Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for Usability Testing of Mobile Apps

The usability of mobile applications is critical for their adoption because of the relatively small screen and awkward (sometimes virtual) keyboard, despite the recent advances of smartphones. Traditional laboratory-based usability testing is often tedious, expensive, and does not reflect real use cases. In this paper, we propose a toolkit that embeds into mobile applications the ability to automatically collect user interface (UI) events as the user interacts with the applications. The events are fine-grained and useful for quantified usability analysis. We have implemented the toolkit on Android devices and we evaluated the toolkit with a real deployed Android application by comparing event analysis (state-machine based) with traditional laboratory testing (expert based). The results show that our toolkit is effective at capturing detailed UI events for accurate usability analysis.     

Usability evaluation of high-level user assistance for robot mission specification

MissionLab is a mission specification system that implements a hybrid deliberative and reactive control architecture for autonomous mobile robots. The user creates and executes the robot mission plans through its graphical user interface. As robot deployments become more common in highly stressful situations, such as in dealing with explosives or biohazards, the usability of their mission specification system becomes critical. To address this need, a mission-planning "wizard" has been recently integrated into MissionLab. By retrieving and adapting past successful mission plans stored in its database, this new feature is designed to simplify the user's planning process. The latest formal usability experiments, reported in this paper, testing for usability improvements in terms of speed of the mission planning process, accuracy of the produced mission plans, and ease of use is conducted. This paper introduces the mission-planning wizard, describes the usability experiments (including design), and discusses the results in detail.     

LoL@: designing a location based UMTS application

UMTS combines mobile communications and the Internet. After showing some fundamental issues of UMTS services, this paper presents LoL@, the Local Location Assistant. It is a prototype of a location based UMTS service, combining localization/navigation and multimedia. These components can be seen as “killer components”, they can be combined to provide various services over various networks.     

Improving user performance

Three studies that demonstrate that traditional, rigorous experimental design can be applied and adapted to constitute excellent troubleshooting tools at various stages in the system design cycle are presented. The first study, which seeks to identify variables that facilitate visual scanning of computer screens, most closely resembles traditional laboratory studies in terms of rigor and experimental control. The second study uses a mixture of quasi-formal experiments and anecdotal observations to identify user problems in a particular system for which a help system is then designed and tested in an iterative fashion. The third study, concerning the redesign of a user manual, uses systematic investigative tools, although not well-controlled experiments, to isolate user problems, and then tests the usability of new versions of the manual iteratively. The findings from these three studies suggest that experimental methods can serve an important function in identifying usability problems and in progressive testing of systems     

Energy efficient task allocation and consolidation in multicast cloud network

Wireless Networks - Information Technology is now a revolution due to its user dependence for various services available over Internet through cloud computing (CC). The usability is now reached to...     

Design process for Web applications

Applying software engineering principles to Web application development can improve application quality. A case study involving development of a retail sales Web application uses a design model based on object-oriented interface design methods and cognitive science to enhance usability and meet user requirements     

Discovering user-generated metaphors through usability testing

A post hoc analysis of data collected from a usability test on the Fluke ScopeMeter 97 (a diagnostic instrument for analyzing electrical signals) revealed that, in doing tasks, subjects were making use of their own internal metaphors (user generated) that were unsupported by the design of the ScopeMeter keys. We investigated the interaction of the user generated metaphors and designer generated metaphors. By examining the effects that the subjects' skill levels and their backgrounds had on employing such metaphors, we began to outline certain characteristics of user generated metaphors. We found that user generated metaphors demonstrate unyielding persistence in the minds of ScopeMeter users, particularly in the higher skilled subjects     

Design issues for usability of residential multifunction terminals

Some of the major issues confronting designers of home electronics equipment are discussed, and some things that should be done to ensure that the next generation of products will be useful and usable are suggested. Issues connected with user interface levels and user command language are addressed, along with the consequences for system and product design (i.e., the financial cost of usability and standardization issues)     

