The need for cost-effective usability evaluation has led to the development of methodologies to support the usability practitioner in finding usability problems during formative evaluation. Even though various methods exist for performing usability evaluation, practitioners seldom have the information needed to decide which method is appropriate for their specific purpose. In addition, most methods do not have an integrated relationship with a theoretical foundation for applying the method in a reliable and efficient manner. Practitioners often have to apply their own judgment and techniques, leading to inconsistencies in how the method is applied in the field. Usability practitioners need validated information to determine if a given usability evaluation method is effective and why it should be used instead of some other method. Such a desire motivates the need for formal, empirical comparison studies to evaluate and compare usability evaluation methods. In reality, the current data for comparing usability evaluation methods suffers from a lack of consistent measures, standards, and criteria for identifying effective methods. The work described here addresses three important research activities. First, the User Action Framework was developed to help organize usability concepts and issues into a knowledge base that supports usability methods and tools. From the User Action Framework, a mapping was made to the Usability Problem Inspector; a tool to help practitioners conduct a highly focused inspection of an interface design. Second, the reliability of the User Action Framework was evaluated to determine if usability practitioners could use the framework in a consistent manner when classifying a set of usability problems. Third, a comprehensive comparison study was conducted to determine if the Usability Problem Inspector, based on the User Action Framework, could produce results just as effective as two other inspection methods (i.e., the heuristic evaluation and the cognitive walkthrough). The comparison study used a new comparison approach with standards, measures, and criteria to prove the effectiveness of methods. Results from the User Action Framework reliability study showed higher agreement scores at all classification levels than was found in previous work with a similar classification tool. In addition, agreement using the User Action Framework was stronger than the results obtained from the same experts using the heuristic evaluation. From the inspection method comparison study, results showed the Usability Problem Inspector to be more effective than the heuristic evaluation and consistent with effectiveness scores from the cognitive walkthrough. / Ph. D.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T14:03:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luis Jorge Enrique Rivero Cabrejos.pdf: 6587426 bytes, checksum: 089733fd8799984279076721cca2ad48 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Despite the increasing number of usability inspection methods for Web applications, most of these methods are being applied in later stages of the development process, which increases the cost of correcting the identified problems. This master degree thesis presents the Web Design Usability Evaluation (Web DUE) technique, a technique that was specifically crafted for the usability inspection of paper based prototypes (or mockups). The Web DUE technique aims at aiding inspectors in the identification of usability problems in earlier stages of the development process, thus reducing the cost of correcting them. To achieve this goal, the Web DUE technique suggests to divide mockups into Web page zones and, using a set of usability verification items, to check if the interface is usable or presents usability problems. To simulate interaction between the mockups and the user, and to support usability problems detection, we created the Mockup DUE tool. Both, the creation of the Web DUE technique and Mockup DUE tool, were supported by empirical validation. In this dissertation we present: (a) how we created the Web DUE technique based on the analysis of the results of a systematic mapping extension; (b) the feasibility study of the technique; (c) how the results from the empirical study helped in the creation of the Mockup DUE tool; (d) the feasibility study of the Mockup DUE tool; and (e) the evolution of the proposed technologies for the inspection of Web mockups. / Apesar do aumento do número de métodos de inspeção de usabilidade de aplicações Web, a maioria destes métodos só é aplicada nas últimas etapas do processo de desenvolvimento, aumentando o custo de correção dos problemas encontrados. Esta dissertação de mestrado apresenta a técnica Web Design Usability Evaluation (Web DUE), uma técnica específica para inspeções de usabilidade de protótipos em papel (ou mockups). A técnica Web DUE tem por finalidade apoiar os inspetores na identificação de problemas de usabilidade durante as primeiras etapas do processo de desenvolvimento, visando assim à redução dos custos de correção dos mesmos. Para atingir esse objetivo, a técnica Web DUE sugere a divisão dos mockups em zonas de páginas Web e a avaliação de usabilidade dos mesmos com base em um conjunto de itens de verificação. Para simular a interação entre os mockups e o usuário e apoiar a detecção de defeitos de usabilidade, foi criada a ferramenta Mockup DUE. Tanto a técnica Web DUE quanto a ferramenta Mockup DUE tiveram sua construção e avaliação apoiada por experimentação. Esta dissertação apresenta: (a) como a técnica Web DUE foi elaborada com base na análise da extensão de um mapeamento sistemático; (b) o estudo de viabilidade da técnica Web DUE; (c) a criação da ferramenta Mockup DUE com base nos resultados do primeiro estudo de viabilidade da técnica; (d) o estudo de viabilidade da ferramenta Mockup DUE; e (e) a evolução das tecnologias propostas para a inspeção de mockups de aplicações Web.

