Analyzing groupware design by means of usability results (original) (raw)
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Task analysis for groupware usability evaluation
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2003
Cooperative Work have recently developed discount evaluation methods for shared-workspace groupware. Most discount methods rely on some understanding of the context in which the groupware systems will be used, which means that evaluators need to model the tasks that groups will perform. However, existing task analysis schemes are not well suited to the needs of groupware evaluation: they either do not deal with collaboration issues, do not use an appropriate level of analysis for concrete assessment of usability in interfaces, or do not adequately represent the variability inherent in group work. To fill this gap, we have developed a new modeling technique called Collaboration Usability Analysis. CUA focuses on the teamwork that goes on in a group task rather than the taskwork. To enable closer links between the task representation and the groupware interface, CUA grounds each collaborative action in a set of group work primitives called the mechanics of collaboration. To represent the range of ways that a group task can be carried out, CUA allows variable paths through the execution of a task, and allows alternate paths and optional tasks to be modeled. CUA's main contribution is to provide evaluators with a framework in which they can simulate the realistic use of a groupware system and identify usability problems that are caused by the groupware interface.
Analytic evaluation of groupware design
2006
Abstract. We propose an analytic method to evaluate groupware design. The method was inspired by GOMS, a well-known approach to analyze usability problems with single-user interfaces. GOMS has not yet been amply applied to evaluate groupware because of several fundamental distinctions between the single-user and multi-user contexts. The approach described in this paper overcomes such differences.
CIAM: A Methodology for the Development of Groupware User Interfaces
Journal of Universal Computer Science, 2008
The design of the groupware systems is a progressively extended task, which is difficult to tackle. There are not proposals to support the joint modeling of collaborative and interactive issues of this kind of systems, that is, proposals that allow designing the presentation layer of these applications. In order to solve this lack we propose a methodological approach, based on a set of notations of both a graphical and a textual nature.
Heuristic evaluation of groupware based on the mechanics of collaboration
2001
Despite the increasing availability of groupware, most systems are awkward and not widely used. While there are many reasons for this, a significant problem is that groupware is difficult to evaluate. In particular, there are no discount usability evaluation methodologies that can discover problems specific to teamwork.
On the Analysis of Groupware Usability Using Annotated GOMS
2004
GOMS is a well-known model that has been successfully used in predicting the performance of human-computer interaction, identifying usability problems and improving user-interface design. The focus of GOMS is on the individual user, however. This explains why it has no significant impact in the groupware context. This paper discusses the applicability of GOMS in the groupware context. We analyzed the impact of groupware in the cognitive architecture of GOMS in order to accomplish this goal.
Proceedings of the conference on Designing interactive systems processes, practices, methods, and techniques - DIS '00, 2000
Designing Groupware systems requires methods and tools that cover all aspects of Groupware systems. We present a method that utilizes known theoretical insights and makes them usable in practice. In our method, the design of Groupware systems is driven by an extensive task analysis followed by structured design and iterative evaluation using usability criteria. Using a combination of multiple complementary representations and techniques, a wide range of aspects of Groupware design is covered. The method is built on our experiences and is used in practice by several companies and educational institutes in Europe. We define the design process, the models needed and the tools that support the design process.
Collaborative Development of Groupware Applications
2004
Groupware aimed at coordinating the actions of people is faced with a dilemma. In order to support a group at work, the groupware must be configured into applications that accurately reflect how the group works. Yet, organizations are constantly changing both their structure and the way they work, leaving the groupware application inaccurate, or at least out of date. Implementers of groupware applications are finding that the cost of implementation comes not from the hardware or the software, but the effort needed to capture and codify their organizational processes, and then to maintain the applications to keep them up to date. This paper explores how the implementation of groupware is a collaborative activity. Methods to define processes, such as BPR, are group activities. A powerful way to solve this is to develop the groupware applications collaboratively. In a sense, this is groupware to help in the development of groupware. Four key capabilities are described that are needed t...
A Comparison of Usage Evaluation and Inspection Methods for Assessing Groupware Usability
Many researchers believe that groupware can only be evaluated by studying real collaborators in their real contexts, a process that tends to be expensive and timeconsuming. Others believe that it is more practical to evaluate groupware through usability inspection methods. Deciding between these two approaches is difficult, because it is unclear how they compare in a real evaluation situation. To address this problem, we carried out a dual evaluation of a groupware system, with one evaluation applying userbased techniques, and the other using inspection methods. We compared the results from the two evaluations and concluded that, while the two methods have their own strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs, they are complementary. Because the two methods found overlapping problems, we expect that they can be used in tandem to good effect, e.g., applying the discount method prior to a field study, with the expectation that the system deployed in the more expensive field study has a better chance of doing well because some pertinent usability problems will have already been addressed.
Assisting the design of a groupware system
The Journal of Logic and Algebraic Programming, 2009
Product Data Management (PDM) systems support the product/document management of design processes such as those typically used in the manufacturing industry. They allow enterprises to capture, organise, automate and share engineering information in an efficient way. The efficient handling of queries on product information and the uploading and downloading of families of related files for modification by designers are essential aspects of such systems. The efficiency of the system as perceived by its clients depends on its correct functioning, but also for a significant part on its performance aspects. In this article, we apply both qualitative and stochastic model-checking techniques to evaluate various usability and performance aspects of the thinkteam PDM system, and of several proposed extensions, thereby assisting the design phase of an industrial groupware system.