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Mobile learning has seen tremendous growth over the years. Like any other software application, usability is one of the key concerns in its successful implementation. There is a lack of study that provides a comprehensive overview of usability testing of mobile learning applications. Motivated by this a mapping study is conducted.

A systematic mapping study was conducted using 51 papers retrieved from the Scopus database published between 2005 and 2022 that reported on usability testing of mobile learning applications.

The key findings suggest that research is expected to expand in the near future. User-based testing is the commonly used method, while data are collected mainly through questionnaires, observation and interviews. Testing is mainly conducted in a controlled environment.

The study provides (1) an evidence-based discussion on usability testing of mobile learning applications, (2) an up-to-date map on state of the art on usability testing of mobile learning applications and (3) providing direction for further research to scientifically strengthen the field.

The study aims to pioneer an innovative approach for the evaluation of government portal websites (GPWs) by introducing an eye-tracking-based method. The research meticulously pinpoints and analyses the distinct usability issues and challenges that users encounter while navigating and interacting with GPWs.

This study devises an eye-tracking-based GPW usability evaluation approach, which focuses on the major functions (i.e. government information disclosure, government services and interactive responses) of GPWs. An Entropy Weighted Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (EW-TOPSIS) method is employed to process eye-tracking indicator results for deriving GPW usability results.

The proposed approach is demonstrated to assess the usability of 12 GPWs in pilot smart cities in China, and it is found that most GPWs have lower-than-average usability. GPWs with low usability require more cognitive load that exhibit increased fixation and saccade. The comparisons among the GPW usability results from (1) the eye-tracking experiment, (2) questionnaire surveys and (3) the ready-made performance evaluation report validate the effectiveness of eye-tracking-based GPW usability evaluation.

The work contributes to shifting the GPW usability evaluation approach from a subjective judgment paradigm to an objective paradigm, as well as provides implications for enhancing GPW usability, including improving search function, reducing website complexity and prioritizing user needs.

Usage of learning management systems (LMSs) has become widespread with the disruption of face-to-face educations after the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several software products, usually named as LMS to enable and support distance education. However, selection of a suitable LMS is a complex multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) problem that requires consideration of many criteria and inputs from different parties like students, academicians, education managers, etc. Usability evaluation of LMS is one of the critical steps in deciding which LMS system to be adapted. There are several studies related to usability evaluation of LMS in the literature, but utilization of MCDM methods and real life case studies are very rare. Based on this motivation, perceived usability evaluation of SAKAI-LMS that is in use at an academic department is performed by employing axiomatic design procedure (ADP). This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issues.

ADP is considered as a suitable MCDM method for perceived usability evaluation as it allows an easy approach to data fusion and setting performance targets for decision makers. A questionnaire is developed to collect data from three types of system users about predetermined usability criteria and their importance. After detailed statistical analyses and weighting criteria via analytical hierarch process (AHP), ADP is carried out to evaluate usability of the LMS.

It is found that the proposed ADP based approach is easy to apply in practical circumstances and able to quantify perceived usability of the LMSs.

The proposed approach provides an easy and practical evaluation of perceived usability of the LMSs for decision makers who are responsible for the implementation of LMSs. The developed novel and practical MCDM-based perceived usability approach for LMS in this study has been verified through a real life case study at an academic department. Perceived usability results, therefore, reflects only the views of this focus group and are not generalizable.

First time in the literature, a comprehensive ADP based MCDM approach is proposed based on the analyses of the related literature and information gathered from the system users.

The purpose of this paper is to share the process, findings and conclusions from one library’s iterative usability study of its website design to inform other libraries as they perform their own assessments.

A task-completion usability study was conducted with eight undergraduate students across two iterations: the first gauged the usability of a redesigned library website and the second gauged the effectiveness of the first iteration’s findings.

We found that users performed better when the site provided multiple access points to the same information, displayed a prominent chat feature, limited the amount of text on a given page and avoided library jargon. Not only was the second round of testing important for confirming that first-round recommendations were effective but also it proved useful in catching a problem with the site that was unintentionally created during the time between tests.

No demographic data were collected during the study, thus hindering our ability to analyze our users through these data points.

