The problem addressed in this research is the need for supervisory or system summary displays for the Advanced Tomahawk Weapons Control System (ATWCS). These displays are needed to accurately depict the current system state and weapon status in order to aid strike supervisory personnel in making correct and timely decisions. This research examined the problem in the context of designing a set of graphical displays that extracts information relevant to the strike supervisor from ATWCS and displays it in a manner that allows both rapid and accurate interpretation. The approach used to solve the problem progressed in four distinct phases. The first phase, Requirements Analysis, consisted of gathering system requirements through interviews with U.S. Navy officers who have experience as strike warfare supervisors. In the second phase, an initial design was produced using Century Computing's rapid prototyping tool TAE Plus Workbench(TM). The third phase involved the heuristic and guideline evaluation of the prototype based on accepted user interface design principles and ATWCS user interface requirement specifications. This evaluation produced a second iteration prototype that was used in the final phase, Usability Testing. The prototype was tested by U.S. Navy Officers with Tomahawk strike experience and test results were recorded. Changes were then made to the prototype to correct usability problems discovered by the user testing, yielding a third iteration prototype. The final result of this research is a set of prototype displays, in both paper and TAE Plus Workbench(TM) resource file formats, that will be provided to Naval Command, Control, and Ocean Surveillance Center (NCCOSC) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Division (NRaD) for consideration during system design and implementation.

This thesis addresses the problem of usability in the context of administration of access control systems. We seek to relate the notion of declarative semantics, a recurring theme in research in access control, with usability. We adopt the concrete context of POSIX ACLs and the traditional interface for it that comprises two utilities getfacl and setfacl. POSIX ACLs are the de facto standard to which POSIX conformant systems such as Linux and OpenBSD adhere. The natural semantics of getfacl and setfacl is operational. By operational we mean that the semantics of these are speci ed procedurally. We have designed and implemented an alternate interface that we call askfacl whose natural semantics is declarative. Declarative semantics means "what you see is what it is." We also discuss our design of askfacl and articulate the following thesis that underlies our work: If the natural semantics of the interface for ACLs is declarative, then a user is able to more quickly, accurately and confidently, inspect and edit ACLs than if the semantics is operational. To validate our thesis we conducted a between participant human-subject usability study with 42 participants. The results of our study measurably demonstrate the goodness of declarative semantics in access control.

