Tracking the Effectiveness of Usability Evaluation Methods.

Abstract

We present a case study that tracks usability problems predicted with six usability evaluation methods (Claims Analysis, Cognitive Walkthrough, GOMS, Heuristic Evaluation, User Action Notation, and simply reading the specification) through a development process. We assess the methods predictive power by comparing the predictions to the results of user tests. We assess the methods persuasive power by seeing how many problems led to changes in the implemented code. We assess design-change effectiveness by user testing the resulting new versions of the system. We conclude that predictive methods are not as effective as the HCI field would like and discuss directions for future research.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 12, 1996
Accession Number
ADA317580

Entities

People

  • Bonnie E. John
  • Steven J. Marks

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Case Studies
  • Cognitive Systems Engineering
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Drosophila
  • Engineering
  • Hard Copy
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Language
  • Mathematical Models
  • Programming Languages
  • Psychology
  • Software Development
  • Task Performance And Analysis
  • User Interface
  • Word Processors

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Software Engineering.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.