The main goal of this study was to do a heuristic evaluation of the information architecture (IA) of the recently redesigned academic library website of the University of Pretoria and to provide recommendations for improvement if necessary. The main problem that is addressed by this study is that there is no comprehensive list of heuristics for the purpose of evaluating the IA of academic library websites. This study used various methods to address this problem and achieve the main goal. A literature review resulted in a set of integrated usability heuristics that can be used to do a heuristic evaluation of the IA of academic library websites. The set was created based on an integration of existing usability principles from authorities in the field of usability. The integrated set of existing principles was made applicable to academic library websites through the addition of sub-criteria based on a review of twenty related studies. A multiple-case study method was used for the heuristic evaluation of the library websites of the top three universities in South Africa, i.e., University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand, and Stellenbosch University. The results of the multiple-case study method were used to further adapt the list of principles. The heuristic evaluation method was used in each of the case studies as a data collection method. Another case study was done, using the same method and revised heuristics, to evaluate the usability of the library website of the University of Pretoria and to provide recommendations. The main outcomes of this study is a list of heuristics that can be used for the heuristic evaluation of the IA of academic library websites, as well as a list of recommendations for the improvement of the newly redesigned library website of the University of Pretoria. The list of heuristics is not limited to academic library websites, however, as it can be adapted and reused for the heuristic evaluation of other types of websites. / Dissertation (MIS)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Information Science / MIS / Unrestricted

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T14:02:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 fabio.pdf: 4867233 bytes, checksum: 50fd99e07e3a0dec4c10f9701864abed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-03 / Usability Inspections are methods used to verify the software s quality in relation to its interaction with users. The applications acceptability is directly related to their usability. Thus, the goal of this work is to develop ways to assist the inspection execution, providing better costeffectiveness. In this thesis, we present an assistant to support the inspection process with a focus on usability of traditional software applications and Web applications. This wizard, called APIU, aims at reducing the time spent during the inspection execution and to achieve better management of the inspection process. The wizard s requirements were defined based on practical experience in inspections and usability testing as well as studies found in current literature. This thesis presents how the proposed APIU assistant was defined and developed, the context in which it can be used, as well as studies for the improvement of the wizard. / As inspeções de usabilidade são métodos utilizados com o objetivo de verificar a qualidade de um software em relação à interação com os usuários. A aceitabilidade das aplicações está diretamente ligada à usabilidade das mesmas. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver meios que auxiliem a execução de uma inspeção, dotando essa atividade de melhor custo-benefício. Esta dissertação propõe um assistente de apoio ao processo de inspeção de usabilidade, o APIU, voltado para aplicações de software tradicionais e aplicações Web. Este assistente de apoio objetiva reduzir o esforço gasto durante a execução de uma inspeção e apoiar um melhor gerenciamento da mesma. Este assistente teve seus requisitos definidos a partir de experiências práticas em inspeções e testes de usabilidade, além do estudo de trabalhos disponíveis na literatura. Esta dissertação apresenta como o APIU foi definido e desenvolvido, o contexto em que ele pode ser empregado e os estudos realizados para o aprimoramento do assistente.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T14:02:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 natasha.pdf: 409600 bytes, checksum: c6c9263e7940b7fa446c53d362613827 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-20 / FAPEAM - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas / This thesis presents a systematic mapping about techniques for models inspection to ensure the usability and the categorization and analysis these techniques. Moreover, this thesis presents a set of reading techniques specific for usability inspection in design models of software development, MIT (Model Inspection Technique for Usability Evaluation). These techniques have a set of check items that guide the inspector during the usability evaluation. Their purpose is be easily adoptable by software development industry, besides the possibility of be used independently or combined, i.e., their use might vary according with the procedure of development adopted. As the MITs had its construction and evaluation supported by experimentation, this thesis also discusses about the study on academy, as well as evolution of the techniques / Esta dissertação apresenta o mapeamento sistemático realizado sobre Técnicas de Inspeção de Modelos que garantam a Usabilidade e a categorização e análise destas técnicas. Além disso, esta dissertação apresenta um conjunto de técnicas de leitura específicas para inspeção de usabilidade em modelos de projeto de desenvolvimento de software, a MIT (Model Inspection Technique for Usability Evaluation). Estas técnicas possuem um conjunto de itens de verificação que guiam o inspetor durante a avaliação de usabilidade. O seu propósito é que seja facilmente adotável pela indústria de desenvolvimento de software, além da possibilidade de serem usadas de forma independente ou combinada, ou seja, seu uso poderá variar de acordo com o processo de desenvolvimento adotado. Como as MITs tiveram sua construção e avaliação apoiada por experimentação, esta dissertação também aborda sobre o estudo de viabilidade realizado, além da evolução das técnicas.