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Software and web usability
Published in B. S. Dhillon, Systems reliability and usability for engineers, 2019
Software usability inspection methods are used by usability experts to evaluate the software's user interface. There are many usability inspection/evaluation methods [11], including the following [10]: Heuristic evaluation: It involves usability experts to determine whether each dialogue element properly meets set usability principles. The guidelines checklist helps to ensure that the proper usability-related principles will be considered in software design work. Moreover, the checklist provides inspectors with a basis for comparing the software product under consideration. Generally, checklists are utilized in conjunction with a usability evaluation or inspection method.Heuristic evaluation is easy to learn and useful for identifying problems early in the design process, and it also is inexpensive to implement [12]. Its main limitation is that it requires a proper debriefing session to find out how to rectify problems.Cognitive walkthrough: It uses a detailed procedure for simulating task execution at each step of the dialogue for determining if the simulated user's goals and memory content can be safely assumed to lead to the next anticipated action. The main benefit of this method is that it is an effective tool for predicting problems and capturing cognitive process. On the other hand, it has two main drawbacks: the need to train a skilled evaluator and the fact that it focuses on only one attribute of usability [12].Guidelines checklists: They help to ensure that the proper usability principles will be considered in software design–related work. Generally, checklists are utilized in conjunction with a usability evaluation or inspection method.Pluralistic walkthrough: It involves group meetings where usability developers, experts, and students step through a learning scenario and discuss all the dialogue elements. Furthermore, this feature of inspection lists items such as sequences of features utilized for carrying out typical tasks, checks for long sequences, difficult steps, and steps that need extensive experience in order to assess a proposed set of features properly. Some of the main benefits of this method are useful for meeting the criteria of all involved parties, easy to learn and use, and permits iterative testing/evaluation [3,12].Standards inspection: It involves usability specialists who inspect the interface compliance with stated standards. These standards could be departmental standards (if any), domain-specific software standards, or user interface standards.
A Systematic Mapping Study of HCI Practice Research
Published in International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2019
Abiodun Afolayan Ogunyemi, David Lamas, Marta Kristin Lárusdóttir, Fernando Loizides
Regarding the end phase, it appears that heuristic evaluation (21 articles), think aloud (13 articles), expert review (12 articles), and cognitive walkthrough (9 articles) techniques are mostly used in software projects evaluation. It can be noted that heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthrough and expert review are all review-based methods that don’t involve users. The major difference between cognitive walkthrough and pluralistic walkthrough is that unlike the former the latter brings together representative users, the system designers, and a usability expert for the walkthrough session.