Abstract:

In programming classes according to the course assessment requirements students are frequently asked to develop more or less complex applications. The assessment of the apps involves meeting the requirements determined by the lecturer conducting the classes. However, the usability of the interface defined as the ease of using the functions available in the application may be also taken into consideration as one of the assessment criteria.

The paper suggests extending the range of students’ apps assessment criteria with an additional usability-testing component. The study of the functionality has been conducted by means of eye-tracking and has required earlier preparation of the test, development of its scenario, preparation of the application to be tested, selecting the group of test-takers, conducting the procedure and analyzing the received data. The obtained results have enabled determination of the degree of the app usability which was included in the comprehensive student apps assessment.

The paper presents the results of the conducted usability tests of selected applications as well as the range of necessary improvements. The work also shows benefits and problems of including the usability-testing component in the comprehensive assessment.

Keywords:

Applications assessment, usability testing, eye-tracking.