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Improving usability with think aloud and focus group methods. A case study: an intelligent police patrolling system (i-PAT)

Abstract:

This study proposes the use of Think Aloud and Focus Group methods for evaluating the usability of the Intelligent Police Patrolling System (I-Pat). The study was conducted with twenty-one students of computer engineering. The study included two evaluation methods. First, the application of Think Aloud using audio recordings, image capturing and questionnaires. Second, the application of a Focus Group for brainstorming. The total number of the usability problems identified was fifteen. Comprehensiveness (46%) and layout (43%) problems were the most frequently found. The study showed that the problems encountered were due to the lack of understanding of the system’s functions, so it is recommended increasing the users’ levels of knowledge about the system. The application of these methods caused the students to find a greater number of errors than when applying a single method, allowing them to generate a report with usability improvements according to the reported errors.