Usability evaluation methods: mind the gaps

The strengths and weaknesses of heuristic evaluation have been well researched. Despite known weaknesses, heuristic evaluation is still widely used since formal usability testing (also referred to as empirical user testing) is more costly and time consuming. What has received less attention is the type of information heuristic evaluation conveys in comparison to empirical user testing supported by eye tracking and user observation. If usability methods are combined, it becomes even more important to distinguish the information contribution by each method. This paper investigates the application of two usability evaluation methods, namely heuristic evaluation and empirical user testing supported by eye tracking, to the website of a learning management system with the intent of discovering the difference in the usability information yielded. Heuristic evaluation as an inspection method is accepted to be fundamentally different from empirical user testing. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the nature of the differences by identifying the kind of usability problems identified through each method. The findings should be of interest to researchers, designers and usability practitioners involved in website design and evaluation.