Usability and human-computer interaction

Technology should optimally support our lives and work processes and not bring any additional restrictions with it. For IT-supported products or services, usability, application experience and design are decisive for market success. How should an online shop be designed to invite visitors to stroll around? What is the best way for an SRM system to support the company's internal purchasing processes? What does the group-wide electronic appointment calendar have to look like in order to meet the requirements of trainees and management? How will the workplace of the future have to be designed to meet the high demands on productivity and ergonomics?

User experience involves much more than simple operation or the practical application of technology. The Fraunhofer ICT Group researches and develops context and use scenarios to define requirements for interactive products on the basis of user properties, processes and technical framework conditions. These can be used to develop new systems, optimize existing ones or initiate innovation processes. The methodical embedding of feedback mechanisms at the level of usage context analyses ensures the validity of the requirement specification from the user's point of view at an early stage.

• Quantitative assessments of usability and user experience of interactive products
• Conception of usability and UX questionnaires and their evaluation
• Identification of the usability and UX optimization potential of interactive products in user research
• Expert based usability and UX testing of interactive products
• Methods for the evaluation of concepts and product ideas
• Participative design processes and technology mediation
• Further training as Usability Engineer

Optimizations of usability and human-computer interaction are applied in all areas of life and work in which people are to be supported with technology to carry out activities, perform tasks and solve problems. This concerns all economic sectors and both simple and complex processes. Only if the work equipment and working conditions are adapted to the tasks, the supporting technology will find the acceptance of the employees and lead to higher work productivity.