While testing a system, usability practitioners search for ways to improve the experience of the system. They constantly hunt for issues, problems or pain points that degrade the experience of the system. The main goal of usability testing is to explore 'what is causing the problem?' and also 'why is it causing the problem?'. In order to answer these questions, it is imperative to first understand what usability is before we define usability problem. Read More

Usability evaluation methods have become an integral part of software design life cycles for many product-based industries. These methods include usability testing, expert review, questionnaire and survey, and many more. This paper will focus particularly on expert review and usability testing and discuss various issues associated with the reliability of these methods. The paper further provides techniques to mitigate the issues in order to increase the reliability measures of these methods. Read More

This paper provides a critical review of the research, Color and store choice in electronic commerce: The explanatory role of trust, conducted by Lee, & Rao in 2010. The paper discusses the experimental design, hypothesis, variables, and limitations of the mentioned research. The paper then suggests an alternative approach that the authors could have used to answer their research questions. Read More

Bias can occur in any phase, component, or part of a research. A thorough understanding of biases and how it can affect the results is essential to produce high-quality research. This narrative review provides an overview of the topic of research bias with a focus on publication bias, its effects, and ways to avoid it. Read More

This paper attempts to analyze and review the current implementation and design effectiveness of Walmart.com's website's pharmacy page form from an elderly user's point of view. The purpose of this assessment is to understand the use of various design concepts related to contrast sensitivity, color sensitivity and visual hierarchy against the backdrop for users with diminishing visual perception. Read More

This paper discusses various pre-attentive processing theories and underlying neurological mechanisms that prevails in the human visual system. The paper also reflects on how patterns and groups are processed by the human neurological system. Further, different pre-attentive features like color, size, shape, proximity, continuation, connectedness and closure are discussed. Using these research, the paper then studies the design of 'SHARP Advance D.A.L. EL-531XC' calculator, concentrating on features that stimulate pre-attentive patterns and groupings. Finally, the paper concludes with design improvement recommendations. Read More

In this paper, we'll try to understand in detail how long-term memory operates - representation, activation, and retrieval of information from long-term memory. The paper then elaborates on the relation between the process of learning and prior knowledge. Further, the paper discusses the role of recency and frequency in information retrieval from long-term memory. Later we will emphasize the sub-theme of 'categorization' and 'metaphor' to review the design of Axure, a wireframing and prototyping tool. Read More

The paper starts with a brief definition of metacognition and explains its parallel association with cognition based on the available research. The paper further elaborates the effects of metacognition on cognitive and attentional resources. The paper then discusses metacognition in decision making; limitations in human capabilities towards decision making; and various decision-making hypothesis and research related to framing, biases, and emotions. Emphasizing the different styles and approaches of decision making in expert and novice users, the paper analyzes and reviews the design of L&T Mutual Fund's website. Along with analysis, relevant recommendations are provided thereby enabling users to make an informed decision. Read More

The purpose of this paper is to understand how working memory operates in relation to the perceptual and cognitive processes. The paper then discusses the limited capacity, short duration, and highly volatile nature of working memory and its implications on the design of ICICIDirect's online investment management platform. Further, the paper analyzes the workload imposed by the investment process in comparison to the working memory capacity. The paper also discusses emotional factors like anxiety and motivation that affect working memory capacity. The paper also focuses on other factors like age, learning disorder and attentional disorder that can influence the working memory capacity. Read More