| Abstract: |
A key challenge in developing any software application is designing an effective user interface. The usability of any software application can severely affect its performance. This research project focuses on the evaluation and improvement eTest - a software testing application that was developed to assist novice Java programmers improve their programming skills. As a part of this research, three learning tools have been developed to improve the usability of the eTest application: a detailed walkthrough usage guide, video demos and programming lab assignments. These tools are aimed at providing users with a better understanding of how to effectively utilize the eTest application. All these tools are web-based and are easily accessible via one main Web-portal, eTest2. This research project also focuses on the assessment of the eTest software. A web-based survey tool named eSurvey has been developed to evaluate and assess the performance of eTest. The assessment process involved usage of eSurvey to gather feedbacks from users. Based on our survey results we successfully addressed several usability issues in eTest and verified that the learning support tools are effective. |
