The value of comparative usability and UX evaluation for e-commerce organisations

The objective of this paper is to investigate the possible value of comparative user experience (UX) or usability evaluations for e-commerce organisations. Poor website usability has been identified as one of the main reasons why users abandon potential transactions. Appropriate evaluation of these sites is therefore essential. A problem with usability and UX evaluation is the lack of trust designers have in the evaluator’s recommendations due to the subjective nature thereof. This paper investigates the possible enhancement of the objectivity of such evaluations through cross-company comparative evaluations, so that designers can assess their design success against that of direct competitors in the market. We conducted an empirical, comparative evaluation of three similar organisations’ e-commerce websites using eye tracking as the primary data collection mechanism, and then demonstrated the potential value and usefulness of the outcomes

Using eye tracking as a tool to teach informatics students the importance of user centered design

In this article the authors describe how they incorporate eye tracking in a human-computer interaction (HCI) course that forms part of a postgraduate Informatics degree. The focus is on an eye tracking assignment that involves student groups performing usability evaluation studies for real world clients. Over the past three years the authors have observed how this experience positively affected students’ attitude towards usability and user experience (UX) evaluation. They therefore believe that eye tracking is a powerful tool to convince students of the importance of user centered design. To investigate the soundness of their informal observations, the authors conducted a survey amongst 2016 HCI students and analysed student course evaluation results from 2014 to 2016. The findings confirm that students regard the eye tracking assignment as a mind altering experience and that it is potentially an effective tool for convincing future IT professionals of the importance of usability, UX and user centered design.https://www.igi-global.com/journal/international-journal-information-communication-technology/1082am2018Informatic

Towards a methodology to conduct comparative inter-organisational usability evaluations

The competitive analysis of the usability of software products has been shown to be a useful tool to encourage the adoption of the user centred design philosophy within organisations. Furthermore, the enhanced usability of a customer facing software interface can be a source of competitive advantage for organisations. The usability of systems has also been shown to encourage the effective and efficient completion of tasks, which may have a significant influence on the operations of an organisation. With all this in mind, a methodology to compare the usability of software products between organisations may be useful. However, after a literature survey, no such methodology was found. This research study develops a methodology to conduct comparative inter-organisational usability evaluations, which is done with the use of design science research.Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2017.InformaticsMITUnrestricte