E-commerce websites for developing countries – a usability evaluation framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodological usability evaluation approach for e-commerce websites in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach – A multi-faceted usability evaluation of three Jordanian e-commerce websites was used, where three usability methods (user testing, heuristic evaluation and web analytics) were applied to the sites. Findings – A four-step approach was developed to facilitate the evaluation of e-commerce sites, mindful of the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used in identifying specific usability problems. Research limitations/implications – The approach was developed and tested using Jordanian users, experts and e-commerce sites. The study compared the ability of the methods to detect problems that were present, however, usability issues not present on any of the sites could not be considered when creating the approach. Practical implications – The approach helps e-commerce retailers evaluate the usability of their websites and understand which usability method(s) best matches their need. Originality/value – This research proposes a new approach for evaluating the usability of e-commerce sites. A novel aspect is the use of web analytics (Google Analytics software) as a component in the usability evaluation in conjunction with heuristics and user testing

How Well Do Ontario Library Web Sites Meet New Accessibility Requirements?

New changes to Ontario law will require library web sites to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). This study evaluates 64 Ontario university, college, and public library web sites to see how well they comply with WCAG 2.0 guidelines at present. An average of 14.75 accessibility problems were found per web page. The most common problems included invalid html, poor color contrast, incorrect form controls and labels, missing alt text, bad link text, improper use of headings, using html to format pages, using absolute units of measure, and issues with tables and embedded objects

Usability testing in a library web site redesign project

An intuitive library information gateway is critical to meeting the information needs of library users in the digital age. This article describes the process involved in redesigning a library Web site. In addition to first determining the goals and requirements for the library Web site, a user and task analysis was conducted for defining the library\u27s user base and types of tasks which users might be performing at the site. Usability testing methods, such as observational interviews, provided fresh insights about how users are interacting with the library Web interface as they approach various information seeking tasks. These usability studies uncovered problems related to unclear terminology, proper use of color, size and location of navigational links, and the need for context sensitive help, built-in redundancy, and clear and consistent navigation

Web-Based Student Processes at Community Colleges: Removing Barriers to Access

Colleges and universities are making extensive use of the Internet for collecting admission and financial aid applications. Benefits from online application services are enjoyed by both the educational institution and the prospec¬tive student who applies online. It is vital that web sites offering these services be made accessible so that students with disabilities are afforded the same benefits of online applications as their non-disabled peers. Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute was funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to conduct a project with the following three objectives: 1) survey student services professionals at community colleges to examine the extent of use of the internet for providing services and the awareness of internet accessibility issues, 2) evaluate a sample of community college websites for accessibility and usability by students with and without disabilities, and 3) develop a toolkit for improving access to internet-based services at community colleges

Towards Developing an Online Social Media-based Mobile Learning System

The advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet revolution gave rise to the several learning technologies on the web and mobile platform. During the last decade, the social media network became available for users to socialise and collaborate among peer group. Hence, The integration of e-learning and social media using mobile device as access point is to allow for learning and collaboration anytime, anywhere. This study seeks to provide learning on the social network platform for users to view the application on a mobile device and also foster collaboration among scholars. The system was developed using an open source Content Management System (CMS) Wordpress and Buddypress running on a WAMP or XAMPP server. MySQL was used as database. The usability of the System on the different mobile devices used was evaluated by identifying the usability attributes; designing a questionnaire based on those attributes and then analyzing the results with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results showed that the learning system had a good usability score on mobile device

Issues in Evaluating Health Department Web-Based Data Query Systems: Working Papers

Compiles papers on conceptual and methodological topics to consider in evaluating state health department systems that provide aggregate data online, such as taxonomy, logic models, indicators, and design. Includes surveys and examples of evaluations

The assessment of usability of electronic shopping: A heuristic evaluation

Today there are thousands of electronic shops accessible via the Web. Some provide user-friendly features whilst others seem not to consider usability factors at all. Yet, it is critical that the electronic shopping interface is user-friendly so as to help users to obtain their desired results. This study applied heuristic evaluation to examine the usability of current electronic shopping. In particular, it focused on four UK-based supermarkets offering electronic services: including ASDA, Iceland, Sainsbury, and Tesco. The evaluation consists of two stages: a free-flow inspection and a task-based inspection. The results indicate that the most significant and common usability problems have been found to lie within the areas of ‘User Control and Freedom’ and ‘Help and Documentation’. The findings of this study are applied to develop a set of usability guidelines to support the future design of effective interfaces for electronic shopping

The usability of open source software: analysis and prospects

Open source communities have successfully developed many pieces of software although most computer users only use proprietary applications. The usability of open source software is often regarded as one reason for this limited distribution. In this paper we review the existing evidence of the usability of open source software and discuss how the characteristics of open-source development influence usability. We describe how existing human-computer interaction techniques can be used to leverage distributed networked communities, of developers and users, to address issues of usability

Towards successful e-Payment systems: An empirical identification and analysis of critical factors

This research aims to explore the factors relating to e-payment system to be implemented where electronic processes enable the facilitation of online transactions. A secondary analysis revealed six factors which are argued to be ‘critical’ for customer adoption of these systems. The findings were further augmented by an online survey of 155 respondents where the perceived importance of the critical factors were correlated through: security, trust, perceived advantage, assurance seals, perceived risk and usability. The results demonstrate that three of the critical factors were necessary (security, advantage, web assurance seals) and three were relatively sufficient (perceived risk, trust and usability) through customer intentions to adopt an e-payment system. The study provides a valid overall awareness that these critical factors are important in designing a successful e-payment system