WebTracer: A new web usability evaluation environment using gazing point information

WebTracer is a new usability evaluation environment that supports recording, replaying, and analysis of a gazing point and operation while a user is browsing a website. WebTracer can record a user’s gazing point and operation compactly. Results of an experimental evaluation showed that the size of the operation history recorded by WebTracer was from 1/10 to 1/20 of the size of data recorded by an MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 format. With its compact form, the results of usability testing with the gazing point can be efficiently shared. It is expected to easily share empirical data between researchers. Also, evaluators can easily send the testing results as a feedback to the developers over the Internet. Moreover, the results show a possibility that gazing points related to usability. For example, when the menu of a Web page is divided into two panes, gazing points move more quickly. It seems that WebTracer efficiently improves usability evaluation, with gazing point data helping to identify pro...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2007
• Where: ECRA
• Authors: Noboru Nakamichi, Makoto Sakai, Kazuyuki Shima, Jian Hu, Ken-ichi Matsumoto
• Keywords: ECRA 2007, Gazing Point, Usability Evaluation, Usability Evaluation Environment