This study demonstrates the value of iterative usability testing, especially when untested changes made between site versions may produce usability issues.

Targeting the common functions of the Zhejiang Library website, elderly individuals were invited to complete six experimental tasks on the improved website interfaces, and subjective data (PAD emotion scale and usability evaluation) and objective data (eye movement data) were recorded to verify the effects of graphic layout and navigation position on the information-seeking experience of elderly individuals.

This study analyzes the effect of the graphic layout and navigation position of the Zhejiang Library’s website interface on the emotional state, perceived usability and information-seeking time of elderly individuals, with the aim of providing guidance and suggestions for the elderly-oriented reform of the public library website.

The experimental results show that the graphic layout has a significant effect on the emotional state and perceived usability of elderly individuals, and the navigation position has a significant effect on the information-seeking time; the interaction between graphic layout and navigation position exerts a significant effect on the information-seeking time of elderly individuals. The eye movement data show that elderly individuals have a better information-seeking experience when the top navigation bar and image-text matched arrangement are used for the interface layout.

This study adopts a new approach combining subjective data and eye movement data to evaluate the effect of the public library website’s interface layout on the information-seeking experience for older people. The findings can provide a theoretical basis and methodological support for the elderly-oriented reform of public library websites. They can also provide scientific design suggestions for age-friendly interface layouts of other Internet products and service applications.

The concept of ubiquitous assimilation in e-commerce, denoting the seamless integration of technologies into customer shopping experiences, has played a pivotal role in aiding e-satisfaction and, consequently, fostering patronage intention. Among these, text-based chatbots are significant innovations. In light of this, the paper aims to develop a conceptual framework and comprehend the patronage behaviour of artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot users by using chatbot usability cues and to determine whether the social presence and flow theories impact e-satisfaction, which leads to users’ patronage intention. The current research provides insights into online travel agencies (OTAs), a crucial segment within the travel and tourism sector. Given the significance of building a loyal clientele and cultivating patronage in this industry, these insights are of paramount importance for achieving sustained profitability and growth.

The research framework primarily focused on the factors that precede e-satisfaction and patronage intention among chatbot users, which include social presence, flow, perceived anthropomorphism and need for human interaction. The researchers collected the data by surveying 397 OTA chatbot users by using an online questionnaire. The data of this cross-sectional study were analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling.

Findings reveal that e-satisfaction is positively linked with patronage intention and the variables of social presence and flow impact e-satisfaction along with chatbot usability cues. There were direct and indirect relations between chatbot usability and e-satisfaction. Moreover, the personal attributes, “need for human interaction” and, “perceived anthropomorphism” were found to moderate relations between chatbot usability cues, social presence and flow.

The impact of chatbot’s usability cues/attributes on e-satisfaction, along with perceived attributes – social presence and flow in the realm of OTAs contributes to the human–chatbot interaction literature. Moreover, the interacting effects of perceived anthropomorphism and the need for human interaction are unique in the current contextual relations.

Usability is one of the key concerns in the development of mobile learning applications. The aim of this paper is to design and validate a usability evaluation questionnaire (UEQ) for mobile learning applications.

The UEQ was developed in four stages: selecting primary studies and extracting usability problems, thematic analysis, creating UEQ items and validation and reliability using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).

CFA to derive the model fit was computed using AMOS to test the construct validity. The model-fit values were within their respective expected acceptance levels. To assess the reliability of the instrument item loadings, the internal consistency coefficients such as Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s Omega and composite reliability were considered. Indicator loadings ranged between 0.735 and 0.933, fulfilling the threshold of above 0.7.

The study provides a novel UEQ for mobile learning applications, which can be used by developers and in academic research to assess mobile learning applications.

This study aims to investigate the usability of a public university website for measuring its efficiency, users’ satisfaction or anxiety while searching for and retrieving information through different devices.

A task-based approach was adopted for the study. Twenty-eight participants were asked to complete 11 information-searching tasks on the website. The participants were divided into two groups. The tasks were carried out by members of each group, using desktop and mobile devices in a rotating fashion. Volunteers observed the participants' actions and recorded information regarding their productivity, time usage (using a timer), satisfaction or annoyance while performing each task. Finally, based on the use of the devices, a comparison was established between the participants' performance accuracy, efficiency and anxiety.

