Depth toolkit: a web-based tool for designing and executing usability evaluations of e-sites based on design patterns

  • Authors:

  • Petros Georgiakakis;Symeon Retalis;Yannis Psaromiligkos;George Papadimitriou

  • Affiliations:

  • University of Piraeus, Department of Technology Education and Digital Systems, Piraeus;University of Piraeus, Department of Technology Education and Digital Systems, Piraeus;Technological Education Institute of Piraeus, General Department of Mathematics, Computer Science Laboratory, Athens, Greece;University of Piraeus, Department of Technology Education and Digital Systems, Piraeus

  • Venue:
  • HCI'07 Proceedings of the 12th international conference on Human-computer interaction: interaction design and usability
  • Year:
  • 2007

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Abstract

This paper presents a tool that supports a scenario based expert evaluation method called DEPTH (usability evaluation method based on DEsign PaTterns & Heuristics criteria). DEPTH is a method for performing scenario-based heuristic usability evaluation of e-systems. DEPTH focuses on the functionality of e-systems and emphasizes on usability characteristics within their context. This can be done not only by examining not only the availability of a functionality within an e-system but also the usability performance of the supported functionality according to a specific context of use. The main underlying ideas of DEPTH are: i) to minimize the preparatory phase of a usability evaluation process and ii) to assist a novice usability expert (one who is not necessarily familiar with the genre of the e-system). Thus, we (re)use expert's knowledge captured in design patterns and structured as design pattern languages for the various genres of e-systems. This paper briefly describes the DEPTH method and presents the way a specially designed tool supports it along with the findings from an evaluation study.