Usability Evaluation of E-Commerce Website

This article discusses the usability evaluation of an e-commerce website, specifically focusing on the iTunes platform. It covers the interactive system and its users, use cases, usability requirements, evaluation methodology, findings, and more.

Running head: USABILITY EVALUTION OF E-COMMERCE WEBSITE
USABILITY EVALUTION OF E-COMMERCE WEBSITE
Name of student
Name of university
Author’s note:

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Table of Contents
Part ONE: The interactive system and its users.............................................................2
Part TWO: The use cases...............................................................................................3
Part THREE: The usability requirements......................................................................4
Part FOUR: The evaluation methodology......................................................................5
Part FIVE: The evaluation.............................................................................................6
Part SIX: The findings of the evaluation........................................................................7
Bibliography.................................................................................................................10
Appendix......................................................................................................................13

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Part ONE: The interactive system and its users
The chosen e-Commerce website is the iTunes. The website is the platform of the
digital music application, which permits the users of the Mac and Windows for creating as
well as managing the library of the digital music on the computer. The users could rip the
songs from the favourite CDs for storing as MP3s in music library, it could help the
individuals in making their respective mixes by the creation customised play lists, that
includes the smart play lists and it helps the individuals in burning play lists to the CD. While
the individuals listen to the music, the users could watch the visualisations either in iTunes
window or as the graphic of full screen. iTunes also helps in the interfacing easily with the
iPod, popular MP3 player of the company for the simplified transfer of the music among the
mobile devices and the computer. The unique feature of iTunes is iTunes music store where
the users could search for and also buy the music for minimal amount without the having for
subscribing to anything. iTunes could be downloaded free from Apple website. The iTunes
has been targeted to the people utilising the computers executing the MacOS X, Windows
2000 or the higher version of the Windows. There are no particular demographic targets
recognised.

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Part TWO: The use cases
The use case of the iTunes could be identified from the use case as it has been
described in the image above. The customer could perform the tasks of the buying music,

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stream any music and also manage the account of their iTunes id. The administrator executes
the task of the proper management of the iTunes website and manage the credentials of the
users of website. They manage the inventory of the website and include the new songs in the
database of the website. This provides the users with the ability of accessing the website and
listen the music from website.
Part THREE: The usability requirements
For executing the usability evaluation of the iTunes website, the usability
requirements can be characterised as:
Data requirements: Data requirements helps developers in the realising of the methods
utilising that data will be gathered and used for the planning and the building of the database
with proper functionality that can help in supporting the flow of the information.
User experience requirements: The major requirements for the evaluation of the
website is the simplification of accessing and memorising the features of the website for the
users which would help the users to visit the second time on the website and access the
features of the website.
User requirements: Users should be offered with capability of the effective and
comfortable using of the interface for the completing of the goals that have been designed for
supporting from that website. It is recommended to exploit the contextual text analysis for
achieving the valuable insight for methods using which users might be expected to behave,
by observation of currently methods of the performing of any task which could be efficiently
executed by interface.
Functional requirements: It is mandatory to have the proper knowledge when the
major characteristics of the website has been made for the describing major methods using

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which the characteristics would perform the function for the supporting all the workflow of
users and steps that are to be undertaken for the completion of any of the task.
Part FOUR: The evaluation methodology
The heuristics evaluation usability methodology has been utilised for the producing of
the discoveries and it has been summarised in this report. According to several experts of the
usability evaluation, any heuristic evaluation includes the having of small set of the
evaluators who perform the task of the examining of the interface along with judging the
compliance with the identified principles of the usability. Commonly this method is described
as the discount usability method, this particular method permits the evaluators in the
discovering of the probable problems of the usability in any product or any application in any
single go. Later, the more expensive and extensive user testing could perform the
investigation of the usability of the problems that are identified using the heuristics
evaluation. When the execution of the heuristics evaluation is done, the evaluators execute
the comparison among the predefined set of the particular usability principles with the
product or the website interface with the attempt of accomplishing the actual tasks of the
system. The evaluators might work either individually with the combining of the discoveries
later or they might execute the evaluation at similar time with each of the individuals
focusing on the various dissimilar heuristics. The particular goals of the project, the three
evaluators performed the development and utilised the set of the nine heuristics for the
discovering of the problems of the usability in the application interface of the iTunes digital
music platform. The goal of the project is the identification of the major flaws in the usability
in iTunes digital music application utilising the predefined techniques of the heuristics
evaluation. Additionally, heuristic evaluation discovered the controversial situations where
any application might violate the conventional heuristics by prevailing to be significantly

