A Usability Problem Inspection Tool: Development and Formative Evaluation

• Main Author: Colaso, Vikrant
• Other Authors: Computer Science
• Format: Others
• Published: Virginia Tech 2014
• Subjects: UAF; UEM; Usability evaluation method; UPI; UPI tool
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33145; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05232003-143928/

Usability inspection methods of user interaction designs have gained importance as an alternative to traditional laboratory-based testing methods because of their cost-effectiveness. However, methods like the heuristic evaluation are ad-hoc, lacking a theoretical foundation. Other, more formal approaches like the cognitive walkthrough are tedious to perform and operate at a high-level, making it difficult to sub-classify problems. This research involves the development and formative evaluation of the Usability Problem Inspection tool â a cost-effective, structured, flexible usability inspection tool that uses the User Action Framework as an underlying knowledge base. This tool offers focused inspections guided by a particular task or a combination of tasks. It is also possible to limit the scope of inspection by applying filters or abstracting lower level details. === Master of Science