Abstract The main thrust of this study is to investigate how users of mass-market word-processing software go about using the built-in help systems provided in application packages as they work: how frequently they seek help with the functions they need, how they approach and access this help, how they perceive it, and in what ways their performance on tasks is improved as a result. The study concludes by suggesting how users’ confidence, effectiveness and approach to using on-line help systems might be improved, as well as recommending further investigations. The help facilities provided in computer software can take on varying forms: hints, help and coaching. To begin, I take hints to be small pieces of advice offered generally, at no particular time, but possibly ahead of the performance of the activity to which they relate. So the kind of information counted as hints would include what Word refers to as ‘tool tips’—short messages that appear when the mouse pointer rests on a visible item, such as a button or an item on a window; as well as the ‘tip of the day’ which is displayed when the program starts up. As well as these explicit hints, there are also implicit ones, such as those embodied in the names of menu items (if any one doubts their effect, let them try using a version of a program intended for speakers of a different language, where the menu names and the names of menu items can be of very little help. For example, under the French ‘Fichier’ menu, there might be the following items: Nouveau, Ouvrir…, Ouvrir l’élément recent, Fermer, Enregistrer. Enregistrer sous, Tout enregister, Format d’impression, Imprimer… ). Even more abstractly, it could be claimed that the whole ‘look and feel’ of a program continually prompts the user with hints. Help is the general focus of the bulk of this thesis, taking in any feature that is meant to respond to a user’s request for assistance. I need discuss this here no further as it will be comprehensively covered later. Finally, coaching can be defined as any activity that is intended to improve performance or to correct errors or bad habits. In contrast to help, it is often prompted by the user’s behaviour (“It looks like you’re writing a letter. …”), or by the error itself. The coloured underlining done by the spelling and grammar checkers could also be called coaching. And the most obvious coaching lessons are those provided by the various ‘wizards’ that can be invoked via menu items to guide the user through complex procedures, such as executing a mail merge. The literature that was surveyed ranges over a number of areas of relevance, several of which were explored in some detail, such as: references to help systems specifically, the way that beginners typically fail to progress beyond a modest level of proficiency, the human–computer interface (HCI), the efficacy of help systems and the factors influencing how users approach and value them, the categories of complaints frequently made about help, computer-mediated learning, the heuristics of usability testing and what evaluative approaches are possible. The literature provided valuable background for formulating and implementing an experimental program and in evaluating and analyzing its outcomes. In particular, it was realized at an early stage that several techniques commonly employed in usability testing were beyond the financial and staffing resources available; for example video recording of users’ interactions with software, or monitoring of these interactions by expert, trained observers and evaluators. An alternative approach was developed, which drew on the resources of the student subjects, who worked in pairs so that one member of the pair tackled the set tasks while the other observed and took records on pro-formas devised for this study. This approach, using pairs (or ‘dyads’) turned out to be successful. Since an action-research paradigm was adopted, in which a process of evaluation and modification was applied to each successive experiment, it was possible to progressively refine the approach with respect to both the exercises given to the participants and the procedures and pro-formas used to monitor and record the results. An article on the approach was written for the British Journal of Educational Technology, and this is included as an appendix to this thesis. The experimental subjects (those who contributed to surveys, plus a total of 176 who participated in the initial focus groups and the task-based experiments) were recruited from the students, mainly in first year, of the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the University of Queensland. The assumption was made that this sample would not differ substantially from the general population of those who use word processors for a variety of purposes but who are not professional clerical workers. The word processor with which almost all of them were already familiar was Microsoft Word, and this was adopted as the vehicle for the experimental program After an initial phase in which students’ attitudes and practices were explored to provide a context, using focus groups and an on-line survey, a series of experiments was designed and conducted, using an action research paradigm to refine the techniques and materials used as the program proceeded. A set of tasks was devised for each experiment, ranging from the commonplace (such as changing font and text size) through the more demanding (such as manipulating tables) to the less routine (such as insertion of graphics in the text and as background). The tasks were selected so that they would require most students to seek help at some point, while not being exceptionally challenging. Interesting and potentially valuable results have come out of these experiments: many of the students had been using the software for a number of years, starting at school, and were currently word-processing for several hours a week, but surprisingly they were typically using just a minimal sub-set of the capabilities of the software, given that they could satisfy most of their writing needs with them. There appeared to be a common tendency to avoid seeking help, since when the set tasks called for more advanced techniques a substantial proportion of users preferred to browse the menus, or use trial-and-error, rather than take full advantage of the help system. However these students, when forced into it by the terms of the experiments, were generally able to find and use the help that they needed to perform well in the more demanding tasks. This study suggests that many users are coping reasonably well with their day-to-day word processing but might save time and effort in the longer term (and produce more rewarding outcomes) if they could only take advantage of additional features of the software. One factor hindering them is their reluctance to use help, whether this arises from unfamiliarity, lack of confidence, unfortunate earlier experiences, sheer prejudice, or simple inertia. As well as the potential improvements in users’ facility with the packages that might be brought about by training, which was once general but has recently been largely discarded, there are ways of making help more acceptable and thus more immediately usable for these people: help systems could be made more palatable and at the same time more educative, without being patronizing or paternalistic, and this depends in part on achieving a closer alignment between the mental models of the software held by various disparate groups of users and those used by its designers. In summary, and on careful inspection, Microsoft Word is revealed as a comprehensively accomplished application that can appear daunting at first. It is a pity that, according to this study, there are many users who never progress beyond the unambitious use of a modest set of its capabilities. This thesis concludes by suggesting that barriers to the full exploitation of the powers of Word and similar software packages may be overcome by a few simple strategies, including simplifying the already plentiful repertoire of customisation tools and devising training aimed specifically at enriching and smoothing the beginners’ learning curve.

The HUD is what allows players to interact with the game world and therefore thevisual representation of it is of importance to usability. Usability being broken down intothree components: effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. To study the subject athird person action game was made for the purpose. The game contained two differentHUD versions to test different approaches to UI design. Results for the study were, inrelation to usability, inconclusive due to a lack of participants and varying degrees ofexperience within the pool of participants. Preferences were gathered however, andpreferences towards the stylized HUD were shown. Further study is promising as othergenres could more easily adapt theories from other software fields.

