Mobile Application Usability: Heuristic Evaluation and Evaluation of Heuristics

Ger Joyce, Mariana Lilley, Trevor Barker, and Amanda Jefferies, 'Mobile Application Usability: Heuristic Evaluation and Evaluation of Heuristics', paper presented at AHFE 2016 International Conference on Human Factors, Software, and Systems Engineering. Walt Disney World, Florida USA, 27-31 July 2016Many traditional usability evaluation methods do not consider mobile-specific issues. This can result in mobile applications that abound in usability issues. We empirically evaluate three sets of usability heuristics for use with mobile applications, including a set defined by the authors. While the set of heuristics defined by the authors surface more usability issues in a mobile application than other sets of heuristics, improvements to the set can be made

Designing for technicians working in the field: 8 usability heuristics for mobile application design

Copyright © 2016 ACM. Mobile applications are frequently used by technicians and logistics personnel to access documentation and communicate and log information about the work they do in the field. Currently, however, there are no context-specific usability heuristics for use by designers who are building mobile applications for this sector. By conducting contextual inquiries with technicians and logistics personnel who use mobile applications for their day to day work, we identified specific usability issues affecting the use of these applications. From this research, we propose a set of eight heuristics for use by designers and developers creating mobile applications for users in this area

Usability heuristics for mobile applications a systematic review

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade UnB Gama, 2018.Usability is one of the factors that most affects a software quality. The increasing adoption of mobile devices brings new usability challenges, as well as a need for specific standards for this type of product. This paper aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature, complemented by a manual and snowballing search to obtain usability heuristics and heuristic evaluations for mobile applications. The result of the study was a set of thirteen usability heuristics, specific to smartphones, related to the ten Nielsen’s heuristics. In addition, five possible ways of evaluating the usability of mobile applications are described. The specification of the heuristics found shows that they can be used both for the evaluation of already developed applications and for the prototyping of new applications, which helps developers achieve their goals regarding product quality. The main contributions of this work is the compilation of desktop usability heuristics in a new, more specific set of heuristics adapted to the mobile paradigm

Adaptation of Heuristic Evaluation for Mobile Applications and the Impact of Context of Use

The aim of this programme of research was to build upon prior work regarding the heuristic evaluation of mobile applications in two important areas. A mixed methods approach was taken to address the research questions using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and statistical analyses. The first contribution of this programme of research was to adapt traditional usability heuristics, so they could be used to more effectively evaluate the usability of mobile applications. The resulting set of mobile application usability heuristics uncovered the highest number of usability issues in absolute terms, as well as the most critical issues within a well-known travel mobile application when compared to two other sets of usability heuristics. In addition, the set of mobile application usability heuristics defined within this programme of research was ranked as the most useful set by participants knowledgeable in the field of human-computer interaction when compared to two other sets of usability heuristics. The second contribution of this programme of research was to extend the set of mobile application heuristics allowing human-computer interaction researchers and practitioners to more effectively consider the potential impact of context of use on the usability of mobile applications. This addressed a gap in the literature as few effective methods existed for this purpose. The protocol was deemed easy to use, easy to understand and easy to learn by participants knowledgeable in the field of human-computer interaction. The beneficiaries of this programme of research are human-computer interaction researchers and practitioners, as well as mobile application users.

Defining usability heuristics for adoption and efficiency of an electronic workflow document management system

Usability heuristics have been established for different uses and applications as general guidelines for user interfaces. These can affect the implementation of industry solutions and play a significant role regarding cost reduction and process efficiency. The area of electronic workflow document management (EWDM) solutions, also known as workflow, lacks a formal definition of usability heuristics. With the advent of new technologies such as mobile devices, defining a set of usability heuristics contributes to the adoption and efficiency of an EWDM system. Workflow usability has been evaluated for various industries. Most significantly research has been done for electronic healthcare records (EHR). In other areas such as the financial sector and educational institutions there is also some literature available but not as abundant as for EHR. This was identified as a possible research limitation. The general purpose of this research was to establish and validate an overarching set of usability heuristics for EWDM in general. This was approached by conducting a literature review and a survey on 32 workflow consultants from Hyland Software, Inc. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected focusing on the study’s main research question: “what usability heuristics should be defined to ensure the adoption and efficiency of a workflow implementation? Findings based on regression testing and expert opinions have suggested a proposed set of usability heuristics. The final list consists of: adaptability to diverse platforms, user control, system feedback, intuitive interfaces, visibility on mobile devices, error management, help, and documentation

