useine

Useine is a term used in design and human–computer interaction discourse to denote a composite metric of a product’s functional usefulness. Unlike single metrics such as efficiency or satisfaction, useine is intended to reflect how well a design supports real-world tasks across contexts.

Etymology: The coinage blends 'use' with the suffix '-ine' to form a noun indicating a measurable property. It has no formal status in standards bodies and appears mainly in theoretical or exploratory literature.

Definition and components: A useine score typically integrates usability, usefulness, accessibility, and adaptability to different user contexts. Submetrics commonly include task success rate, time-to-complete, error rate, perceived usefulness, learnability, and cross-context portability.

Measurement: Useine is usually calculated from a mix of laboratory testing, field studies, user surveys, and telemetry. Scores are often normalized to a 0–100 scale and may be weighted to reflect project priorities. Example: a study might report a useine of 72, implying moderate overall usefulness given current design and context.

Applications and critique: In practice, teams may use useine to compare design variants and track improvement. Critics argue that the metric is subjective, sensitive to task selection and context, and can obscure important qualitative factors such as aesthetics or ethical considerations.

See also: usability, user experience metrics, usability testing, product metrics.