Evaluating WIMP interfaces through the SUE approach

SUE (systematic usability evaluation) is a novel methodology based on the assumption that the evaluation of an interactive application must be conducted under different perspectives, each one focusing on a specific set of application features. The main characteristics of SUE are: (i) the combination of inspection techniques and user testing; (ii) the use of models for describing the application and identifying the objects relevant for the evaluation; (iii) the use of evaluation patterns, called abstract tasks, that precisely describe the evaluator´s activity during the inspection. This paper describes how SUE can be applied for the inspection of interactive applications that adopt WIMP interfaces. In particular, the OO-WIMP model is introduced for specifying the interfaces, and a sample of abstract tasks for their inspection is provided. Fragments of inspection results, obtained by applying the abstract tasks to some commercial products, are also reported