Web Usability: Principles and Evaluation Methods (original) (raw)

Usability Evaluation Methods and Principles for the Web

In order to determine the quality of any web application in the world, Usability is the one of the most important tool that one can use. Web analysis perform several inspections on the websites and software and use usability criteria to determine some faults on the systems. Usability engineering has being important tool for the companies as well, this is due to the fact that through usability engineering companies can improve their market level by making their products and services more accessible. Know days there some web application and software products which are complex and very sophisticated, hence usability can be able to determine their success or failure. However currently usability has been among the important goal for the Web engineering research and much attention is given to usability by the industry due to recognition of the importance of adopting usability evolution methods before and after deployment. Moreover several literature has proposed several techniques and methods for evaluating web usability. And however there is no agreement yet in the software on which usability evolution method is better than the other. Extensive usability evaluation is usually not feasible for the case of web development process. In other words unusable website increases the total cost of ownership, and therefore this paper introduces principles and evaluation methods to be used during the whole application lifecycle, so as to enhance usability of web applications. Keywords - Evolution methods, Web usability, Web usability principles, Development process. http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500

Evaluation of the usability of web-based applications

Vojnotehnicki glasnik, 2017

The paper emphasizes the importance of the usability of Web-based applications as an essential condition for attracting and retaining customers. At the beginning of the paper, a general classification of methods for usability evaluation is given in order to show different views of researchers on usability. In order to ensure a Web application lifetime, it is necessary to measure and evaluate many features that affect software usability. The paper gives a brief overview of the most commonly used methods for evaluating the usability of Web-based applications published in the last decade, chosen by the author. Since decision making is not an easy process, the conclusion gives recommendations to be specially considered when selecting a method.

Usability evaluation methods for the web: A systematic mapping study

Information & Software Technology, 2011

In recent years, many Usability Evaluation Methods (UEMs) have been employed to evaluate Web applications. However, many of these applications still do not meet most customers' usability expectations and many companies have folded as a result of not considering Web usability issues. No studies currently exist with regard to either the use of usability evaluation methods for the Web or the benefits they bring.

Integration of Multiple Techniques to Support Usability Evaluation of Web Applications

In this paper, we discuss some issues related to automatic support to usability evaluation. The discussion is based on our experience with WebRemUSINE, a tool that we have designed and developed in order to perform intelligent analysis of Web browser logs using the information contained in the task model of the application. This approach supports remote usability evaluation of Web sites.

Usability Engineering Methods for the Web Results From a Usability Study

The paper presents the results of a study on usability methods for evaluating Web sites. lt summarizes the "Heuristics for Web Communications, " and reports the practical experiences with these heuristics, contrasting them with the "Keevil Index " and combining them with user testing with thinking aloud. It concludes that working with the "Heuristics for Web Communications " takes more time and effort than working with the "Kevil Index," but produces more consistent results. The heuristics proved to be applicable both in heuristic evaluation and in combination with user testing. Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag präsentiert eine Studie über Evaluationsmethoden zur Web-Usability. Er beschreibt die "Heuristics for Web Communications " und berichtet von den praktischen Erfahrungen mit den Heuristiken, die mit dem "Keevil Index" verglichen und mit Benutzertests mit lautem Denken kombiniert werden. Das Ergebnis zeigt, dass eine Evaluation mit den beschriebenen Heuristiken gegenüber dem "Keevil Index" mehr Zeit und Aufwand erfordert, aber konsistentere Ergebnisse bringt. Die Heuristiken haben sich sowohl in der experten-zentrierten Evaluation als auch in Kombination mit dem Benutzertest insgesamt als geeignete Evaluationsmethode erwiesen.

A Systematic Review of Usability Evaluation in Web Development

2008

The challenge of developing more usable Web applications has motivated the appearance of a number of techniques, methods and tools to address Web usability issues. Although there are many proposals for supporting the development of usable Web applications, many developers are not aware of them and many organizations do not properly apply them. This paper reports on a systematic review of the use of usability evaluation methods in Web development. The objective of the review is to investigate what usability evaluation methods have been employed by researchers to evaluate Web artifacts and how they were employed. A total of 51 research papers have been reviewed from an initial set of 410 papers. The results show that 45% of the papers reviewed reported the use of evaluation methods specifically crafted for the Web and that the most employed method is user testing. In addition, the results of the review have identified several research gaps. Specifically, 80% of the evaluations are still performed at the implementation phase of Web applications development and 47% of the papers did not present any validation of the usability evaluation method(s) employed.

ASSESSING WEB SITE USABILITY MEASUREMENT

Web evaluation has been used in decade to validate the web site to see how it performs. When analysing a web site, typical factors to be considered are the way the information is organized and presented, and how to access and navigate the informative structure [1]. Usability evaluations evaluate the ease of use of a web site functions and see either the user can perform their tasks efficiently. This paper review existing usability standards and models in determining an appropriate model for evaluating the usability of web site. Previous research are reviewed and comparison and analysis of existing usability model and identification of usability criteria and characteristics for web site is made to identify the attribute or characteristic that should be used in evaluating web site.This study proposed an extension of the QUIM model as a basic model for usability model for a web site. Therefore, a set of guidelines to assist in determining design and usability

A Method for Website Usability Evaluation: A Comparative Analysis

Graphical user interfaces design in software development process focuses on maximizing usability and the user's experience, in order to make the interaction for users easy, flexible and efficient. In this paper, we propose an approach for evaluating the usability satisfaction degree of a web-based system. The proposed method has been accomplished in two phases and implemented on an airlines website as a case study. In the first phase, a website usability test is implemented by a number of users, and then the results obtained are translated into charts for a final web-based system evaluation in the second phase. The results achieved were satisfactory, since the places where the weaknesses and gaps in the website are identified and recommended solutions to avoid them are drawn. The authenticity of the results have been confirmed by comparing them with user opinions acquired from a questionnaire, which proves the precision in which the website is rated.

Usability evaluation based on Web design perspectives

… , 2007. ESEM 2007. …, 2007

Applications worldwide, Web quality assurance, and more specifically Web usability have become key success factors. Therefore, this work proposes a usability evaluation technique based on the combination of Web design perspectives adapted from existing literature, and heuristics. This new technique is assessed using a controlled experiment aimed at measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of our technique, in comparison to Nielsen's heuristic evaluation. Results indicated that our technique was significantly more effective than and as efficient as Nielsen's heuristic evaluation. First International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement 0-7695-2886-4/07 $20.00