Usability Cost-Benefit Analysis for Information Technology Applications and Decision Making (original) (raw)
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Analysis of Usability Cost-Benefit Models
Proceedings of the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2004), 2004
There are few development organizations that have fully integrated usability activities as an integral part of their product development projects. One reason for this is that the benefits of better usability are not visible for the management. In this paper, the characteristics of selected published usability cost-benefit models are analyzed. These models have different approaches for identifying, approaching and categorizing the costs and benefits of usability. The analyzed models provide general guidelines for estimating the costs and benefits of usability but in most cases provide only little details. It is proposed that the business type of development organization and the type of the developed product as variables could be taken into account when analyzing the benefits of better usability.
Usability Cost-Benefit Models - Different Approaches to Usability Benefit Analysis
Proceedings of the 26th Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia (IRIS 2003), 2003
There are few development organizations that have integrated usability activities as an integral part of their product development projects. One reason for this is that the benefits of better usability are not visible for the management. In this paper the author analyses the characteristics of some published usability cost-benefit models. These models have different approach for identifying, approaching and categorizing the benefits of. All of the analysed models approach the usability benefits through a cost benefit estimation of user centred design, but none of the models document every of the three steps of cost-benefit analysis method. The author argues that none of the analysed models document the usability cost-benefit analysis method fully. The author also argues that none of the models identify the business type of development organization and developed product as a variable to be taken into account when analysing the benefits of better usability.
Different Approaches to Usability Cost-Benefit Analysis
Proceedings of 13th European Conference on Information Technology Evaluation (ECITE 2006) , 2006
There are few development organizations that have integrated usability activities as an integral part of their product development projects. One reason for this might be that the costs and benefits of usability activities are not visible to the management. In this paper the author analyses some of the characteristics of the published usability cost-benefit analysis models. These models have different approach for identifying the costs and benefits of usability and identifying the interest groups of the usability cost-benefit analysis. The models also vary in identifying the empirical research the models are based on.
2011
This thesis explores whether usability cost-benefit analysis is helpful when applied to commercial and open source software (OSS) development contexts. First, the thesis examines the differences and commonalities among the existing usability cost-benefit analysis models. The results indicate that there are considerable variations in the usability cost-benefit analysis literature in how the different categories of usability costs and benefits are identified and documented. Second, the thesis examines how well the existing usability cost-benefit considerations fit into practice in closed source software development. The results indicate that there are considerable risks of failure when using usability cost-benefit considerations in the commercial development context, when the inherent costs of usability activities become apparent, concrete, and measurable. Conversely, the potential benefits of better usability remain vague, uncertain, and unconvincing to the management. In order to build better usability cost-benefit models and minimize the potential that the models have unforeseen inherent risks, as outlined in this thesis, researchers should focus strongly on bringing forward the possible benefits of usability instead of focusing on the costs of designing and implementing user interfaces that would be realized in any case, regardless of the usability activities. Third, the thesis identifies the parallels and differences between open source software development and closed source software development in order to identify how usability costs and benefits fit into OSS development. The usability costs and benefits specific to OSS development are reflected in the experiences of bringing usability into the OSS development context. The results indicate that it is possible to fit usability cost-benefit considerations into the OSS development context, even though there are no apparent financial or resource factors to be considered. Furthermore, to fit usability cost-benefit considerations into the OSS development context, the philosophy, principles, hierarchical structure, community structure, and characteristics of OSS development must be considered. Usability cost-benefit considerations that fit into the OSS development context might help convince core developers that usability activities are important and should be integrated into the project roadmap.
Usability Cost-Benefit Analysis: How Usability Became a Curse Word?
Proceedings of the INTERACT 2007, 2007
Usability is an important quality characteristic of software (SW) products and systems. Usability cost-benefit analysis models outline the poten- tial benefits and costs of usability. This paper contrasts usability cost-benefit analysis literature with an empirical case in industrial setting, in which usability cost-benefit considerations (along with other usability activities) resulted in us- ability becoming a curse word. An interpretive case study was carried out in a SW development organization. Empirical analysis reveals that clearly divergent meanings and motives were attached to usability and its cost-benefit analysis in the organization. Increased sales and reduced development costs were strongly emphasized as benefits of better usability. However, very surprising meanings were attached to them both. Furthermore, the increased development costs as- sociated with better usability were the main failure factor of the whole usability improvement effort. Implications both for theory and practice are discussed.
The impact of usability in information technology projects
Computer Science and Information Technologies, 2024
Achieving success in information system and technology (IS/IT) projects is a complex and multifaceted endeavour that has proven difficult. The literature is replete with project failures, but identifying the critical success factors contributing to favourable outcomes remains challenging. The triad of Time-Cost-Quality is widely accepted as key to achieving project success. While time and cost can be quantified and measured, quality is a more complex construct that requires different metrics and measurement approaches. Utilizing the PRISMA Methodology, this study initiated a comprehensive search across literature databases and identified 142 relevant articles pertaining to the specified keywords. A subset of ten articles was deemed suitable for further examination through rigorous screening and eligibility assessments. Notably, a primary finding indicates that despite recognizing usability as a critical element, there is a tendency to neglect usability enhancements due to time and resource constraints. Regarding the influence of usability on project success, the active involvement of end-users emerges as a pivotal factor. Moreover, fostering the enhancement of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) knowledge within the development team is essential. Failure to provide good usability can lead to project failure, undermining user satisfaction and adoption of the technology.
Usability Evaluation: A Survey of Software Development Organizations
2011
Abstract―The importance of usability engineering in software development is acknowledged by an increasing number of software organizations. This paper reports from a survey of the practical impact of usability engineering in software development organizations. The survey was conducted in Southern Italy, replicating one conducted in Northern Denmark three years earlier.
Development of a Decision Tool for Usability Cost Justification
2014
Usability investment costs are easy to measure, yet the usability benefit estimations require many critical assumptions. Slight changes in these assumptions impact the economic analysis significantly. This paper provides preliminary work and implications on how a decision tool could be developed that would optimize the usability benefit assumptions. It incorporates Meta Analysis, regression analysis, goal programming optimization, simulation, quantile regression, and economic analysis to model cost justification of usability. The key results indicated significant positive correlation between sales and traffic rate, and error rate and task time. The outcome is a decision tool for usability investments.
Usability in software development company practices
The importance of adopting usability engineering methods in software development is eventually recognized by an increasing number of companies. However, several studies show that, in spite of the declared awareness of usability as an important software quality and the benefits reported in the literature, many companies still neglect in their development practices those activities that are essential to ensure that their products are usable and capable of generating a satisfying user experience. This paper describes the case of the project K-People, funded by “Regione Puglia”, in which usability engineering methods were employed in the development of a company web portal. It can be seen that the designers’ attitude completely changes once they directly experience how effective such methods really are in the design and development of quality software.
On the understanding of industrial usability work in IT-systems development
2008
Analyzing usability improvement processes as they take place in real-life organizations is necessary to understand the practice of usability work. This paper describes a case study where the usability of an information system is improved and a relationship between the improvements and the evaluation efforts is established. Results show that evaluation techniques complemented each other by suggesting different kinds of usability improvement. Among the techniques applied, a combination of questionnaires and Metaphors of Human Thinking (MOT) showed the largest mean impact and MOT produced the largest number of impacts. Logging of real-life use of the system over 6 months indicated six aspects of improved usability, where significant differences among evaluation techniques were found. Concerning five of the six aspects Think Aloud evaluations and the above-mentioned combination of questionnaire and MOT performed equally well, and better than MOT. Based on the evaluations 40 redesign pro...