面向移动智能设备的多特征融合隐式鉴别机制研究

隐式鉴别机制在解决移动智能设备的安全性与易用性冲突方面具有重要而独特的作用.然而,已有工作通常基于单一特征或动作进行隐式鉴别,仅适合于特定动作、场景和范围.为了解决此问题,本文利用用户使用设备时存在位置、环境、状态、生物和行为特征,提出了一种基于多特征融合的隐式鉴别方案.该方案采集设备内置传感器、生物和行为数据,通过支持向量机方法训练和提取特征,设计多特征融合模型和构建隐式鉴别框架,计算用户身份信任水平,设计差异化安全策略并持续透明地鉴别用户身份.实验验证了该方案的有效性,并且能够平衡安全性与易用性和资源消耗.     

云环境下对称可搜索加密研究综述

云存储技术是解决大容量数据存储、交互、管理的有效途径,加密存储是保护远程服务器中用户数据隐私安全的重要手段,而可搜索加密技术能在保证用户数据安全前提下提高系统可用性。对称可搜索加密以其高效的搜索效率得到人们的广泛关注。总体而言,相关研究可归纳为系统模型、效率与安全、功能性3个层次。该文首先介绍了对称可搜索加密(SSE)系统典型模型,然后深入分析了搜索效率优化、安全性分析的常用手段和方法,最后从场景适应能力、语句表达能力、查询结果优化3个方面对方案功能性研究进行了梳理,重点对当前研究的热点和难点进行了总结。在此基础上,进一步分析了未来可能的研究方向。     

The ISTE approach to usability testing

The ISTE approach offers a new method of concurrent testing that is less time-consuming than usual. In addition, it helps catch the user in the act and the scores show almost immediately whether the user has processed the manual as intended. In the ISTE approach, the main information subtypes in a manual are coupled to their intended and unintended effects on users. Research has shown that the ISTE approach yields reliable and valid findings. In addition, it has been found to be versatile and easy to apply, and it provides valuable insights on the usability of a manual     

基于用户授权的数据保护方法

计算机病毒、间谍软件等的危害之一是对重要信息的窃取或者修改,现有的安全软件或者防火墙等防护措施不能对数据提供实时的、全面的防护,一些恶意程序总是能够通过采用新技术来伪装、欺骗而逃过检测。针对这一问题,文中提出一种基于用户授权的数据保护方法。与传统的保护方法不同,该方法对恶意程序的检测没有停留在对程序本身代码和行为的合法性上,而是以用户为标准,要求所有对受保护数据的访问都必须经过用户的授权,对没有受权的访问请求即认为是不合法的;进一步,文中提出了自动获取用户授权的方案,提高了该方法的可用性。     

基于电信行业IT应用软件的用户体验测评研究

从电信行业用户体验入手,分析电信行业产品及运营支撑系统的用户体验需求,提出并探讨电信行业用户体验测评体系,包括软件易用性测试、用户体验体系结构及测评方法;举例说明用户体验评测方法在电信行业运营支撑系统(BSS)中的实际应用。     

Technical communication in information systems development: the use of cognitive mapping

Technical communicators can and should play an important role in the development of information systems to improve the usability of the systems. Besides writing user guides and training material, technical communicators can engage in four other tasks to add value to information systems development: acting as user advocate, writing online help, writing system and error messages, and providing advice on interface design. We assert that technical communicators' involvement in systems development should not be tied to a particular development methodology. Instead, they should be associated with four general tasks in systems development: system investigation, analysis, design, and implementation. We then discuss some notable human factors and their impacts on the tasks performed by technical communicators. Three cognitive mapping techniques-causal mapping, semantic mapping, and concept mapping-are introduced as a means to elicit an individual's belief system regarding a problem domain. These cognitive mapping techniques have great potential for overcoming some behavioral and cognitive problems as well as facilitating understanding among stakeholders in the development of information systems. We discuss how technical communicators can apply various cognitive mapping techniques to improve the usability of the resulting information systems. The use of these techniques is illustrated using a case study.     

