Mark Bailey, Senior Analytics Software Tester, JMP
Jacob Rhyne, Senior Analytics Software Tester, JMP
Several authors have addressed validating statistical software. More work is needed to assess the usability of such software since modern statistical software is increasingly in the hands of users with limited statistical training to address complex real-world problems. This poster presents a usability case study for a design of experiments tool in JMP.
The study focuses on a dialog used to specify a designed experiment. Such specifications require users to identify factors, responses, the linear regression model, and constraints. The cost of conducting experiments is usually a primary concern, so users typically iteratively refine specifications before experimenting. As a result, the ability to easily specify and change specifications is essential to users.
We begin with the challenges of the current dialog related to discoverability, clarity, and tedium when performing everyday tasks. We present details of the usability study, including dialog prototypes that address various challenges. We discuss how these prototypes were dynamically generated with the JMP Scripting Language and how the usability of each prototype was assessed by using simple and complex tasks. We discuss the variables and regression model used to assess the potential effect of each variable or combinations of variables. We also explain how we used JMP Custom Design to determine the best configurations for each subject, with the order of the configurations accounting for the subject’s learning over the study, as well as how qualitative data were collected by using an integrated questionnaire that was presented after all tasks were completed.
