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The purpose of this research is to compare the results of two different usability techniques in evaluating the Web of Science interface.

At first three human factors experts conducted a heuristic evaluation with the interface. Then, usability testing was conducted with 22 students recruited from various departments at Loughborough University, UK.

A comparison of these techniques showed that heuristic evaluation revealed qualitative information whereas usability testing uncovered mostly quantitative data about usability of the interface. Although heuristic evaluation found more problems than usability testing, it also identified complementary information.

This paper recommends applying multiple usability techniques to ensure comprehensiveness in evaluating IR interfaces.

This paper shows that using multiple usability techniques resulted in a high degree of comprehensiveness in evaluating IR user interfaces.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodological usability evaluation approach for e‐commerce websites in developing countries.

A multi‐faceted usability evaluation of three Jordanian e‐commerce websites was used, where three usability methods (user testing, heuristic evaluation and web analytics) were applied to the sites.

A four‐step approach was developed to facilitate the evaluation of e‐commerce sites, mindful of the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used in identifying specific usability problems.

The approach was developed and tested using Jordanian users, experts and e‐commerce sites. The study compared the ability of the methods to detect problems that were present, however, usability issues not present on any of the sites could not be considered when creating the approach.

The approach helps e‐commerce retailers evaluate the usability of their websites and understand which usability method(s) best matches their need.

This research proposes a new approach for evaluating the usability of e‐commerce sites. A novel aspect is the use of web analytics (Google Analytics software) as a component in the usability evaluation in conjunction with heuristics and user testing.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usability of the National Library of Turkey website developed for all citizens in the country to retrieve information available in a wide range of areas.

The evaluation performed by 57 undergraduate university students involved the identification and analysis of usability problems in the selected website. The assessment process was mainly based on Nielsen’s Heuristics. The data obtained in the evaluation process were enriched using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to conduct a more detailed analysis.

The participants identified many usability problems concerning the evaluated website and considered it as having low usability characteristics. The most violated heuristic item was found to be “consistency and standards” whereas the least violated heuristic item was “match between system and the real world.” The total number of the usability problems in heuristic evaluation correlated significantly and negatively with the SUS and the NPS results indicating that the more participants identified usability problems, the less they considered the website as usable and recommendable.

The participants were not usability experts, however they were selected from among the students who received the Human Computer Interaction course to ensure that they had sufficient information and experience concerning the evaluation of a website with heuristics. Besides, the study was limited to a small number of university students. The implication is that results of this study have potential to guide libraries, which plan to adapt themselves to the digital world by delivering web services, by addressing critical points influencing users’ points of views toward library websites and their usability evaluation result.

Depending on the changes in user habits regarding the retrieval of information, libraries have made considerable investments in web technologies to meet their users’ demands, and recently, digital libraries have begun to take over physical libraries. Users always need to perform tasks efficiently, effectively and satisfactorily when using websites. As one of the most crucial sources of digital materials, library websites are expected to have usable characteristics that satisfactorily meet user requirements. Therefore, the practical implication is that the findings of the study will guide designers, developers and practitioners in the development of library websites.

In the context of usability evaluation of digital libraries, this is the first study to analyze effects of usability problems identified by users during the heuristic inspection on their overall evaluation score and willingness to recommend the website to their friends or colleagues.

The purpose of the paper is to present usability heuristics for the evaluation of public library web services.

Heuristics for library services are based on Nielsen's classical list of heuristics and results of previous usability research of library web services. A total of 15 public library web sites were evaluated on the basis of these applied heuristics. One part of the study was supported through usability tests. The results of these studies were utilized to evaluate the applied heuristics.

The applied heuristics are divided into three categories: heuristics critical from the usability viewpoint; heuristics concerning major problems; and heuristics connected to minor usability problems but still important and concerning conventions of web design. The use of the heuristics and the results they give are evaluated to provide a basis for their use in future.

