Interaction Rehearsal Technique or Heuristic Evaluation? Comparison of assessment procedures for a home appliance graphic user interface with emphasis on Information Design
Vanessa Macedo, Caio M. de A. e Silva, Rafaela L. Lemos, Maria Lúcia Leite Ribeiro Okimoto · 2013
This paper aimed to verify the suitability of the methods “Rehearsal Technique” with users and “Heuristic Evaluation” in the evaluation process of the usability of appliance’s control panel, during the product development process. Both methods were applied with the same goal, identify usability issues with emphasis on information design, and with the same product, a functional prototype of a washing and drying machine’s control panel. The heuristic evaluation was applied by three analysts, and the rehearsal technique, applied with ten participants. Each of the methods resulted on usability issues, which were evaluated by criticality and related to design fields. It was concluded that the heuristic evaluation allowed the verification of broader usability problems, early detecting about 85% of the issues identified on the rehearsal technique. However, the rehearsal technique enabled the identification of user feedback, as well as actual behaviors, and confirming some usability issues. Therefore, it is indicted the consideration of heuristic evaluation as a helpful strategy on evaluation of usability, not only as a preliminary evaluation for the usability test.