Introduction to Volume 12, Issue 4

We are delighted to publish an editorial by Susan Hura titled “Usability Testing of Spoken Conversational Systems.” She provides valuable insights around the evaluation of voice interface systems. She describes specific issues around evaluating voice interfaces that are in an early stage of development, such as the use of “Wizard of Oz” testing. Her comprehensive […] [Read More]

Usability Testing of Spoken Conversational Systems

The philosophy behind usability testing for speech-enabled systems is shared with general usability practices, but many usability practitioners have little or no experience testing speech interfaces, and the specific techniques required for collecting valid and reliable data are not widely understood. Spoken language and conversation have a number of properties that should influence the methods […] [Read More]

Order Effects in Usability Questionnaires

Abstract Usually, websites consist of several components (e.g., a homepage and subsections) that can be very different from each other. Thus, it can be advantageous to assess the usability separately for each part. Hence the question arises if and how the order in which the usability evaluation was done influences the results. The presented empirical […] [Read More]

Revisiting the Factor Structure of the System Usability Scale

Abstract In 2009, we published a paper in which we showed how three independent sources of data indicated that, rather than being a unidimensional measure of perceived usability, the System Usability Scale apparently had two factors: Usability (all items except 4 and 10) and Learnability (Items 4 and 10). In that paper, we called for […] [Read More]

A Next-Generation Augmented Reality Platform for Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI)

Abstract It is vitally important to coordinate resources, information sharing, and two-way communication between medical incident commanders (ICs) and first medical responders (paramedics) at mass casualty incidents (MCI) sites. Information at the time of disasters also needs to be effectively analyzed and presented through intelligent user interfaces. Such interfaces need to be easy-to-use by ICs […] [Read More]