Reverse Engineering of Content as a Task for Finding Usability Problems: An Evaluative Case Study using the Wikibreathe Tool for Online Creation of Asthma Action Plans

• Main Author: Wan, Flora
• Other Authors: Chignell, Mark
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Reverse Engineering; Usability; Human Factors; Asthma Action Plan; 0546
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/18989

After formulating the problem and reviewing relevant research literature, a study was performed that compared reverse engineering with traditional scenario-based techniques in usability evaluation. In this case study, an online tool for creating asthma action plans was created and evaluated through questionnaires and focus groups. The tool was then tested in a controlled study using both a traditional scenario-based approach and the reverse engineering method. A group of twelve users built asthma action plans using each method in a randomized order. Results concerning usability, efficiency and the types of usability problems found were reported, along with recommendations for further research in the use of reverse engineering as a method of usability evaluation.