Ergonomic evaluation of the portal of the repository in the health area of UNIFESP: Proposal of specifications and ergonomic recommendations for its interface

Abstract

The Internet, together with the Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICT), make it possible to create digital documents (DD) that are responsible for the preservation of cultural heritage, dissemination of information and strengthen the construction of knowledge. These DD allow a wide production, dissemination and preservation of information and, with the help of DICT, enable the communication between researchers and scientists, especially regarding the sharing of research results. Digital repositories are informational environments for managing and controlling the scientific and academic production of institutions and/or communities. They offer advantages such as unrestricted access, data interoperability and long-term information preservation. However, they may have gaps such as browsing failures, poor usability and accessibility, limited searches, poor disclosure of the environment, and little or no use of customizable services. In 2015, the institutional digital repository of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) was implemented the digital repository in the health area of UNIFESP (RDUNIFESP). Their construction was not user-centered, prototyping tests were not performed, the authors felt difficulty in their navigation and, therefore, it is important to apply an ergonomic evaluation in the RDUNIFESP using the inspection techniques and usability tests, with the objective of supporting users in the development of their activities in a productive, intuitive and safe way. In this way, this work will evaluate and identify points of suitability and inadequacy of usability in RDUNIFESP, and propose specifications and ergonomic recommendations and contribute to the improvement of its interface.