Usability Evaluation of User Interfaces with the Computer-aided Evaluation Tool PRO-KUS
Gert Zülch, Sascha Stowasser · 2000
1 Necessity and occasions to evaluate the usability of software Because of the increasing use of data processing in all fields in human life (e.g. work, education, leisure) the attention to a user-friendly software design is rising more and more. The quality and acceptance of an interactive human-computer system highly depends on the ergonomic design of the user interface. In the past, ergonomic aspects were often neglected when developing software and information systems. Thus, many users complain about the troubles in learning to use a software product or its insufficient functionality and complexity of interactions. Once the user gets dissatisfied with a software product, a dialogue system or an accessible interface, this dissatisfaction dominates the functionality and the productivity of the system. ISO 9241-10 "Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs), Part 10: Dialogue Principles " describes seven general ergonomic principles, which are independent from any specific dialogue technique. They are presented in this standard without any references to situations of application, use, environment,