Llúcia Masip

Quantitative analysis in a heuristic evaluation experiment

In usability context of interactive systems the heuristic evaluation method is widespread. In most applications the results tend to be qualitative, describing such aspects that require some improvement for the benefit of usability. However, these qualitative results do not allow us to determine how usable it is or how it becomes an interactive system. Hence the need for quantitative results may also be very necessary in order to determine the effort that would be needed to get a sufficiently usable system. This article describes, following the idea of the UsabAIPO Project, a new experiment to obtain quantitative results after a heuristic evaluation. This new experimentation has required some variation on the original idea, working with a set of different heuristic categories, while considering the use of the score depending on severity and frequency parameters.

OPEN-HEREDEUX: open heuristic resource for designing and evaluating user experience

The need of enhancing design and evaluation of user experience exists. We propose a resource which helps to semi automate the design and evaluation of user experience.

A design process for exhibiting design choices and trade-offs in (potentially) conflicting user interface guidelines

In the last decades a huge amount of knowledge about user interface design has been gathered in the form of guidelines. Quite often, guidelines are compiled according to user interface properties (e.g. usability, accessibility) and/or application domains (e.g. Web, mobile). In many situations designers have to combine several guideline sets in order to address the specific application domain and the desired set of properties corresponding to the application under consideration. Despite the fact that the problems related to the selection of guidelines from different sources are not new, the occurrence and management of conflicting guidelines are poorly documented leaving designers with little help in order to handle conflicts in a rationale and consistent way. In this paper we revise the questions related to selection and management of conflicting guidelines and we propose a systematic approach based on design rationale tools and techniques for exhibiting choices and trade-offs when combining different guidelines sets. This paper illustrates how such as an approach can also be used to deepen the knowledge on the use of user interface guidelines recording decisions across projects in an iterative way.

Influence of web content management systems in web content accessibility

Web Content Management Systems (CMS) are traditionally used in institutions to allow web content management by people without technical skills. This study intends to check the influence of the CMS in the accessibility of the contents they handle. First, an accessibility analysis of six widely used CMS is performed base don the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG). Second, an accessibility analysis of a series of city council web pages managed by abovementioned CMS by using Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Results of the study show that although web pages managed by the CMS with a better degree of ATAG fulfilment provide better accessibility, there is no direct correlation between results obtained in both evaluations. Information about what aspects cause accessibility errors in the CMS and the impact of such aspects in accessible web content management is also provided.

User experience specification through quality attributes

The concept of user experience includes different facets which have still not reached a consensus. On the other hand, the ISO/IEC 25010:2011 standard shows a structured quality model which permits us to obtain quality systems and software. The main aim is the specification of user experience based on the facets which are implicitly considered in the standard.

The open repository of heuristics

Searching for and choosing the most appropriate set of heuristics is the most complicated task of the heuristic evaluation. Bearing in mind that the main aim of our project is to get the best heuristics for a specific interactive system, the Open Repository of heuristics enables us to store, look up and update heuristics.

Classification of Interactive System Components Enables Planning Heuristic Evaluation Easier

Nowadays, new technology continually is turning up and it has incorporated different interactive systems. In a parallel way, people use these technologies and they have to use IS to resolve their tasks without taking into account technology complexities. We consider that the user experience includes a lot of different paradigm that are able to provide users with a positive experience. In this context, our work is focused on enhancing one of the most used usability evaluation techniques. It is an inspection technique that allows carrying out usability reviews without the need of end users. It is called heuristic evaluation. The most difficult task in the heuristic evaluation method is choosing the most suitable set of heuristics for specific interfaces because usability experts have to consider all heuristics and they have to choose the best heuristics for a specific interface. So, the expert evaluator has to know all heuristic and all parts of interactive systems perfectly to find a closed set of heuristics. To make this step easier , we consider that if we have an interactive system component classification, we will be able to detect what components have our interactive system and, to choose the best usability heuristic for each interactive system component. Therefore, we present IS categorization that we will use to decide what heuristics are the best for specific IS according to the main aims of heuristic evaluation.

Common Industry Format (CIF) Report Customization for UX Heuristic Evaluation

The ISO/IEC 25062:2006 standard presents the Common Industry Format template for the user test results. This standard only considers usability results of a specific evaluation technique: the user test. Nowadays, more aspects apart from usability are considered to get a product quality. In addition, other evaluation methodologies are also very used and different types of results can be obtained (formative/summative and qualitative/quantitative). This research proposed how to adapt the Common Industry Format report for the heuristic evaluation methodology and considering more aspects apart from usability.

Setting Usability iTV Heuristics in Open-HEREDEUX

Usability evaluation is one of the most important stages inside the user-centered design. Heuristic evaluation is a highlighted method due to its great capability to detect a high number of usability issues, its low cost and simplicity; however, the search and selection of the best heuristics is probably the most difficult task of the methodology. This paper describes the process carried out to enter a set of heuristics (for interactive digital television environments) to Open Repository of the Open-HEREDEUX, which aims to minimize the effort to select the most suitable heuristics to evaluate an interactive system.

User Experience Degree and Time Restrictions as Financial Constraints in Heuristic Evaluation

One of the most important concerns of companies is the budget invested in every task of a project. In tech projects, the evaluation of interactive systems is one of the most valuable parts of the development process. And obviously, financial constraints do not avoid this part. In this context, two factors related to heuristic evaluation (one of the most economical methods) can be taken into account: the user experience degree and the time available for the evaluation. A survey with end users (understanding end users those use heuristic evaluation methodology) was carried out to determine the values of both factors in a specific context: website applications.