Evaluation of a Proposed Set of Usability Heuristics

The innovations proposed by the mobile phone market have grown steadily in recent years, along with the increasing complexity of the hardware, operating systems and applications available in this market. These changes bring new usability-related challenges that need to be considered during the application development process, as new forms of user-application interaction increasingly require behavioral adaptation. In this situation, usability is an important issue, which depends on usability factors such as the User, their characteristics and skills, the Task he intends to achieve and also the Context of Use in which the user and the application are inserted. The components of this set are detailed in a set of heuristics previous proposed that was evaluated through two heuristic evaluations, which allowed to incorporate improvements to the proposal. Furthermore, a set of 13 usability heuristics and 183 sub-heuristics were proposed, which, through heuristic evaluations, better results were evidenced. The proposal makes it easier for experts to find a greater number of usability problems, mostly of greater severity, compared to the proposal of Inostroza et al. As possible future work, further evaluations may be carried out to evaluate the proposal to include more experts in the field, as well as to use the set of heuristics in a larger number of applications of different categories

Usable Security Heuristics for Instant Messaging Application Development

As instant messaging (IM) applications have become more popular, the privacy and security concerns associated with their usage has become ever more relevant. As with many software programs, IM applications have a history of security vulnerabilities. Although IM application usage is globally increasing, it has been found that currently no generally recognised standards exist to aid IM application developers when developing the usability of the security features they implement. The problem is further exacerbated as research suggests that typical users have neither the requisite understanding of the available IM security features, nor the capacity to make full use of those protection features. The primary objective of this study is to create a set of usable security heuristics to assist developers of instant messaging applications to consider the usability of the security features implemented in these applications. This primary objective is further divided into several secondary objectives, which collectively aim to address the proposed problem. Therefore, the secondary objectives are to determine IM security risks and their related implications on users; to identify and investigate existing security and usability heuristics, guidelines, standards and best practices for mobile application development; to map the identified security and usability heuristics, guidelines, standards and best practices to IM applications; and to develop a prototype to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed usable security heuristics to a typical IM application. First, a comprehensive literature study is used to determine and understand the information security threats relevant to IM applications, how IM applications operate, the security features implemented by IM applications and the potential impact the relevant information security threats could have on IM application users. Thereafter, a further literature review and content analysis are used to identify and investigate existing heuristics, guidelines, standards, and best practices for mobile application development. The findings from the content analysis, in combination with the previously identified threats to IM applications, are then mapped to IM applications, and a preliminary set of usable security heuristics for IM application development is established. This preliminary set of usable security heuristics undergoes multiple iterations of refinement to establish the proposed set of usable security heuristics for IM application development. Furthermore, an expert review is conducted to validate the proposed set of usable security heuristics from the perspectives of security, usability, and mobile application development. In addition, the expert review was also used to determine the efficacy, utility, and quality of the proposed usable security heuristics. To further validate the proposed heuristics, a proof-of-concept prototype is used, in addition to the expert review, to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed set of usable security heuristics to a typical IM application. Such a set of usable security heuristics would be useful for IM application developers and would result in the vi improved implementation of usable security, leading to an improvement in the security of IM applications. The proposed set of usable security heuristics therefore adds a further contribution to this research area, providing a solid foundation for future research.Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 202

