Usability context analysis for virtual reality training in South African mines

• Authors: Etienne van Wyk;Ruth de Villiers
• Venue: Proceedings of the 2008 annual research conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists on IT research in developing countries: riding the wave of technology
• Year: 2008

The usability of any tool or system has to be viewed in terms of the context in which it is used, and its appropriateness to that context. According to the ISO definition of usability, the context of use includes the users, tasks, equipment (hardware, software and materials), and the physical and social environments in which a product is used. Context analysis provides a framework to ensure that all factors which may affect the usability of a product are considered. Safety in the South African mining industry is a vital issue. On average, one worker dies every working day, and about 16 are injured in mine-related accidents. Inadequate or insufficient training is often cited as a root cause for many mining fatalities. However, training outside the direct working environment provides only limited real-life opportunities and may fail to make a significant impact within the tense working environment itself. Virtual reality-based training tools can, by contrast, provide simulated exposure to real-world working conditions without the associated risks. This paper discusses contextual analysis for virtual reality (VR) application development, applied to safety training in mines. This contextual analysis has been conducted to contribute to the usability of future system design. It also provides a basis for designing subsequent usability evaluations. The results of the context analysis were applied to the design of a prototype, which was used and evaluated at two large platinum mines.