Usability evaluations in user-centred design

Improving usability of consumer applications has been the focus of much research. Estimating the advantage of these efforts, however, still is very cumbersome since evaluating product improvements in terms of their usability requires good measuring methods and tools. In this paper activities in the search of practical evaluation tools are reported. Based on a literature study, a state-of-the-art database on usability evaluation tools was constructed. Interviews with human-factors specialists and ergonomists helped to identify the important characteristics of usability evaluations in practice. With these characteristics all tools described in our database were weighted and further specified. Through an advice tool, the knowledge gathered in this database was made accessible. With the use of hit ratios the best possible solution in the form of a usability evaluation tool was sought for the given evaluation constraints. Based on the relative comparison of the available tools in our database, we were able to identify several evaluation contexts that require more adequate tools. This resulted in the definition of several action points in the construction of new usability evaluation tools.