Enhancing the usability of usability design tools: The case of information requirements specification

In this paper we report the development of a tool for information requirements specification (IRS), designed to support the application of a particular IRS methodology, the Sub-Goal Template scheme (Shepherd, 1993; Shepherd and Ormerod, 1992), and the use of a notation embodied within that methodology. First, an empirical study was conducted to determine typical errors made by users of the IRS notation which was subsequently re-designed to avoid these errors through the provision of templates. Second, the tasks involved in using the IRS methodology were articulated in order to develop a process model for a computer-based support tool. Finally, an evaluation of the usability of the tool showed that it achieved the main aims of supporting both the notation and the methodology. We argue that, in developing methods that address usability issues, the usability of design aids to support the methodologies should also be subject to scrutiny.

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