Usable Security Heuristics for Instant Messaging Application Development

As instant messaging (IM) applications have become more popular, the privacy and security concerns associated with their usage has become ever more relevant. As with many software programs, IM applications have a history of security vulnerabilities. Although IM application usage is globally increasing, it has been found that currently no generally recognised standards exist to aid IM application developers when developing the usability of the security features they implement. The problem is further exacerbated as research suggests that typical users have neither the requisite understanding of the available IM security features, nor the capacity to make full use of those protection features. The primary objective of this study is to create a set of usable security heuristics to assist developers of instant messaging applications to consider the usability of the security features implemented in these applications. This primary objective is further divided into several secondary objectives, which collectively aim to address the proposed problem. Therefore, the secondary objectives are to determine IM security risks and their related implications on users; to identify and investigate existing security and usability heuristics, guidelines, standards and best practices for mobile application development; to map the identified security and usability heuristics, guidelines, standards and best practices to IM applications; and to develop a prototype to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed usable security heuristics to a typical IM application. First, a comprehensive literature study is used to determine and understand the information security threats relevant to IM applications, how IM applications operate, the security features implemented by IM applications and the potential impact the relevant information security threats could have on IM application users. Thereafter, a further literature review and content analysis are used to identify and investigate existing heuristics, guidelines, standards, and best practices for mobile application development. The findings from the content analysis, in combination with the previously identified threats to IM applications, are then mapped to IM applications, and a preliminary set of usable security heuristics for IM application development is established. This preliminary set of usable security heuristics undergoes multiple iterations of refinement to establish the proposed set of usable security heuristics for IM application development. Furthermore, an expert review is conducted to validate the proposed set of usable security heuristics from the perspectives of security, usability, and mobile application development. In addition, the expert review was also used to determine the efficacy, utility, and quality of the proposed usable security heuristics. To further validate the proposed heuristics, a proof-of-concept prototype is used, in addition to the expert review, to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed set of usable security heuristics to a typical IM application. Such a set of usable security heuristics would be useful for IM application developers and would result in the vi improved implementation of usable security, leading to an improvement in the security of IM applications. The proposed set of usable security heuristics therefore adds a further contribution to this research area, providing a solid foundation for future research.Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 202

A heuristic evaluation checklist for mobile shopping applications

Studies on issues related to mobile shopping applications are numerous, however, there is inadequacy in implementing the heuristic evaluation approach to identifying and documenting definite kinds of issues as far as their classifications for mobile shopping applications. Recent studies have shown that there is a deficiency of proper evaluation methods and suitable heuristics and subheuristics needed in recognizing mobile-specific usability issues since existing checklists are either web-centered or developed for general mobile applications such as social media mobile applications and utility mobile applications, and not for mobile shopping applications. These existing checklists are incapable of identifying usability issues of mobile shopping applications; hence, this study aims to address these issues by developing a heuristic evaluation checklist for mobile shopping applications. The strategy employed in the evaluation comprises four phases: identifying problems and objectives, heuristic identification, heuristic evaluation checklist development, and heuristic checklist evaluation. Twelve domain experts verified the proposed heuristic evaluation checklist and data collected was analysed using the Fuzzy Delphi Method. The study successfully identified suitable heuristics and subheuristics that made up the proposed heuristic evaluation checklist. Subsequently, a heuristic evaluation was conducted by six domain experts comprising usability experts, software and mobile application developers, as well as mobile shopping application designers, and the results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed heuristic evaluation checklist in identifying significant usability issues in Shopee mobile shopping applications. Through the heuristic evaluation checklist, usability experts and analysts can direct a dynamically exact evaluation of online shopping applications. In the same method, software and mobile application developers as well as mobile shopping designers can logically design a usable interface following a set of usability standards that will meet users' satisfaction

Heuristic Evaluation for Mobile Groupware: Evaluating Two Audience Response Systems

In conferences, congresses and symposia, there are issues that may be handled by applications running in mobile devices. In these environments, Audience Response Systems can be used to increase iteration between participants. This paper aims to evaluate the usability of two Audience Response Systems, namely Simple Question and Voting, developed for collaborative proposals. We employed a set of 15 heuristics for mobile groupware evaluation, which includes three fundamental aspects of mobile groupware applications: HCI, mobilit y, and collabo ration. In the evaluation performed in this work, three specialists used the heuristics to evaluate both systems interfaces. The evaluation was conducted in three steps: (i) exploration of the system and its features; (ii) usability evaluation; (iii) consolidation of the collected data and reflection. The evaluation results of Simple Question and Voting indicated than both are in accordance with some usability aspects. However, we also identified common problems, such as non-appropriate communication methods, low coordination, and group management. Based on the results and experiences obtained over this evaluation, we argue that the heuristic set presented is applicable to evaluate mobile groupware usability.Keywords: heuristic evaluation, mobile groupware, usability