The study provides an overview of a task-based user experience carried out on the university website using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods. According to the results, participants' satisfaction levels were generally high, and their anxiety levels were low while completing the tasks on a mobile device. In comparison to the desktop, it took less time overall to complete all tasks. On the other hand, using a desktop computer (97.1%) resulted in better task completion success rates for participants than using a mobile device (85.7%).

No previous task-based evaluation study of this kind has been conducted to assess the usability of any university website in Bangladesh.

Professional Identity Formation is the dynamic evolution to “think, act and feel” to become part of a professional community. This document presents the development and the study that aimed to assess the usability of a m-Learning Identity App (MLIA) focused on the formation of professional identity among undergraduate medical students.

MLIA development included four phases: Conceptual, prototype, pilot and implementation, before further deployment. The conceptual model was designed by eight faculty members from three Latin American universities. The prototype was developed and tested with stakeholders. The pilot was performed during 5 weeks before the implementation. Cross-sectional data collected during implementation from 138 medical students who completed a survey to assess the usability of MLIA are presented. During deployment, 977 posts were made on Professional Identity Formation, and examples of these posts are presented.

The prototype and pilot phases demanded improvements. The survey explored (1) Familiarity, (2) Perceived ease of use, (3) Perceived usefulness for Professional Identity Formation, (4) Satisfaction, (5) Intention to reuse (6) Digital aesthetics and (7) Safety. Results from the usability assessment suggest that students perceived MLIA as a secure space with positive aesthetics and ease of use.

Important limitations of the present study include, firstly, that it does not provide information on the effectiveness of the MLIA in shaping professional identity in medical students, it focuses exclusively on its development (conceptual model, prototype, pilot and implementation) and usability. Secondly, the study design did not consider a control group and, therefore, does not provide information on how the App compares with other strategies addressing self-reflection and sharing of meaningful experiences related to professional identity.

MLIA introduces a different approach to education, simulating a secure, easy-to-use, social media with a friendly interface in a safe environment to share academic and motivational moments, transitioning from being to becoming a professional.

This study aims to empirically examine the factors that affect mobile loyalty (m-loyalty) and its influence on customer reuse intention towards mobile instant messaging services. This study identified measurement items to assess the business users and individual users reuse intention towards mobile instant messaging services and test the relationship in the conceptual model. This study bridges a literature gap focusing on m-loyalty and its impact on customer reuse intention, which has not received attention previously.

To evaluate the influence of the factors, this study identified and extracted the items from past literature to develop the survey instrument. This study surveyed 600 respondents including business users and individual users from the Delhi-National Capital Region of India and applied the structural equation modelling to test the conceptual model.

The results revealed that satisfaction and m-loyalty have a direct effect on the business users and individual users’ reuse intention of mobile instant messaging services. This study found that satisfaction, usability, perceived value, commitment, trust and m-loyalty influence on business users reuse intention. This study indicate that enjoyment has an insignificant relationship on m-loyalty for business users followed by usability and enjoyment has an insignificant relationship on m-loyalty for individual users. Further, female gender does not moderate the relationship between satisfaction and business users reuse intention. The cognitive absorption and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) theories supported evaluating the association between the factors in the context of business and individual users reuse intention of mobile instant messaging service.

The empirical findings imply that all the factors except enjoyment have directly influenced the business users reuse intention of mobile instant messaging. The significant influence of usability factor on the business users reuse intention towards mobile instant messaging is the major variation between the validated models of business and individual samples. The results of influencing factors of m-loyalty and its impact on customer reuse intention are associated with cognitive absorption and the UTAUT theories.

Focus on these factors can be beneficial for the business users, managers, mobile instant messaging service providers and application developers to increase customer loyalty and reuse intention for the mobile instant messaging services. This research will facilitate mobile instant messaging service providers to keep their services market relevant and focus on user satisfaction in building applications for loyalty.

This research identified measurement items from earlier literature to identify, analyze and verify the relevance of these factors in m-loyalty and customer reuse intention of mobile instant messaging services and fill the gap in customer reuse intention of mobile instant messaging services literature.