INTRODUCTION
With increasing importance given to the product’s user experience in the recent days, it is essential to discuss about the reliability of usability evaluation methods. Usability evaluation methods are mainly used for identifying problems and assigning severity to them which will help the development teams in fixing the usability issues by priority. As we can see the final product usability depends a lot on the results of a usability evaluation and there has been a debate on the reliability of the evaluation methods which we have been using for long. In this paper I will be primarily discussing about the reliability of most commonly used evaluation methods (expert review, usability testing) and also discuss on the impact of evaluators experience on the usability evaluation. In the end this paper will include takeaways for the practitioner to follow in order to create increased reliability in the usability evaluation method being followed.
RELIABILITY OF USABILITY EVALUATION METHOD
Reliability of a usability evaluation method is measure of consistency in the results when used by different set of practitioners. In an ideal scenario we would expect usability evaluation methods results are independent of practitioners who use them and product being evaluated (Hartson, Andre, & Williges, 2001). But various studies have been performed to show that results varied significantly, and there has been no consensus amongst practitioners on major issues like: number of participants to choose for usability evaluation, when to use heuristic evaluation, when to use expert reviews etc. Usability practitioners new to the industry tend to go by the results of prior research conducted in these areas. Such use of prior experimental rese...
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At the combined parks of Universal Studios (US) and Islands of Adventure (IoA) patrons have been complaining that it takes too long to both purchase park tickets and then get through the entrance lines. According to managers of the park patrons have been giving conflicting data as to which is actually having a problem. Some say that US is slower than IoA where others disagree and claim IoA is indeed the slower of the parks. To get to the truth behind the issue we conducted an observational usability study where we spent a minimum of 30 minutes at each park’s ticket purchase and entrance lines measuring the time interactions relative to time.
Johnson, T. (2011). S.P.I.D.E.R. A strategy for evaluating websites. Library Media Connection, 29(6), 58-59. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a1fe208a-6fb8-4e68-8191-7ef041e2d483%40sessionmgr111&vid=25&hid=113
There are two basic psychometric properties, validity and reliability that have been used to evaluate the quality of scale development. Psychometric testing used to evaluate the quality of instrument (Polit& Beck, 2010).
A “front-end” evaluation is described as a “nothing to something” or approach of developing a program from the scratch (4). It is carried out at the start of a program when developing the themes. It involves generating input from the targeted population on their existing knowledge, their expectations and preparing to present such information so that it can be easily interpreted. A front-end evaluation involves conducting a baseline-needs assessment, utilisation of research and literature revi...
Usability is a critical portion of web design that one must be ever mindful of when constructing websites. Whether creating a personal web space or building multiple pages for a large corporation, it is the burden of the designer to guarantee people can access that content. According to the United Nations, disabled people compose roughly 10 percent of the world’s population (United Nations, 2010). Many regulations and standards have been set forth to provide disabled people with the same opportunities to access content available on the World Wide Web, as it is most of the World’s population.
UCI Disabilities Services Center. (2003, February 2). Universal design and web accessibility. Retrieved September 17, 2003, fromhttp://www.disability.uci.edu/other_links/web_accessibility.htm
Product usability testing has been around for quite a while now for the sole purpose of providing the consumers with the best product a company can. Some companies hire specific testing consultants who specialize in product testing and other companies just release beta versions of their product to a small market and collect feedback. Companies like Sony or Nintendo hire companies that test their products and make sure there are no problems with the product. Software companies, on the other hand, release test versions, also known as beta versions, of their products and improve their final product based on the feedback from the beta users.
In order to evaluate the website, the first aspect to be evaluated is in terms of the content. All the content intended appear in the website such as the details for each product. The product that being displayed on website is not slightly different than the real one; what you look is what you will see or get. The purpose of why this website is created had been stated in the IKEA Privacy Policy page. The IKEA website provides a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. Even there are tonnes of pictures of product in some pages, but yet still can be considered that the content of the webpage is properly organized. People can just simply click on the item that they want to look out, as the image has been arranged in a grid and not jumbled up. Besides that, the customer also can download the IKEA catalogue and IKEA Home Planner software to view the product better. By using IKEA catalogue, it enables users to zoom in the product itself.
Quality is determined after final results are revealed. The essential part of this is the happiness of the consumer. The information systems project is a success and of good quality if the final results help improve performance and decision-making. Within the system, the quality depends on variables like accuracy, how user-friendly it is, and how suitable the data that it generates is. All of these examples relate to the HRP.
As indicated, usability is the ability of a user to find the information he/she seeks, process the information, and perform whatever functions as needed (Eccher, 2015, p. 7). The use of a navigation menu allows the user to peruse the website. There exist four primary pathways by which users are able to navigate a website: use of hyperlinks, streamline the navigation bar, keep sidebars separate, and include footers. Hyperlinks will be examined initially.
According to Ahmed et al., 2007, user interface design has received a limited attention from IR researchers. There is a need for adopting human-computer interaction (HCI) techniques into IR interface designs, but this is an issue that has not yet been fully recognised by the commercial database vendors and distributors.
Manual testing is useful while we are doing usability testing and GUI testing. With the help of manual testing only the exact standard defined for effective usage and accessibility can be identified.
For this research report I decided to study a journal article that explores how computer interfaces developed to simulate natural interactions impact the overall user experience, user learning, and attitudes. This research was done by Jeeyun Oh, Harold R. Robinson, and Ji Young Lee, and was published in March 2013.
The literature I found to be most relevant to the type of information that I deemed most important covered a websites ability to satisfy a customer having specific feedback goals from the website. In an essay written by Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir called, Design Usability:
Ho, M. R., Smyth, T. N., Kam , M., & Dearden, A. (2009). Human-Computer Interaction for Development: The Past, Present, and Future. Information Technologies & International Development.