The HUD is what allows players to interact with the game world and therefore the visual representation of it is of importance to usability. Usability being broken down into three components: effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. To study the subject a third person action game was made for the purpose. The game contained two different HUD versions to test different approaches to UI design. Results for the study were, in relation to usability, inconclusive due to a lack of participants and varying degrees of experience within the pool of participants. Preferences were gathered however, and preferences towards the stylized HUD were shown. Further study is promising as other genres could more easily adapt theories from other software fields.

Roaming the Internet, users sometimes encounter severe problems or feel dissatisfied using a particular site. E-government websites are the public gateways to access information and services but there is still no agreement on how to assess a government's online presence. Failure of e-government projects in achieving their goals is common and there is uncertainty about how best to evaluate an e-government website. It has been argued that existing evaluation frameworks have some methodological limitations and they mostly neglected citizens. There is a lack of an engineering approach for building web systems and the literature on measuring the quality of website is limited. There is an uncertainty in the selection of evaluation methods and some risks of standardizing inadequate evaluation practices. Managing the complexity of web applications, Web Engineering is emerging as a new discipline for the development and evaluation of web systems to promote high-quality websites. But web quality is still a debatable issue and web metrics is considered a valuable area of ongoing research. Therefore this research focuses on the methodological issues underlying web metrics and how to develop an applicable set of measurement for designing websites. The main aim is to create new metrics for web engineering and develop a generalizable measurement framework for local e-government since research in this field is limited. This study adopted a positivist quantitative research and used triangulation web evaluation methods (heuristic evaluation, user testing, automatic link checkers, and Alexa) to test multiple-case study of Saudi city websites. The proposed E-City Usability Framework is unique in integrating 3-dimension measures (website usability, e-services, and the number and type of e-services), and in using multi-orientations to cover several aspects of e-government: output (information and services), outcomes (citizen-centricity indicators), model, and model-based assessments. Existing e-government models were criticized, and the findings employed in developing the proposed framework. The best web evaluation methods were heuristic evaluation and user testing, while link checkers and Alexa proved to be unreliable tools; nevertheless, they can be used as a useful complementary approach. Saudi city websites were ranked by website quality, e-services, and overall evaluation. Common usability problems in these websites were found to be: the sites were not citizen-centered, limited e-services and information, no e-transaction, no emergency alerts, no municipal budget, and no city council reports. They also suffered from broken links, an inactive city map, a poor eComplaint section, and a nonfunctioning search facility.

This thesis investigates human behaviour when controlling Six Degree of Freedom (DoF) Interfaces. A substantial literature review forms the basis for the design of an experimental framework. An assertion is made which states that effective control interfaces will support a broad range of activity in a virtual environment. A review of motor control facilitates the design of a set of appropriate tasks and measures A series of seven experiments are presented. The series of experiments are [sic] partitioned into three studies: Object Rotation in 3DoF (three experiments); Object Manipulation in 6DoF (three experiments); Egomotion in a 3D environment (one experiment). A new rotation controller which maps 2D mouse input to 3DoF rotation is designed and implemented. It is then compared against an "integrated" 6DoF controller. The purpose of these studies is to establish an experimental paradigm that will enable designers to examine operator strategies with input devices and interfaces. From the experiments described in the studies a number of conclusions are made: (1) operator strategies cannot be identified by single measures—rather a variety of measures help disambiguate singular performance scores; (2) control strategies can be employed due to the characteristics of one interface component but can leak into behaviour with other interface components which are related in terms of the task; (3) a variety of tasks must be employed to develop a rich picture of operator behaviour with a particular interface; (4) certain characteristics of an interface can mask other performance issues when comparing interfaces; (5) travel can be analysed with a traditional tracking task; (6) the control structure of the interface must match the control structure of the task domain—if this is exceeded then in some cases performance can actually be degraded.

