Usability Requirements for Learning Management Systems in Open Distance Electronic Learning Environments: Considering Lecturers’ Views on Students’ Needs

Abstract

The global digitization drive, accelerated by the 2020 health pandemic brought renewed research interest in the use and usability of learning management systems (LMSs). The purpose of this study was to propose validated usability guidelines for an LMS in an open distance and electronic learning (ODeL) context based on lecturers’ views of students’ needs. A set of usability requirements was abstracted from the literature and used as the basis for a heuristic evaluation (HE) of the institution’s LMS. The results were triangulated with the results of three other usability evaluation methods including usability testing with eye tracking, a post-test system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire and interviews. The primary contribution is the validated usability requirements for ODeL LMSs. A secondary contribution is the triangulation approach, which allowed a comparison of the usability evaluation methods’ results and confirmed HE as an effective and efficient evaluation method for LMSs.