WHEN STUDENTS BECOME USERS: DESIGN AND USABILITY EVALUATION OF A WEB-BASED LEARNING TOOL

摘要

This paper summarizes the design process of a Web-based learning (WBL) tool for teaching an online course on "Usability of Web Interfaces" to graphic design students. The course covered the main aspects of User-Centered Design (UCD) techniques and Usability testing. Involving students at an early stage of the design process for gathering requirements, as well as for evaluation of the tool over a three-semester period, proved to be a key motivational factor for students, allowing them to witness and take part of a UCD approach from a user-perspective. For the design team, it allowed us to improve the tool by completing three usability evaluations of the tool with real users and reach our usability goals, considering each semester as a different iteration to the design cycle.