Human-Computer Interaction. Human-Centred Design Approaches, Methods, Tools, and Environments

Abstract

The purpose of this work focuses on the development of an environment that will is called ErgoIdentifier. This environment is responsible for performing automatic collection of websites' interaction elements and thus, support the usability evaluation process by presenting important features and routines for future usability evaluation automatic tools. The ErgoIdentifier will use the website's implementation code to automatically identify the elements of interaction of its pages. Once identified, these interaction elements must be mapped to the same key characteristics that may influence the usability as color, exact location on the page, size and format. So, this environment can also be used by the evaluator by presenting him/her initial basis for consideration. The Human Computer Interaction, or HCI, aims to provide developers ways of designing and evaluating systems in which there is interaction between user and system. Usability can be considered as a key concept within the context of HCI and is focused on creating systems that are easy to learn and use. Therefore, it is possible to assess the quality of interactive systems according to factors that define its designers as priority. The ErgoIdentifier provides overall overviews of the evaluation processes starting with an identification of the website's source code files and the web pages architecture. These information and the features of the interaction elements must be stored in a Database for presenting special resports to the evaluator. These reports should include the features of the interaction elements, number of repetition of specific ones, such as frames, icons and links. This proposed environment is composed by the following processes: (a) Website architecture definition; (b) Interaction Elements Definition; (c) Interaction Elements Visualization; and (d) XML Files Generation. So, the ErgoIdentifier will consist of a database containing information from the pages and elements of interaction that should be used in a usability evaluation process. It also contains forms for queries characteristics of pages and elements found on the website to be viewed through a terminal where the environment is installed. They can also be obtained this information using text file formats, HTML and XML that can be used as input for tools to support usability evaluation. Also, the proposition of the ErgoIdentifier is based on a stimulus for the design and development of other usability evaluation tools that would be using it as a basis for defining the website's architecture and also to have information about each webpage that are part of the website. Concerning the webpages, it is important that all of interaction elements should be automatically recognized and identified. This will allow the usability evaluation tools to be more efficient in their purpose as this task (interaction elements recognition) is no longer needed to be performed by the tool. We intend to develop specific tools that should present meaningful usability evaluation reports by using the ErgoIdentifier and also present this environment for the HCI community. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.