A metric for hypertext usability
E. Babiker, Hiroko Fujihara, Craig D. B. Boyle · 1991
Many hypertext systems are currently available.Like arty other software system, the u~~bility evaluation of the system plays an important role in the design and use of the system.Many studies [17] have focused on evaluating only individual attributes of usability.Therefore, a metric for measuring overall usability of ihypertext system is needed.Such a metric unifies all individual evaluations into a single measure.It also helps designers identify problems that hinder users from effective use of their product.In addition, a metric provides a basis for comparison among hypertext systems.In this paper, a metric for evaluating usability of hypertext systems is presented.Our focus is on hypertext documentation systems.The metric is based on three important attributes which are important in any hypertext system: access and navigation, orientation, and user interaction.Each parameter is computed based on user performance time, key stroke time and error rate.The usability metric is applied to three different hypertext systems.Our testing has shown that the computed metric values approximate closely the user usability rating,