Customized usability engineering for a solar control unit: Adapting traditional methods to domain and project constraints

Abstract

This paper describes the adaption and customization of usability engineering methods for the interface design of a solar control unit. The design of a nontraditional interface, constrained access to representative users and a lack of common interface standards were domain-related issues to overcome. Due to limited resources, a Guerilla HCI approach was established. Traditional low-cost methods like prototyping and simplified usability testing were applied and adapted to fit in the domain-specific context. Good feedback indicates suitability of modified discount methods in the new domain. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.