A taxonomy for website evaluation tools grounded on semiotic framework

Abstract

Taxonomies are valuable for providing a standardized way of cataloging elements into categories. In the context of website evaluation tools, providing a structured way for researchers and practitioners to compare and analyze existing solutions is valuable for identifying gaps/trends or to support well-informed decisions during development cycles (from planning to deployment). This paper proposes a taxonomy for classifying website evaluation tools grounded on Semiotic Framework, an artifact from Organizational Semiotics. The taxonomy is structured into 4 main dimensions (i.e., Participant-evaluator interaction; Effort; Automation type; Data source) and considers interaction and efforts involving UI evaluation stakeholders. From the proposed taxonomy, we expect to support consistent characterization of website evaluation tools.