The applied heuristics lists have been tested in two different studies, and the combined list based on them has so far been utilized in practical evaluation, but has not been formally tested.

The heuristics for library web services presented in this paper can be applied to usability evaluation of public library web services.

Library web sites should be user friendly, because the services are meant for all citizens. The applied heuristics for public library web services provide a starting point for usability evaluation that can be continued with other methods.

This study aims to evaluate the interface of the mobile Centralized Doctor Appointment System (CDAS), the largest mobile e-government health application developed in Turkey to allow citizens to make medical appointments at public hospitals.

A total of 40 information systems engineers took part in the study. The evaluation process was mainly based on Nielsen’s heuristics. The data obtained in the evaluation process were enriched using system usability scale to conduct a more detailed analysis.

Based on the findings, problems related to the usability of the evaluated mobile health application were identified. The most violated heuristic items were found to be “error prevention” and “user control and freedom”, whereas the least violated heuristic item was “consistency and standards”. The participants generally categorized the usability problems they identified as “minor” or “major” according to their severity.

As a developing country, Turkey has made considerable investment in mobile e-government applications in recent years. It is equally important that mobile e-government services provided by public institutions have features that make these applications effective, efficient and satisfying for citizens. Therefore, the usability of mobile health applications in government services needs to be researched to improve their effectiveness and guide authorities, practitioners and designers.

The purpose of this paper is to statistically explore the relationship between web usability and web presence of the universities. As a case study, five Turkish universities in different rankings which were selected from Webometrics rankings were evaluated and compared.

Two different methods were employed for performing usability evaluation of the selected universities: a user testing was used to measure the user performance on the selected tasks and a questionnaire to assess the user satisfaction on the website use. Both usability evaluation methods were applied on the pre-determined tasks for each university by participation of 20 subjects. After the usability evaluation, the universities were ranked in terms of usability results and finally, the relationship between web usability and web presence of universities was statistically investigated by using Kendall’s rank correlation.

Several common usability problems which were asserted by related previous studies were identified at the end of usability evaluation of university websites. The usability results also revealed that selected Turkish university websites suffer from numerous usability problems. Further, a strong positive correlation (p < 0.05) between the usability of the university websites and their web presences were identified. Hence, the participants showed a higher success and satisfaction while performing the tasks on the university websites which have strong web presences.

The findings from this study have practical implications for universities. Correlation results showed that universities can improve their web usability by giving importance to their web presence volumes. Universities can estimate their web usability levels by investigating their web presence rankings and they can also raise their rankings in Webometrics ranking system by improving the usability of their websites. Moreover, university web developers can design more usable and more user-friendly websites by avoiding usability and design problems identified through usability evaluation.

Different from the prior research efforts focussing on usability of educational web pages, this study contributes to the growing literature by statistically exploring the relationship between web presence and web usability of universities. This study is also precious from the point of view that it is one of the first attempts to evaluate and compare usability levels of a set of universities’ websites from Turkey.

To address the key problem of lack of use in the advancement of open government data (OGD) portals from the aspect of good usability, which is an essential prerequisite to the acceptance and usage of a portal, this paper aims to develop a usability framework including design principles and criteria for OGD portals and to discover problems in the present usability design.

This study builds the usability framework by extending usability principles for general websites to address the specific needs of OGD portals. Criteria for each principle are developed accordingly based on the literature. A comparative heuristic evaluation involving five expert evaluators and 13 Chinese province-level OGD portals has been carried out to test the capability of the usability framework.

A usability framework with 24 principles and 63 criteria has been built. The heuristic evaluation shows OGD portals performed better in meeting general principles than the OGD portals specific ones. Insufficient help functions weakened OGD portals' usability. Similarities and differences were found of Chinese OGD portals compared with similar studies in the United States.

This paper proposed a usability framework for OGD portals and proved its capability in recognizing usability problems and its causes by carrying out a comparative heuristic evaluation in China. By comparing the evaluation results with other studies in the United States, the findings and lessons learnt in this study can thus be shared across international borders.

