Analysing the emphasis of usability in software engineering Syllabus in Malaysian higher institutions

Usability is an important attribute in determining the quality of software. Nonetheless, quite a large number of IT practitioners seem to take lightly the emphasis of usability in the software development process. Therefore, it is important to equip the Software Engineering (SE) students with necessary usability knowledge before they step into the industry. This study discovers the current syllabus of SE, by focusing on the content of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) through course outlines of local institutions. The study also analyses the implementation of emphasizing usability in classrooms and its practice by surveying the lecturers and the students. It is found that what is currently lacking is the explicit method of assessing usability and making this crystal clear to students when developing software and system. Recommendation to strengthening the role of usability is provided at the end of study.