On-Line Travel Agencies’ Usability: Evaluator eXperience

Abstract

It is generally agreed that usability is a basic attribute in software quality. User eXperience (UX) extends the usability concept beyond its traditional dimensions (effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction). UX refers to all user’s perceptions resulting from the use (or even the anticipated use) of a product, system or service. For more than two decades heuristic evaluation proves to be one of the most popular usability inspection methods. When performing a heuristic evaluation, generic or specific heuristics may be used. Nielsen’s ten usability heuristics are well known, but many other sets of heuristics were proposed. Based on proper heuristics, the heuristic evaluation may also assess other UX aspects, beside usability. Usability heuristic sets are specific artifacts, so heuristics’ “usability” may also be evaluated. If we consider that evaluators are particular “users” of particular “products”, the set of usability/UX heuristics and the heuristic evaluation method, we may also analyze Evaluator eXperience as a particular case of UX. We systematically conduct studies on evaluators’ perception over generic and specific usability/UX heuristics. The paper presents a follow-up study on the perception of novice evaluators over Nielsen’s heuristics, using three online travel agencies as case studies (Atrapalo, TripAdvisor and Expedia). The experiments involved Chilean and Spanish students. We compare new results with our previous findings. Based on empirical results, we think the methodology used when teaching the heuristic evaluation method is highly important.