Usability assessment of electronic records management systems via heuristic walkthrough method

Abstract

Electronic Records Management Systems (ERMS) have become the basic need of modern and democratic institutions today with the functions of creating, editing, querying, classifying, authorizing access and archiving processes. Minimum capabilities and functions of an ERMS is specified by TS 13298 standard in Turkey. However, this standard does not include the required criteria for usability. ERMS software are managed and used by humans, so the usability should be considered from the beginning of software development life cycle by IT professionals and ERMS should be tested periodically in terms of usability in the development, purchasing, certification and usage process. The purpose of this research is to explain how the “Heuristic Walkthrough” test method, which is frequently applied in the field of software usability, can be applied on ERMS, the types of information that can be gathered via this method and the benefits of the test. In the research, the list of usability criteria (heuristics) obtained as a result of the literature review was taken as reference, and the Hacettepe University ERMS system was analyzed by the Heuristic Walkthrough method. The method described in this research can be used by software developers, institutions and certification authorities to identify factors affecting the usability of the ERMS, to correct problematic interface elements and to provide input for purchasing decisions.