Supporting Usability Evaluation through Software Engineering Tools

1. Introduction Software Engineering has provided the HCI community with tools and techniques for the software design and implementation of interactive systems. Although UIMS's, user interface toolkits, and architectural models improve usability in their own way, they do not explicitly address evaluation. On the other hand, HCI tools, methods, and notations are available but not incorporated into software engineering practice. In [Coutaz 94] we discuss how HCI and software engineering may cooperate through usability testing along the main phases of the development process. In this position paper, we propose an initial taxonomical framework for classifying and assessing usability methods and show how, as user interface software engineers, we are contributing to usability testing.