Usability and functionality: A comparison of project managers´ and potential users´ evaluations

Users tend to use functional and usable products more frequently. It is also possible that a functional software is not usable or vice versa. Only functionality-focused designs fail to meet usability needs. Therefore, both usability and functionality, which in software design are interrelated, should be taken into account in the design processes. In addition, meeting users´ requirements is one of predictors of project success. Therefore, there should be a match between the expectations of the users and the perception of the project managers with respect to usability and functionality. The aim of this study is to make a comparison of the project managers´ and potential users´ evaluations of the relative importance of usability and functionality factors in a software design project. Analytical Network Process (ANP) was used to analyze the relative importance of the factors.