Abstract: In order to improve the usability level of product design, user’s subjective experience is taken as an important evaluation index of usability, and usability is divided into apparent usability, perceived usability, and performing usability. Product usability evaluation method based on fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) is proposed, and the mobile phones are used as a case study. Evaluation index system is established. Six representative mobile phones are selected as experimental samples, and 36 subjects are invited to participate. A between-subjects experimental design method is adopted to test the usability of the samples. According to the test results, the membership degrees are computed, which can be used to analyze the problems existing in the experimental samples. The FAHP model of optimum usability is constructed. Fuzzy evaluation matrix is built via membership degrees, and the weights among apparent usability, perceived usability, and performing usability are set. The scores of samples are calculated and defuzzified, and the samples’ usability is evaluated and ranked through mean and standard deviation. The results suggest that using the presented method, the problems of product usability can be found effectively, and product usability can be evaluated quantitatively.

Key words: Evaluation method, Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, Product design, Usability