Application of quality in use model to assess the user experience of open source digital forensics tools

Abstract

Open source digital forensics tools are playing an important role for forensics investigations. So, there is a need to assess these tools to ensure they meet users' needs. The existing literature does not satisfy the requirements of assessing their quality-in-use. This paper assesses three most used digital forensics tools, namely autopsy, DFF, and DART using five quality-in use characteristics, namely, effectiveness, productivity, efficiency, error safety, and cognitive load. The results demonstrated that Autopsy, DFF, and DART performances are similar in terms of efficiency and productivity. DDF outperformed the other two in effectiveness. Autopsy was the best in terms of error safety, and DART had the highest cognitive load. The relevant community may consider these findings in selecting solutions to perform its duties. The future researches can involve more studies to encompass additional aspects of software quality, to compare open and closed source digital forensics programs and to enhance testing efforts.