关于对新形势下电子商务软件测试的研究

本文主要对现阶段应用电子商务范围主要结构予以介绍，如今最佳的方法就是立足于这样的结构软件测试技术，凭借有效结合局部分层与整体测试方法，这种方法从局部与整体对应用软件实施测试，为用户可用性与开发软件性能要求提供保证。     

Efforts to simplify human-computer communication

Communication at the human-computer interaction level, is discussed. The presentation layer, or user interface, to computer programs acts as a shield to a far more complex array of processes. Using simple navigational and functional commands, the user can manipulate a computer program and achieve desired results quickly. This is not always the case, however, and deficiencies in both usability and information access continue to plague ordinary computer users. With increasing public reliance on computer-generated information, powerful computer applications must be amenable to nontechnical users. The most commercially viable and prominent of these efforts are explored, with particular emphasis on the evolving role of artificially intelligent technologies     

一种新型综合网络管理模型的研究与设计

针对复杂网络的综合化网络管理需求,提出了一种新型网络管理模型——运行管理系统。在简要阐述运行管理系统原理的基础上,着重从系统组成、体系结构、功能组成与运行模式几个方面对该新型网络管理模型进行了设计,并对实验环境及实验内容作了具体设计。从实时性、可用性等方面进行系统性能分析,验证了系统的可行性。     

Investigating text input methods for mobile phones

Human Computer Interaction is a primary factor in the success or failure of any device but if an objective view is taken of the current mobile phone market you would be forgiven for thinking usability was secondary to aesthetics. Many phone manufacturers modify the design of phones to be different than the competition and to target fashion trends, usually at the expense of usability and performance. There is a lack of awareness among many buyers of the usability of the device they are purchasing and the disposability of modern technology is an effect rather than a cause of this. Designing new text entry methods for mobile devices can be expensive and labour-intensive. The assessment and comparison of a new text entry method with current methods is a necessary part of the design process. The best way to do this is through an empirical evaluation. The aim of the paper is to establish which mobile phone text input method best suits the requirements of a select group of target users. This study used a diverse range of users to compare devices that are in everyday use by most of the adult population. The proliferation of the devices is as yet unmatched by the study of their application and the consideration of their user friendliness.     

智能手机提示音设计适用性的调查与实验研究

为了了解现有智能手机提示音设计的适用性及其对手机人机交互体验的影响,首先采用问卷的方式调查了智能手机提示音设计中存在的问题和用户使用习惯和需求,然后采用心理实验方法对手机来电铃声、短信提示音的适用类型、适用音量进行了进一步研究。调查问卷发现,智能手机的部分提示音没有起到应有的提示作用,用户对自动音量设置的需求较大。主观评价实验发现,用户偏爱使用的歌曲类来电铃声在嘈杂环境中辨识度最低,而语音类来电铃声的辨识度最高,当铃声音量高于环境噪声10 dB以上才可以避免漏接电话的问题。短信提示音适宜采用短音调序列,与用户的偏爱设置一致。     

移动计算用户界面可用性评估的眼动方法

 为了降低传统可用性评估方法中的主观影响和误差,本文应用眼动跟踪技术分析人机交互过程中的认知情况,提出移动计算用户界面可用性评估方法.该方法选取凝视时间、凝视数目、感兴趣区转移频次矩阵等眼动指标,并结合交互任务与自顶向下的视觉认知机制对界面进行分析,建立可用性评估模型,考察视觉搜索和信息加工等认知效率,进而为界面设计优化提供指导.以手机用户界面为对象的评估实例表明,该方法可有效分析界面认知内因,获取可用性问题清单,与用户主观评估保持较高一致性,验证了其实用性与有效性.