SOFTWARE USABILITY SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SOFTWARE USABILITY SLP - Essay Example Operations tell the performance levels of the software for certain tasks. A breakthrough in software usability evaluation came from Shackel (1991). It defines usability as the capability of artifact in terms of human functions. These human functions will enable the softwares easy, satisfactory and effective use by its users. It places the usability to the level of interaction between artifact and users. When the criteria of software usability are set, the approach supports the process of evaluation and the interpretation of results. Usability thus is not limited to features of the interface, but it is a measure of "interaction" between human and computer. There exist different methods to evaluate software usability. It depends on time, labor, evaluator – experience, development stage, preference, and facilities. In wider terms, the distinction in evaluation methods is user based, expert-based and model-based. The user-based methods are more realistic in estimation of usability and give a very concise record of significant problems. But this method is time-consuming and expensive for larger samples. The expert based models are cheap and fast. But here, there is a risk of overestimation of the actual number of problems. The model-based method gives a laborious estimate of the standard of software usability. The main disadvantage is it has a limited applicability in task. Hence, after that HCI came into existence. The four approaches are Eberts (1994) describes the user interface designs to be user-friendly, intuitive and efficient. He defines four approaches to HCI. Anthropomorphic, Cognitive, Empirical and predictive. The anthropomorphic way designs a user interface that possesses human-like qualities, for example, in interface error messaging, avatars or sounds. The cognitive approach considers the potential of human brain and senses, in order to develop the interface to support the user. A metaphoric design is one such example