: effectiveness (the goal is reached), efficiency (with how much effort) and the satisfaction of the user, in a specific context of use.
In digital it is one of the factors that decide whether a purchase is completed. A website with poor usability causes errors and drop-offs, erodes trust and leads to lost customers; for this reason, when a purchase process stops, usability is one of the first points to analyse together with the customer experience. It is checked with tests on real users, or with methods such as tree testing (users look for an item in a bare text version of the menu).
Source: ISO 9241-11:2018, Ergonomics of human-system interaction, Part 11: Usability: Definitions and concepts.
An example
In a test with real users, people looking for the returns form on a tool manufacturer's website find it under "About us". Once moved to the support menu, the form is found at the first attempt and phone requests drop.
Related entries
broader entriesthis entry and narrowertwo levels down← up · → down
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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