Hybrid Usability Methodology: Integrating Heuristic Evaluation with Laboratory Testing across the Software Development Lifecycle

The reviews of literature have shown that many website usability problems are found late in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). This is due to the usage of traditional usability testing techniques which are not sufficient and suitable with the growing complexity of websites and constraints faced by usability practitioners. For instance, the Lab Based Usability Testing (LBUT) is expensive and has lesser coverage than Exploratory Heuristics Evaluation (EHE) while the EHE is subjected to false alarms. A hybrid usability methodology (HUM) comprising of LBUT and EHE is proposed. Six experiments involving EHE and LBUT were performed at the early, intermediate and advanced stages of the SDLC of websites, during which the optimal relative performance of each method were measured using the dependent variables followed by the design of a HUM. To validate the HUM, four case studies were conducted, during which significant improvements were observed in website effectiveness and efficiency. Based on the findings, HUM is a feasible approach for usability practitioners and also provides stakeholders a validated situational decision making framework for usability testing strategies taking into account real world constraints.