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How Does User Interpretation of Interface Signs Affect Web Usability: An Empirical Case Study of a Web Application

Muhammad Nazrul Islam, How Does User Interpretation of Interface Signs Affect Web Usability: An Empirical Case Study of a Web Application. TUCS Technical Reports 1000, Turku Centre for Computer Science, 2011.

Abstract:

In the present day User Interfaces (UIs) are complicated software components, which play a crucial role in the usability of web applications. An explosion on interface design for HCI has been commenced over the last decade. But very little attention has been paid to semiotics theories for web interface design, though designing the web sign has a widely acceptable crucial effect on enhancing users understanding and satisfaction. For these, the objective of this paper is to reflect user experiences in interface signs interpretation and how these could affect the usability of web applications. To accomplish this objective, a systematic empirical case study was conducted on a web application. This study was replicated with seven participants from five different educational institutions in Finland and followed a strict case study methodology to ensure the validity and reliability of our research outcomes. This paper presented the case study design and discussed the results achieved. Finally, this paper also talks about future trends of semiotics theory as applied to interface design and evaluation.

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BibTeX entry:

@TECHREPORT{tIslam11a,
  title = {How Does User Interpretation of Interface Signs Affect Web Usability: An Empirical Case Study of a Web Application},
  author = {Islam, Muhammad Nazrul},
  number = {1000},
  series = {TUCS Technical Reports},
  publisher = {Turku Centre for Computer Science},
  year = {2011},
  keywords = {think aloud usability testing, semiotics, interface signs, web application, user experiences},
  ISBN = {978-952-12-2555-0},
}

Belongs to TUCS Research Unit(s): Other

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