• Archives of design research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.147-156
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• 2004

Currently, usability tests for web sites with representative users are conducted in laboratory environment that disturbs subjects' natural behavior. These test methods are inefficient for tests that require large number of subjects, because experimenters and subjects should be located in the same place at the same time during the test. In this study, a remote usability test tool, called 'RIO' has been developed to cope with these laboratory-based experiment problems - the 'synchronism' and the 'unnatural environment'. The tool is separated into three parts: 'Project Manager', 'Remote Interaction Observer', and 'Interaction Analyzer'. 'Project Manager' sets up overall experimental parameters and actual tasks to be peformed by subjects. 'Remote Interaction Observer', endued with Microsoft Internet Explorer Control, is a modified Web Browser which records user interactions, screen images and elaborate browser events while subject performs given tasks. This module is distributed to subjects as an installable software package. When they finish all the tasks, the captured interaction data is compressed and sent to 'Interaction Data Server' automatically. 'Interaction Analyzer' visualizes interaction data from the 'Interaction Data Server'. It also generates project-scope statistics which facilitate discovering peculiar cases among interaction submissions.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.41-49
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• 2013

A tool to assist in designing an eco-village was developed using GIS(Geographical Information System) and RS(Remote Sensing) data and images. The difficulties of using GIS by untrained designers are resolved by simplifying the usage and making it a user friendly scenario-based tool, so that the designers with limited knowledge in GIS can use as a design tool. For this task, Da-Mu-Po, a village in Pohang, Gyeongbuk was picked as a site to test the design tool; through planning and designing as an eco friendly village, we tested the flexibility and usability of our newly developed design tool. From this experiment we also introduced test version of stand-alone GIS design tool by constructing program scenario and GUI(Graphic User Interface).

• Archives of design research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.221-230
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• 2004

Existing usability testing method, particularly lab-based usability testing, has been widely implemented for development of user interface. However, the method has critical disadvantages such as high cost, time and effort, unnatural testing environment, and lack of user's direct participation in information architecture. With these backgrounds, this paper aims to develop the web-based participatory tool with particular focus on card sorting. Our tool was developed for allowing user to participate in card sorting with his own computer through web. All the data generated while user is participating in the test are automatically sent to the server, which makes it very easy to collect card sorting data. Users can drag cards of interface elements directly and build the interface structure in their own from their computer-screen so that they can represent their mental models on interface structure of testing website. These functions of our tool can help designers to implement card sorting without tedious and time consuming procedures and improve the method of usability testing by reinforcing user's active participation in building an information architecture.