PDA용 웹사이트의 사용성 개선에 관한 연구 : 웹메일의 사용자 행동 분석을 중심으로

Abstract

The rapid development of technology has given us changes and benefit. Especially notebook, mobile phone and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) have common points that signify mobility and portability. The number of PDA users already was up to 250,000 and PDA functions are diversified for advanced users. Users expect many functions in PDA such as entertainments, education, personal uses and mobile services. Actually many PDA users are using PDA website for various purposes. Accordingly the concern with user interface design for PDA website has been improved. The companies which sell goods and services in their website also have a concern with building PDA website. But there are few studies and cases about interface design for PDA. Nowadays it is very difficult to find PDA websites that are built for PDA users. PDA websites are just composed of small icons and text based instructions. Companies don t have strategies to make a proper website for PDA version. They transfer a PC based website into smaller one containing small icons. The purpose of this thesis is to make a methodology that can improve usability for PDA website by GOMS (Goals, Operators, Methods, Selection Rules). GOMS predicts user activities in the process of interacting with computer and designers get the solutions to minimize decision time when PDA users use the mobile services. To reach the purpose of this thesis, GOMS approach is applied to show the guidelines for PDA websites. The target service for this study is web mail service of www.pda.daum.net. On the basis of results of GOMS, solutions for minimizing the decision time are recommended and prototype having improved functions is introduced to compare with current web mail service of www.pda.daum.net. The differences between prototype and current web mail service in PDA are collected and analyzed in usability test. PDA has both good characteristics (portability, mobility, compact size etc) and some constraint (small display, touch screen, stylus pen etc). When designers plan the PDA website for keeping pace with users needs, they must consider the characteristics of PDA and design the proper website for PDA users by effective empirical approach to analyze user activities. This thesis can assist many interface designers with understanding the differences of user interface in PDA website and recommending alternatives in PDA website.