A Usability Testing Approach to Evaluate User-Interfaces in Business Administration

Authors: Salaheddin Odeh, Ibrahim O. Adwan

Abstract:

This interdisciplinary study is an investigation to evaluate user-interfaces in business administration. The study is going to be implemented on two computerized business administration systems with two distinctive user-interfaces, so that differences between the two systems can be determined. Both systems, a commercial and a prototype developed for the purpose of this study, deal with ordering of supplies, tendering procedures, issuing purchase orders, controlling the movement of the stocks against their actual balances on the shelves and editing them on their tabulations. In the second suggested system, modern computer graphics and multimedia issues were taken into consideration to cover the drawbacks of the first system. To highlight differences between the two investigated systems regarding some chosen standard quality criteria, the study employs various statistical techniques and methods to evaluate the users- interaction with both systems. The study variables are divided into two divisions: independent representing the interfaces of the two systems, and dependent embracing efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, error rate etc.

Keywords: Evaluation and usability testing, software prototyping, statistical methods, user-interface design.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1055154

References:

[1] I. Sommerville, Software Engineering (8th Edition). Addison Wesley, pp. 20-42, 2007.
[2] E. A. Hartmann and A. Westerwick, "Shopfloor Systems Based on Human Skill and Experience," in Proc. 7th IFAC/IFIP/IFORS/IEA Symposium on Analysis; Design and Evaluation of Man-Machine Systems, Kyoto, Japan, Sept. 16-18, 1998.
[3] A. Dix, J. Finlay, G. Abowd, R. Beale, Human Computer Interaction, 2nd Edition.Prentice Hall - Europe, 1998.
[4] H. Yajima, Y. Yoshikawa, M. Tamano, R. Itsuki and T. Hirose, "Information Integration of Heterogeneous Multimedia Information for Strategic Planning System," in Proc. of the 7th International Federation of Automatic Control - Man Machine Systems (IFAC-MMS). KYOTO, JAPAN, September, 16-18, 1998.
[5] R. G. Bias and D. J. Mayhew, Cost-Justifying Usability: An Update for the Internet Age. Morgan Kaufmann, Elsevier, pp. 19, 2005.
[6] S. Lauesen, User Interface Design: A software Engineering Perspective. Harlow: England: Pearson-Addison-Wesley, 2005, pp. 41-66.
[7] ISO 13407: Human-centered design processes for interactive systems (Online). Available: http://www.usabilitynet.org/tools/13407stds
[8] Y. Dodge, The Concise Encyclopedia of Statistics. Springer, 2008.
[9] P. L. Gardner, "Discusses assumptions of the t-test," Scales and Statistics: Review of Educational Research, vol. 45, pp. 43-57, 1975.
[10] R. Johanson and G. Bhattacharyhya, Statistics Principles and Methods. 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1996.
[11] J. P. Chin, V. A. Diehl and K. L. Norman, K. L. ÔÇ×Development of an instrument measuring user satisfaction of the human-computer interface," in proc. of CHI -88 human factors in computing systems, pp. 213-218, New York: ACM Press, 1988.
[12] SUMI: Software Usability Measurement Inventory (Online). Available: http://sumi.ucc.ie/whatis.html
[13] MUMMS: Measuring the Usability of Multi-Media Software (Online). Available: http://www.ucc.ie/hfrg/questionnaires/mumms/index.html
[14] 12 J. R. Lewis, "IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction Questionnaires: Psychometric Evaluation and Instructions for Use," International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 57-78, 1995
[15] A. A. Ozok, "Survey design and implementation in HCI," in handbook The Human-Computer Interaction Handbook Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies, and Emerging Applications, 2nd ed., A. Sears and J. Jacko, Ed. New Yoork: Taylor & Francis Group, 2008, pp. 1151-1169.
[16] N. A. Streitz, "Cognitive compatibility as a central issue in humancomputer interaction: Theoretical framework and empirical findings", in G. Salvendy (Ed.), Cognitive engineering in the design of humancomputer interaction and expert systems. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1987, pp. 75-82.
[17] M. B. Rosson, S. Maass, W. A. Kellog, "The designer as user: Building requirements for design tools from design practice," Communications of the ACM, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 1288-97, 1989.
[18] K. Weidehhaupt, K. Pohl, M. Jarke and P. Haumer, "Scenarios in system development," Current practice. IEEE Software, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 34- 45, 1998.
[19] I. Adwan, "Applying and developing usability engineering for the administration of Procurement and Warehousing Processes in "UNRWA" by Using the Software package - (Reality)," MBA thesis, Institute Business and Economic Studies, Al-Quds Univ., Abu Dies, Jerusalem, 2006.
[20] ISO 9241-11: Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs) - Part 11: Guidance on usability, 1998.
[21] B. Shneiderman, C. Plaisant, Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction. 4th Edition, Addison Wesley Longman, 2004.
[22] K. Bohmann. (2000, July 4). User Performance Metrics (Online). Available: http://www.bohmann.dk/articles/user_performance_metrics.html
[23] J. Pallant, SPSS Survival Manual: A Step By Step Guide to Data Analysis Using SPSS for Windows, Open University Press, 2007.
[24] M. B. Rosson and J. M. Carroll, Usability Engineering: Scenario-Based Development of Human-Computer Interaction, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2002.
[25] J. M. Caroll, Making Use: Scenario-Based Design of Human-Computer Interactions, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2000.
[26] M. B. Rosson, S. Maass and W. A. Kellog, "The designer as user: Building requirements for design tools from design practice," Communications of the ACM, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 1288-97, 1989.