As hospital operations are undergoing major changes, comprehensive methods are needed for evaluating the indoor environment quality (IEQ) and usability of workspaces in hospital buildings. The purpose of this paper is to present a framework of the characteristics that have an impact on the usability of work environments for hospital renovations, and to use this framework to illustrate the usability evaluation process in the real environment.

The usability of workspaces in hospital environments was evaluated in two hospitals, as an extension of the IEQ survey. The evaluation method was usability walk-through. The main aim was to determine the usability characteristics of hospital facility workspaces that support health, safety, good indoor air quality, and work flow.

The facilities and workspaces were evaluated by means of four main themes: orientation, layout solution, working conditions, and spaces for patients. The most significant usability flaws were cramped spaces, noise/acoustic problems, faulty ergonomics, and insufficient ventilation. Due to rooms being cramped, all furnishing directly caused functionality and safety problems in these spaces.

The paper proposes a framework that links different design characteristics to the usability of hospital workspaces that need renovation.

By reporting the experience gained in the development of a digital image library in the academic environment, this paper aims at providing perspective developers with insights on the main usability issues raised by this type of project.

The paper addresses three common needs in academia with respect to image collections: preservation, access, and reuse. In the framework of the specific project experience, it discusses how usability issues have been tackled at design time, highlights the usability problems revealed by tests on the first implemented prototype, and advances proposals on how these problems may be addressed.

Team formation and high turn‐over impact usability design; collection management functionalities effect final product usability; usability and resource reuse levels are severely reduced if the services are limited to those of classic digital libraries.

All usability issues are discussed with respect to the specific project characterized by a small, in‐house development team with high turn‐over; a participatory design approach; a fairly small, accessible, and heterogeneous user (and stakeholder) population; very limited financial resources but also limited time constraints.

A usability guide for future developers of digital image libraries in academia.

Addressing usability issues related specifically to the design of digital image libraries rather than text‐based digital libraries. Addressing the objectives of image reuse and of widespread adoption. Discussing usability design by a team of students with heterogeneous background in academic environment.

The purpose of this empirical study was to address two important concerns of Web usability: how user-intuitive interface signs affect Web usability and how applying semiotics (i.e. the doctrine of signs) in user interface (UI) design and evaluation helps to improve usability.

An empirical research approach is followed here to conduct three user tests. These tests were conducted on a Web application with 17 test participants. Data were gathered through laboratory-based think-aloud usability test, questionnaires and interviews. Following an empirical research approach, statistics and user behavior analysis were used to analyze the data.

This study explores two important concerns of UI design and evaluation. First, users’ interpretation accuracy of interface signs impact on Web usability. The study found that users’ interpretation of signs might be accurate, moderate, conflicting, erroneous or incapable; user-intuitive interface signs led participants to interpret signs’ meaning accurately; and users’ inaccurate interpretation of one or a few task-related interface sign(s) led users to usability problems, resulting in participants performing tasks with lower task-completion performance. Second, considering semiotics perception in UI design and evaluation is important to improve Web usability. This study showed that interface signs, when re-designed considering the semiotics guidelines, have increased the end-users’ interpretation accuracy and the interface signs’ intuitiveness. This study also provides a small set of semiotics guidelines for sign design and evaluation.

This study empirically demonstrated that signs’ intuitiveness impact on Web usability and that considering the semiotics perception in sign design and evaluation is important to improve Web usability. These outcomes are valuable in a number of ways to HCI researchers and practitioners: the results provide awareness of the importance of user-intuitive interface signs in UI design; practitioners can easily adopt the concept of interpretation accuracy classification to conduct a sign test to obtain an “overall impression of interface signs’ intuitiveness”; practitioners can easily adopt the methodological approach followed in this study to conduct usability test without additional resources; and the results raised important fundamental questions for future research such as “what does a practitioner need to be aware of when designing or evaluating interface signs?”