Evaluating a usability inspection technique by means of industry case studies (original) (raw)
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Applying the WDP Technique to Usability Inspections in Web Development Organizations
Methodologies and Principles
This chapter presents the WDP (Web Design Perspectives-based Usability Evaluation), an inspection technique specifically designed to assess the usability of Web applications. This technique combines Web design perspectives and the heuristic evaluation method proposed by Nielsen (1994b). In addition to describing the components of the WDP technique this chapter also illustrates its use in practice by means of an industrial case study where the technique is applied to inspect a real Web application. In this case study, developers and requirement assessment staff applied the WDP technique to evaluate the usability of modules developed from scratch for a Web application. The results of this case study indicate the feasibility of performing usability inspections with the participation of a software project’s stakeholders, even when stakeholders are not usability experts.
Empirical Assessments of a tool to support Web usability inspection
CLEI Electronic Journal
Usability is one of the most important software quality attributes regarding its acceptability by end users. It is even more important in the context of Web applications. One way of evaluating application usability is through inspections. The WDP (Web Design Perspectives- based Usability Inspection Technique) presents evidence of industrial use feasibility; however some computerized support had been suggested by practitioners. Therefore, the WDP Tool was built, aiming to provide automated support the WDP technique application, reducing the effort involved in usability inspections with WDP. This paper presents two observational studies regarding the use of the WDP Tool use, one in vivo and one in vitro, which aimed to analyze the cost-effectiveness of its application and its appropriateness to the industrial environment through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results provide indications about the feasibility of using the WDP Tool to support usability inspections in real so...
… , 2009. SBES'09. …, 2009
Usability Evaluation) specific for Web applications' usability evaluation and we are following an experimentation-based methodology to support its development and improvement. This paper describes an observational study conducted, aimed at eliciting how inspectors apply the WDP technique. We discuss the quantitative and qualitative results of the result and their impact on improving the WDP technique. We analyzed the qualitative data using the procedures from the Grounded Theory (GT) method Web usability evaluation; inspection technique; observational study; qualitative analysis I. 2009 XXIII Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering 978-0-7695-3844-0/09 $25.00
A Usability Inspection Approach to Assist in the Software Development Process
Several approaches have been proposed to ensure the quality of interactive systems. However, interactive systems continue to reach users with malfunctions, such as usability, communicability and interaction errors. Researches show that the lack of usability knowledge in software development organizations is an obstacle for usability evaluation. Our research goal is to popularize usability inspections so that even novice inspectors are able to perform it. Aiming to provide an approach to be used during the development process of web application, we have proposed the WE-QT technique. We are using an experimental methodology to evolve our technique and transfer it from the academy to industry. This paper presents a new comparative study; the results show that WE-QT technique is more efficient than and as effective as the compared technique.
An empirical study of perspective-based usability inspection
1998
Abstract Inspection is a fundamental means of achieving software usability. Past research showed that during usability inspection the success rate (percentage of problems detected) of each individual inspector was rather low. We developed perspective-based usability inspection, which divides the large variety of usability issues along different perspectives and focuses each inspection session on one perspective.
Usability inspection methods after 15 years of research and practice
Proceedings of the 25th annual ACM international conference on Design of communication - SIGDOC '07, 2007
Usability inspection methods, such as heuristic evaluation, the cognitive walkthrough, formal usability inspections, and the pluralistic usability walkthrough, were introduced fifteen years ago. Since then, these methods, analyses of their comparative effectiveness, and their use have evolved in different ways. In this paper, we track the fortunes of the methods and analyses, looking at which led to use and to further research, and which led to relative methodological dead ends. Heuristic evaluation and the cognitive walkthrough appear to be the most actively used and researched techniques. The pluralistic walkthrough remains a recognized technique, although not the subject of significant further study. Formal usability inspections appear to have been incorporated into other techniques or largely abandoned in practice. We conclude with lessons for practitioners and suggestions for future research.
Evaluating Software Engineers’ Acceptance of a Technique and Tool for Web Usability Inspection
Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, 2015
Usability is related to software quality, improving its ability to be understood, operated and attractive to users. We proposed the Design Usability Evaluation (DUE) technologies to allow identifying usability problems earlier in the development of Web applications, through the inspection of mockups. While we found that the DUE technique and tool were effective and efficient in the identification of usability problems, we saw the need to investigate their acceptance in practitioners' work environment. This paper reports the results from a study evaluating the acceptance of the DUE technologies from the point of view of software engineers. We asked questions based on the indicators from the Technology Acceptance Model and identified that a majority of the software engineers who participated in the study: (a) found the DUE technologies useful and easy to use for supporting the usability inspection process; and (b) would regularly use the DUE technologies for future inspections in their job. Nevertheless, the practitioners indicated that the technique should be refined in order to reduce the ambiguity and repetition of some of its items, while the tool should become more intuitive.
Perspective-based usability inspection: An empirical validation of efficacy
1999
Inspection is a fundamental means of achieving software usability. Past research showed that the current usability inspection techniques were rather ineffective. We developed perspective-based usability inspection, which divides the large variety of usability issues along different perspectives and focuses each inspection session on one perspective. We conducted a controlled experiment to study its effectiveness, using a post-test only control group experimental design, with 24 professionals as subjects.
2012 26th Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering, 2012
Background: Usability is one of the most important factors that determine the quality of Web applications, which can be verified performing usability inspection. This paper presents the Web Design Usability Evaluation (Web DUE) technique, which allows the identification of usability problems in low-fidelity prototypes (or mockups) of Web applications during the design phases of the development. We have also proposed the Mockup Design Usability Evaluation (Mockup DUE) tool which is able to assist inspectors using the Web DUE technique. Method: In order to verify the feasibility of these technologies, we have performed two empirical studies. During the first study, we compared the effectiveness and efficiency indicators of the Web DUE technique with the ones of its predecessor, the Web Design Perspective (WDP) based usability inspection technique. Also, during the second study, experienced inspectors used the Mockup DUE tool and answered a questionnaire aiming at identifying improvement opportunities in its design. Results: The analysis of the quantitative data showed that the Web DUE technique allowed the identification of more usability problems in lesser time when compared to the WDP technique. Moreover, the qualitative data from the second empirical study provided information on the tool's perceived ease of use, indicating that inspectors were satisfied and that they would use it to perform a usability inspection with the Web DUE technique. Conclusions: These results showed that the DUE technologies could be applied in the identification of usability problems early in the design of Web applications. Thus, their use could enable the correction of such problems before the source code of the application is written.