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Full-Text Articles in Computer Engineering
Usability Inspection Methods After 15 Years Of Research And Practice, David G. Novick, Tasha Hollingsed
Usability Inspection Methods After 15 Years Of Research And Practice, David G. Novick, Tasha Hollingsed
Departmental Papers (CS)
Usability inspection methods, such as heuristic evaluation, the cognitive walkthrough, formal usability inspections, and the pluralistic usability walkthrough, were introduced fifteen years ago. Since then, these methods, analyses of their comparative effectiveness, and their use have evolved in different ways. In this paper, we track the fortunes of the methods and analyses, looking at which led to use and to further research, and which led to relative methodological dead ends. Heuristic evaluation and the cognitive walkthrough appear to be the most actively used and researched techniques. The pluralistic walkthrough remains a recognized technique, although not the subject of significant further …
Toward A More Accurate View Of When And How People Seek Help With Computer Applications, David G. Novick, Edith Elizalde, Nathaniel Bean
Toward A More Accurate View Of When And How People Seek Help With Computer Applications, David G. Novick, Edith Elizalde, Nathaniel Bean
Departmental Papers (CS)
Based on 40 interviews and 11 on-site workplace observations of people using computer applications at work, we confirm that use of printed and on-line help is very low and find that providing greater detail of categories solution methods can present a more realistic picture of users’ behaviors. Observed study participants encountered a usability problem on average about once every 75 minutes and typically spent about a minute looking for a solution. Participants consumed much more time when they were unaware of a direct way of doing something and instead used less effective methods. Comparison of results from different data-collection methods …