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usable for actual user. As soon as the identification of the problems of the usability has been
done, the prioritisation of the problems was done.
Part FIVE: The evaluation
Majority of the popular available lists for the heuristics are particularly oriented
towards evaluation of the websites. As the computer application and the e-Commerce
websites, the iTunes consists of the various interfaces as well as the navigation styles than
any conventional website. For the best accommodation of these specific requirements, the set
of the ten heuristics has been combined and the set of the nine design principles have been
considered. For aiding this evaluation process, broad heuristics had been supplemented with
the increased descriptive notes.
Number Broad heuristics
1 Effective command/menu structure
2 Utilisation of the natural and simple
language
3 Provide the feedback
4 Minimise memory load of the user
5 Provide the required help
6 Provide the visibly marked exits
7 Be consistent
8 Utilise the aesthetic and the minimalist
design
9 Effectively deal with the errors

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For the useful grouping of the findings that are discovered from the process of the
heuristic evaluation, the clustering of the particular instances of the heuristic violations into
the eleven problem areas has been done. For gaining the further understanding of the impact
of the particular problems, the estimation of both the severity in the terms of the principles of
the usability and the simplification along with which each of the problems might be solved.
The ratings of the problem severity were discovered to be impacted through the frequency by
which the problems took place, the ease by which user might overcome that specific problem
and the diligence of that problem that is the decision of it might be solved in one go or it
might bother any user each time any task has been attempted. It led to the dual rating for each
of the problem that was discovered that was later utilised for the prioritisation of the areas of
the problems for the presentation in the report.
Rankings of the severity
Rating Definition
0 Violates the heuristic but it does not seem to be any major usability problem
1 Artificial usability problem, could be simply overcome by the user or it might
occur less frequently.
2 Minor usability problem that means it might occur frequently or it might be
increasingly difficult in overcoming.
3 Major usability problem
4 Catastrophe in usability
Part SIX: The findings of the evaluation
After the completion of the heuristics evaluation of the considered iTunes digital
music application, it has been identified that the major eleven problems are involved in the

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application that could violate the conventional principles of the usability. The specific
problems are prioritised below along with most severe and the easiest to rectify the problems
have been listed in initially and it majorly illustrates that the iTunes comprises of the
numerous problems in the sector of the usability for the users and in area of the consistency
and this heuristic has been violated in the six of eleven areas of the problem. Specifically for
the Windows operating system, the users are discovered to be increasingly unfamiliar with
the conventional elements of the interface of Apple and there might be the immense problems
of the memory load. While these specific areas might not be significantly considered as
problematic by the users of the Apple website, the Windows users are the part of iTunes
targeted population. For enhancing the support for this part of the targeted population, the
developers of the iTunes might require to implement the additional customisation for the
version of the Windows of the iTunes. The most severe problems have been listed below as:
Problem 1: While the importing and the organisation of the digital music within the
interface of the iTunes, the evaluators discovered that there are some inconsistencies among
the language that are used in the buttons, menus, as well as the tooltips that are available in
the interface. These specific problems denotes that there is the violation of some heuristic that
states that the vocabulary, functionality as well as the labelling must be significantly
consistent in the particular tasks and all across the interface as complete. This specific
problem area could be ranked as the major problem in the usability for the users as it might
occur in the various places all through the interface and also due to the fact that the it could
not be rectified by a particular action on part of any user.
Problem 2: for maintaining the total consistency all through the interface, the same
information must be presented along the same location on all the screens and the dialog boxes
as well as it should be accurately formatted in similar way. Additionally, the principles of the
usability suggest the avoiding of the modes in the application interfaces that permits the

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access to various functionality as per the present mode. In some methods, the iTunes also
offers the modal interface to the users. This specific functionality that is available in interface
alters on the basis of the presently chosen source of the music. It violates another heuristics
that states that the designers must maintain the total consistency all through the interface. In
several instance the alteration in the functionality of the sources hides by making this
available only from that menu. In several other instances, the interface tools have been made
available on the inconsistent basis among the various source nodes. Commonly the buttons
appear to alter on the basis of the presently chosen source. This specific problem in the
usability has been ranked as the minor problem as it primarily due to the fact that it is
immensely unclear if the manifestation of this particular problem in the interface does impact
it actually and whether it makes the application increasingly confusing for the users.
Problem 3: One more problem that has been discovered is that the cart of the website
comprises of some problem while performing the transaction in the website. There are some
problem where the website hangs for some time while some of the user executed the
transaction and it could be considered as the problem for the website of the organisation. It
could lead to the damage of the reputation among the users regarding the website as it makes
the users getting repelled from the website.

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Appendix