Usability engineering for GIS: learning from a screenshot

In this paper, the focus is on the concept of Usability Engineering for GIS – a set of techniques and methods that are especially suitable for evaluating the usability of GIS applications – which can be deployed as part of the development process. To demonstrate how the framework of Usability Engineering for GIS can be used in reality, a screenshot study is described. Users were asked to provide a screenshot of their GIS during their working day. The study shows how a simple technique can help in understanding the way GIS is used in situ

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

Introduction to the new usability

This paper introduces the motivation for and concept of the "new usability" and positions it against existing approaches to usability. It is argued that the contexts of emerging products and systems mean that traditional approaches to usability engineering and evaluation are likely to prove inappropriate to the needs of "digital consumers." The paper briefly reviews the contributions to this special issue in terms of their relation to the idea of the "new usability" and their individual approaches to dealing with contemporary usability issues. This helps provide a background to the "new usability" research agenda, and the paper ends by posing what are argued to be the central challenges facing the area and those which lie at the heart of the proposed research agenda

Understanding spatial data usability

In recent geographical information science literature, a number of researchers have made passing reference to an apparently new characteristic of spatial data known as 'usability'. While this attribute is well-known to professionals engaged in software engineering and computer interface design and testing, extension of the concept to embrace information would seem to be a new development. Furthermore, while notions such as the use and value of spatial information, and the diffusion of spatial information systems, have been the subject of research since the late-1980s, the current references to usability clearly represent something which extends well beyond that initial research. Accordingly, the purposes of this paper are: (1) to understand what is meant by spatial data usability; (2) to identify the elements that might comprise usability; and (3) to consider what the related research questions might be

FRONT-END WEBSITE SYSTEM UNTUK MENINGKATKAN USABILITY LMS MOODLE DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE HUMAN-CENTERED SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Dalam menjalankan elearning, dibutuhkan platform atau alat, salah satunya adalah dengan menggunakan Learning Management System (LMS) Moodle. Kendala yang dihadapi dalam lingkungan korporasi adalah kurangnnya motivasi dari pengguna yang disebabkan kurangnya daya guna (usability) LMS Moodle itu sendiri. Usability menurut ISO 9241-11 adalah tingkat di mana sebuah produk digunakan oleh pengguna tertentu untuk mencapai tujuan tertentu dengan efektif, efisien, dan memperoleh kepuasan dalam lingkup penggunaannya. Oleh karena itu penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan LMS Moodle dari sisi usability dengan studi kasus pada perusahaan Comlabs USDI ITB dan PT Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII). Diharapkan pengguna elearning dapat lebih fokus untuk mempelajari konten yang terdapat di dalam elearning tanpa harus terganggu dengan antarmuka yang kurang userfriendly. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Human-Centered Software Engineering yang di dalamnya terdapat dua tahapan. Pada tahap pengukuran, metode yang digunakan adalah pendekatan Usability Engineering dengan teknik query. Teknik query ini menggunakan butir-butir pernyataan yang sudah dipakai sebagai standar pengujian usability yaitu CSUQ (Computer Study Usability Questionnaire). Setelah itu untuk mengembangkan perangkat lunak yang dapat meningkatkan tingkat usability dari LMS Moodle digunakan metode Rational Unified Prosess (RUP). Dari hasil pengujian didapatkan bahwa perangkat lunak yang dikembangkan dengan nama Front-End Website System (FEW) dapat meningkatkan penggunaan LMS Moodle dengan tingkat usability mencapai kenaikan sebesar 20%. Kata Kunci: Front-End Website System, Human-Centered Software Engineering, Usability Engineering, Rational Unified Process, Moodle, Elearning, CSUQ In order to run an elearning system, the user need a tools or platform, one of them is Moodle as Learning Management System (LMS). In corporate environments the obstacle when a company use an elearning system is the less motivated employee due to bad usability of the LMS itself. From ISO 9241-11 usability is the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use. Therefore, this study aims to improve the Moodle LMS in terms of usability with a case study on the company Comlabs USDI ITB and PT Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII). The expected result from this research is to make user of the elearning become more focus to learn the content without disturbed by not user friendly interface. This research using Human-Centered Software Engineering method which is have two steps in its development. Usability Engineering method with query technique was used when measure usability level. Query technique consist of questions based on Computer Study Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) that has been standard for evaluating usability. Rational Unified Process (RUP) has been chosen as software engineering method for developing system which can improve usability Moodle LMS. In this research the result showed that the system which has been developed and called Front-End Website System (FEW) can improve Moodle LMS usability and reached 20% increments. Keywords: Front-End Website System, Human-Centered Software Engineering, Usability Engineering, Rational Unified Process, Moodle, Elearning, CSU

Usability Engineering and PPGIS - Towards a Learning-improving Cycle

July 21 - 2

Integrating Software Engineering and Usability Engineering

The usability of products gains in importance not only for the users of a system but also for manufacturing organizations. According to Jokela, the advantages for users are far-reaching and include increased productivity, improved quality of work, and increased user satisfaction. Manufacturers also profit significantly through a reduction of support an

Usability-Metriken als Nachweis der Wirtschaftlichkeit von Verbesserungen der Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstelle

Die Gestaltung von Benutzerschnittstellen ist ausschlaggebend für die Akzeptanz eines Software-Systems. Methoden des Usability Engineering zielen auf die Entwicklung von Systemen mit möglichst hoher ergonomischer Güte sowie aufgabengerechter Funktionalität. Usability-Metriken werden im Projekt-Controlling dazu benutzt, um zu bewerten, inwieweit die Anwendung von Methoden des Usability Engineering in existierenden Entwicklungsprozessen zu einer verbesserten Bedieneffizienz und Nutzerakzeptanz führt. Der wirtschaftliche Fokus liegt - sofern solche Aspekte überhaupt in die Motivation zur Erhebung von Usability-Metriken einfließen - oftmals nur auf einem einzigen, monetär erfassbaren Faktor, wie zum Beispiel dem Return on Investment (RoI). Dagegen fehlt bisher eine grundlegendere Motivation zur Verdeutlichung der Korrelation zwischen den Methoden des Usability Engineering und der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Perspektive eines Softwareprojekts. Dieser Beitrag soll die Verknüpfung zwischen der Usability und Wirtschaftlichkeit eines Systems aufzeigen und motivieren. Die geeignete Methodik der Wahl für diese Aufgabe sind Usability-Metriken