A Methodology for Measuring Usability Evaluation Skills Using the Constructivist Theory and the Second Life Virtual World
Journal of Usability Studies, Volume 4, Issue 4, Aug 2009, pp. 178-188
Abstract
The skills of usability analysts are crucial to software success, so mastery of these skills is essential. This study presents a methodology for teaching and measuring usability evaluation skills of graduate students using the constructivist theory, diaries, checklists, and final reports. As part of the study, students spent 4 months as active participants in Second Life, an online virtual world. In the end, most students had a manageable amount of measurable usability evaluation skills in that they could identify a number of heuristic problems with the Second Life software. A smaller number of students had a greater amount of skill; they could explain a heuristic problem with the software and then explain why it was problematic.
Practitioner’s Take Away
Both the constructivist approach to teaching and measuring usability evaluative skills using the methodology discussed in this study contributed to the following lessons learned:
- Teach usability evaluation skills in one semester.
- Utilize students as evaluators from the unique perspective of users.
- Allow for students to obtain a deep understanding not only of usability evaluation skills but of their own learning process.
- Provide some structure for the diaries, even if it is no more than day and date headings, otherwise students will make up their own, which may or may not be useful for your purposes.
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