Competitive Usability Studies of Virtual Environments for Shipbuilding

Establishing usability specifications as measurable attributes in repeatable scenarios has been an essential task in the management and continuous improvement processes [1]. Early studies in Usability Analysis were primarily conducted to assist software developers and hardware designers in improving the Human- Computer Interface (HCI) or Man- Machine Interface (MMI). However, this study was conducted to provide comparative data supporting broad conclusions regarding the comparative merits of one technology (nonstereoscopic, conventional CAD systems) competed against another (tracked, stereoscopic virtual environments). Competing environments to establish usability features and preferences provides a new tool to the interface designer. Benchmark scenarios were designed and executed to measure navigation, fault identification/repair, and spatial awareness through a sequence of choices and to provide user preference of one GUI paradigm over another functionally similar paradigm. This study, performed on a ship design application, included an analysis of the effects of user collaboration in virtual environments.

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