Optimizing usability testing in the context of a large-scale software service for digital textbooks

Abstract

The adoption of digital textbooks in education has steadily increased. This paper reports on the initiative Digi4School aiming to provide a large-scale software service for digital textbooks. Since the usability of this service is of particular concern, it is the subject of a design science research project with the goal to investigate two artifacts: (1) an optimized method for usability testing and (2) a fully-functional software service for delivering digital textbooks to users with heterogeneous IT background. We conclude that a combination of usability tests and the use of a questionnaire including closed and open-ended questions is recommended. Furthermore, both novice and expert users should evaluate a system's usability with iterations until the usability measures reach a satisfactory level for all users. This was achieved for Digi4School. Such an approach has the potential to identify and eliminate flaws that prevent users from adopting the system.