The concept maps method as a tool to evaluate the usability of APIs

Application programming interfaces (APIs) are the interfaces to existing code structures, such as widgets, frameworks, or toolkits. Therefore, they very much do have an impact on the quality of the resulting system. So, ensuring that developers can make the most out of them is an important challenge. However standard usability evaluation methods as known from HCI have limitations in grasping the interaction between developer and API as most IDEs (essentially the GUI) capture only part of it. In this paper we present the Concept Map method to study the usability of an API over time. This allows us to elicit the mental model of a programmer when using an API and thereby identify usability issues and learning barriers and their development over time. Author Keywords API usability, evaluation method, longitudinal, concept maps. ACM Classification Keywords H5.2. [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User Interfaces. Evaluation/methodology. General Terms Measurement.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Jens Gerken, Hans-Christian Jetter, Michael Zöllner, Martin Mader, Harald Reiterer
• Keywords: Application Programming Interfaces, CHI 2011, Concept Maps, Human Computer Interaction, Usability Evaluation Methods