Everything about Usability

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

1. Read the overview: UsabilityA 5-minute orientation
2. Skim a recent paper: System Usability Scale Benchmarking for Digital Health Apps: Meta-analysisInfluential work since 2022
3. Pick up a classic book: The Hackable CityThe most-reprinted book on the subject
4. Read the landmark paper: MAFFT Multiple Sequence Alignment Software Version 7: Improvements in Performance and UsabilityCited 46,071 times
5. Go sideways: User-centered designA closely related topic
6. Go sideways: User interface designA closely related topic

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

• MAFFT Multiple Sequence Alignment Software Version 7: Improvements in Performance and Usability

  K. Katoh, D. M. Standley · 2013 · Molecular Biology and Evolution · 46,071 citations

• An Empirical Evaluation of the System Usability Scale

  Aaron Bangor, Philip T. Kortum, James T. Miller · 2008 · International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction · 4,666 citations

• CellProfiler 4: improvements in speed, utility and usability

  David R. Stirling, Madison J. Swain-Bowden, Alice M. Lucas · 2021 · BMC Bioinformatics · 2,388 citations

• The System Usability Scale: Past, Present, and Future

  James R. Lewis · 2018 · International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction · 1,855 citations

• Modeling and optimization I: Usability of response surface methodology

  Deniz Baş, İsmail H. Boyacı · 2007 · Journal of Food Engineering · 1,844 citations

• IBM computer usability satisfaction questionnaires: Psychometric evaluation and instructions for use

  James R. Lewis · 1995 · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · 1,773 citations

• How do consumers search for and appraise health information on the world wide web? Qualitative study using focus groups, usability tests, and in-depth interviews

  G. Eysenbach · 2002 · BMJ · 1,474 citations

• BLAST: a more efficient report with usability improvements

  Grzegorz M. Boratyn, Christiam Camacho, Peter S. Cooper · 2013 · Nucleic Acids Research · 1,273 citations

🆕 Influential since 2022

• System Usability Scale Benchmarking for Digital Health Apps: Meta-analysis

  Maciej Hyzy, Raymond Bond, Maurice Mulvenna · 2022 · JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 557 citations

• Assessing the Utility of ChatGPT Throughout the Entire Clinical Workflow: Development and Usability Study

  Arya Rao, Michael Pang, John Kim · 2023 · Journal of Medical Internet Research · 363 citations

• Quality, Usability, and Effectiveness of mHealth Apps and the Role of Artificial Intelligence: Current Scenario and Challenges

  Alejandro Deniz-Garcia, Himar Fabelo, Antonio J Rodriguez-Almeida · 2023 · Journal of Medical Internet Research · 297 citations

• Explainable AI in Clinical Decision Support Systems: A Meta-Analysis of Methods, Applications, and Usability Challenges

  Qaiser Abbas, Woonyoung Jeong, Seung Won Lee · 2025 · Healthcare · 274 citations

• “It’s Weird That it Knows What I Want”: Usability and Interactions with Copilot for Novice Programmers

  James Prather, Brent N. Reeves, Paul Denny · 2023 · ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction · 261 citations

📚 Books worth reading

• The Hackable CityMichiel de Lange · 2016
• Designers, Users and JusticeTurkka Keinonen · 2017
• 📕Enhanced Living EnvironmentsIvan Ganchev · 2017
• History of communications electronics in the United States NavyLinwood S. Howeth · 1963
• Fun and SoftwareOlga Goriunova · 2014
• WPF in action with Visual Studio 2008Arlen S. Feldman, Arlen Feldman · 2008
• 📕Short-term prediction of F2-layer maximum usable frequencies from local magnetic activityR. M Davis · 1970
• 📕An evaluation of short-term ionospheric forecasts for selected Ssoutheast Asia DCA trunksRoger K Salaman · 1969

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics

• User-centered design User-centered design (UCD) or user-driven development (UDD) is a framework of processes in which usability goals, user characteristics, environment, tasks…
• User interface design User interface (UI) design or user interface engineering is the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances…
• Usability engineering Usability engineering is a professional discipline that focuses on improving the usability of interactive systems. It draws on theories from computer science…
• Iterative design Iterative design is a design methodology based on a cyclic process of prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining a product or process. Based on the…
• ISO 9241 ISO 9241 is a multi-part standard from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) covering ergonomics of human-system interaction and related…
• User experience design User experience design (UX design, UXD, UED, or XD), upon which is the centralized requirements for "User Experience Design Research" (also known as UX…
• Usability goals Tools, devices or software (as diverse as a TV remote control, the interface of an oven, or a word processor) must be evaluated before their release on…
• Cognitive walkthrough The cognitive walkthrough method is a usability inspection method used to identify usability issues in interactive systems, focusing on how easy it is…