The influence of user expertise and prototype fidelity in usability tests
- Sauer, Jürgen Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
- Seibel, Katrin Institute of Psychology, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany
- Rüttinger, Bruno Institute of Psychology, Darmstadt University of Technology, Germany
-
2010
Published in:
- Applied Ergonomics. - 2010, vol. 41, p. 130-140
English
An empirical study examined the impact of user expertise and prototype fidelity on the outcomes of a usability test. User expertise (expert vs. novice) and prototype fidelity (paper prototype, 3D mock-up, and fully operational appliance) were manipulated as independent variables in a 2 × 3 between-subjects design. Employing a floor scrubber as a model product, 48 users carried out several cleaning tasks. Usability problems identified by participants were recorded. Furthermore, performance, system management strategies and perceived usability were measured. The results showed that experts reported more usability problems than novices but these were considered to be less severe than those reported by novices. Reduced fidelity prototypes were generally suitable to predict product usability of the real appliance. The implications for the running of usability tests are specific to the fidelity of the prototype.
- Faculty
- Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines
- Department
- Département de Psychologie
- Language
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- English
- Classification
- Psychology
- License
- License undefined
- Identifiers
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- RERO DOC 28588
- DOI 10.1016/j.apergo.2009.06.003
- Persistent URL
- https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/302258
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