Empirical Assessments of a tool to support Web usability inspection

Abstract

Usability is one of the most important software quality attributes regarding its acceptability by end users. It is even more important in the context of Web applications. One way of evaluating application usability is through inspections. The WDP (Web Design Perspectives- based Usability Inspection Technique) presents evidence of industrial use feasibility; however some computerized support had been suggested by practitioners. Therefore, the WDP Tool was built, aiming to provide automated support the WDP technique application, reducing the effort involved in usability inspections with WDP. This paper presents two observational studies regarding the use of the WDP Tool use, one in vivo and one in vitro, which aimed to analyze the cost-effectiveness of its application and its appropriateness to the industrial environment through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The results provide indications about the feasibility of using the WDP Tool to support usability inspections in real software development projects in the industry.