Through different learning portals, computer-assisted assessment (CAA) tools have improved considerably over the past few decades. In a CAA community, these tools are categorised into types of questions, types of testing, and types of assessment. Most of these provide the assessment of multiple-choice questions, true and false questions, or matching questions. Other CAA tools evaluate short and long essay questions, each of which different grading methods and techniques in terms of style and content have. However, due to the complexity involved in analysing free text writing, the development and evaluation of accurate, easy to use, and effective tools is questionable. This research proposes a new contextual framework as a novel approach to the investigation of a new CAA tool which auto-generates feedback on project proposals. This research follows a Design Science Research paradigm to achieve and evaluate the accuracy, ease of use, and effectiveness of the new tool in the computer science domain in higher education institutes. This is achieved in three interrelated cycles:(1) based on the existent literature on this topic and an exploratory study on the currently available approaches to the provision of feedback on final year project proposals, a proposed framework to auto-generate feedback on any electronically submitted coursework is constructed in order to gain a clear understanding on how such a CAA tool might work; (2) a contextual framework based on the proposed framework for final year project proposals is constructed by considering both the style and content of the free text and using different text mining techniques; and (3) the accuracy, easy to use, and effectiveness of the implemented web-based CAA application named Feedback Automated Tool (FEAT)is evaluated based on the contextual framework. This research applies CAA and text mining techniques to identify and model the key elements of the framework and its components in order to enable the development and evaluation of a novel CAA contextual framework which can be utilised for auto-generating accurate, easy to use, and effective feedback on final year project proposals.

abstract: In the last decade, the number of people who own a mobile phone or portable electronic communication device has grown exponentially. Recent advances in smartphone technology have enabled mobile devices to provide applications (“mHealth apps”) to support delivering interventions, tracking health treatments, or involving a healthcare team into the treatment process and symptom monitoring. Although the popularity of mHealth apps is increasing, few lessons have been shared regarding user experience design and evaluation for such innovations as they relate to clinical outcomes. Studies assessing usability for mobile apps primarily rely on survey instruments. Though surveys are effective in determining user perception of usability and positive attitudes towards an app, they do not directly assess app feature usage, and whether feature usage and related aspects of app design are indicative of whether intended tasks are completed by users. This is significant in the area of mHealth apps, as proper utilization of the app determines compliance to a clinical study protocol. Therefore it is important to understand how design directly impacts compliance, specifically what design factors are prevalent in non-compliant users. This research studies the impact of usability features on clinical protocol compliance by applying a mixed methods approach to usability assessment, combining traditional surveys, log analysis, and clickstream analysis to determine the connection of design to outcomes. This research is novel in its construction of the mixed methods approach and in its attempt to tie usability results to impacts on clinical protocol compliance. The validation is a case study approach, applying the methods to an mHealth app developed for early prevention of anxiety in middle school students. The results of three empirical studies are shared that support the construction of the mixed methods approach. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Computer Science 2016

För ett par år sedan tog utvecklingen och fokuseringen kring Internet fart på allvar ute bland företag. Alla skulle ha en webbsida och anledningen till detta var ofta att konkurrenten hade en eller att man bara ville synas. Idag finns det ett antal så kallade Content Management System utvecklade för att hantera information på Internet, intranet och extranet. Det gemensamma för dessa system är att användarna skall kunna uppdatera, vidareutveckla och administrera lösningen utan någon teknisk kompetens. Syftet med den här uppsatsen var att undersöka om ett Content Management System effektiviserar uppdateringen av information, med hjälp av kategorier inom användbarhet. Användbarhet består av flera olika kategorier, dock har vi valt att begränsa oss till tre av dessa; effektivitet, syfte och tillfredsställelse. För att få djupare kunskaper inom ämnet användbarhet har vi läst böcker och artiklar, vi har även sökt information via Internet. Vi hittade information om användbarhetstest där vi fann en metod som hette utredning. I utredning kan man mäta användbarheten på system som är i bruk. För att kunna dra slutsatsen om ett Content Management System effektiviserar uppdateringen av data/information bestämde vi oss för att ta reda på hur informationsuppdateringen var före och under användningen av verktyget. Utredningen bestod av att vi gjorde en enkät som vi skickade ut till fem företag som använde verktyget. De företag som svarade på enkäten besökte vi och intervjuer gjordes. Det resultat vi kom fram till var att det är svårt att undersöka om ett verktyg effektiviserar uppdateringen av information eller inte. Svaret man får beror på hur företagen tidigare skött informationsuppdateringen. Ett företag som vi undersökte hade en fungerande lösning innan, den största anledningen att de skaffade verktyget var av ekonomiska skäl och detta generade till att informationsuppdateringen inte effektiviserades. De andra företagen som vi undersökte hade ingen bra lösning tidigare, de var beroende av andra personer exempelvis konsulter för sin upp-datering av information. Den generella slutsatsen vi kan dra av de företag som vi undersökt och av vår analys är att de flesta företag skulle få en effektivare uppdatering genom att använda ett Content Management System.