Evaluating the usability impacts of security interface adjustments in Word |
Prior research has suggested that integrating security features with user goals and increasing their visibility would improve the usability of the associated functionalities. This paper investigates how these approaches affect the efficiency of use and the level of user satisfaction. The user interface of Word 2007 was modified according to these principles, with usability tests being conducted with both the original and the modified user interfaces. The results suggest that integrating security features with user goals improves the efficiency of use, but the impacts upon user satisfaction cannot be clearly identified based on the collected data. No indications of any major improvements in the efficiency of use or user satisfaction are found when the visibility of security features is increased. The combination of these two methods seems to improve both the efficiency of use and the resulting user satisfaction.
Helala M, Furnell SM, Papadaki M