Learnability

toc =Learnability=

In **__Designing Interactive Systems: People, Activities, Context and Technologies__** by Benyon, D., Turner, P. & Turner, S. (2005), learnability is described as "how easy a system is to learn to use." It is about how much time it takes to learn a system and how long it takes to be adept at all functions. If a system is too complicated, then the less people are likely to learn and use it. Benyon, D., Turner, P. & Turner, S. mention that the larger the range of functions, the more time people are willing to spend on learning it.

All systems should be easily learnable and be made from a human-centred viewpoint. Learnability includes (although this grouping is not rigid),

1. Visibility- people should be able to recognize or observe them fairly immediately so that there is no extra effort made to recall the system. This can be done with sound, touch and other multimedia mechanisms in order for the user to be aware of the function and purpose of the system. if a user has to take a lot of trouble and time to remember the system, then it is not very memorable and learnable.

2. Consistency- this is relative, however there should be some standard features and ways of working the system. This is divided into conceptual consistency, which makes sure the model is clear, and physical consistency which involves outer aspects of layout, color, etc.

3. Familiarity- the target audience should be familiar and have prior knowledge of the semiotic symbols, languages and meaning conveyed.

4. Affordance- things should be designed for their purpose. For example, a button should look like a button instead of being a fancy nondescript symbol just used for the purpose of aesthetics.

=10 Minute Rule= Ted Nelson (1980) proposed the "ten-minute-rule" that suggests that people should be able to learn a system in less than ten minutes. This is not saying that a system should be able to teach the knowledge needed to use the system but an easy-to-learn system takes advantage of existing knowledge. Realistically, the rule can only be applied to simple systems as it is not reasonable to expect someone to learn a complex system in such a short period of time.

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**Sources:**
Benyon, David, et al. __Designing Interactive Systems__. England: Pearson Education Limited, 2005.