Improving the Usability of Design Tools
Open Access
- Author:
- Reddie, Madison
- Area of Honors:
- Elective Area of Honors - Engineering Design
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Matthew B Parkinson, Thesis Supervisor
Sven G Bilen, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- design tools
usability
design - Abstract:
- Design research ultimately seeks to advance engineering and design activities. However, industry professionals, not researchers, are responsible for designing most of the artifacts that surround us on a daily basis. Therefore, academic researchers must translate their work into a format that is usable by industry designers in order to see their research implemented on a large scale. Resources generated for this purpose are referred to as design tools. Despite the efforts made by researchers to create design tools and the presence of a thorough articulation of user needs for design tools in the literature, studies consistently find that such tools are seldom used in industry due to significant usability issues. This thesis uses the Virtual Fit Tool, an ergonomics resource, to investigate and reconcile the disconnect between the literature regarding design tool requirements and users’ real experiences with design tools. An initial usability study of the Virtual Fit Tool highlights usability problems within the tool and informs design changes, along with the literature. After a comprehensive redesign process, a second usability study of the redesigned tool demonstrates an improved user experience but also outstanding shortcomings and usability challenges that the literature did not predict. Implications for design tool development that are applicable to research in all engineering and design domains are drawn from these findings.