The Cognitive Walkthrough Method in the Evaluation of Interfaces: a case study on the Coronavirus Map site

  • José Guilherme Santa Rosa UFRN – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
Keywords: interface evaluation, usability, cognitive walkthrough, pandemic Covid-19

Abstract

The Pandemic COVID-19 times brought to society the reality of social isolation and
a range of communication and interaction difficulties, in addition to physical and mental pathologies resulting from it. In this sense, new technologies are essential to enable quality information and socialization and the usability of digital systems has become an essential aspect for the quality of life of individuals. But how to identify usability problems in interfaces since social isolation has also hampered research with users? In this paper, the Cognitive Walkthrough method was applied to evaluate the interface of the Coronavirus map website. As a result, recommendations have been proposed that will contribute to the usability of the site. It was also verified that the Cognitive Walkthrough presented itself as an adequate alternative for the evaluation of interfaces in situations in which it is not possible to carry out tests with users.

References

BADRE, A. N. (2002). Shaping web usability: interaction Design in Context. Indianapolis: Pearson.

BURDICK, D. C. & KWON, S. (2004). Gerotechnology: research and practice in technology and aging. New York: Springer.

G1. Mapa do Coronavírus. Disponível em: https://especiais.g1.globo.com/bemestar/coronavirus/mapa-coronavirus/#/. Acesso: 03 set. 2020.

JORDAN, P. W. (1998). An Introduction to Usability. London: Taylor & Francis.

KUNIAVSKY, M. (2003). Observing the user experience: a pracitionare's guide to user research.

São Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann.

MOLICH, R. & NIELSEN, J. (1990). Improving a human-computer dialogue: what designers know about traditional interface design. Communications of the ACM 33, 338-348.

NORMAN, D. (2006). O Design do dia-a-dia. Rio de Janeiro: Rocco.

POLSON, P. G., LEWIS, C., RIEMAN, J., & WHARTON, C. (1992). Cognitive walkthroughs: a method

for theory-based evaluation of user interfaces. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 36(5), 741–773. doi:10.1016/0020-7373(92)90039-n.

REICH, Y. (2020). The coronavirus pandemic: How can design help?. Research in Engineering Design, 31, 141–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-020-00337-6.

RIEMAN, J.; FRANZKE, M.; REDMILES, D. (1995). Usability Evaluation with the Cognitive Walkthrough. ACM CHI'95 Proceedings.

ROGERS, W. A., FISK, A. D., MEAD, S. E., WALKER, N., & CABRERA, E. F. (1996). Training older adults to use automatic teller machines. Human Factors, 38, 425-433. https://doi.org/10.1518/001872096778701935.

SANTA ROSA, J.G. MORAES, A. (2012). Design Participativo: técnicas de inclusão de usuários no processo de ergodesign de interfaces. Rio de Janeiro: Rio Books.

SANTA ROSA, J.G.; PEREIRA JUNIOR, A.; LAMEIRA, C. (2016). Neurodesign: o cérebro e a máquina. Rio de Janeiro: Rio Books.

STERNBERG, R. J. (2000). Psicologia Cognitiva. Porto Alegre: Artmed.

TRAVIS, D. (2003). E-Commerce usability: tools and techniques to perfect the on-line experience. London: Taylor & Francis.

Published
2021-06-30