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Figure 2. Points of interaction for usability experts in open source projects
not seen in open source project domain, then it's
automatically omitted so developers can focus
on a potentially realizable method. Below is a
graphical diagram showing what usability activi-
ties can be deployed during the production of an
open source product where developers interact
on a dispersed geographical location during an
asynchronous time frame.
Figure 2 shows many advantages, giving a
broad overview of when and which usability ac-
tivities can be immersed in open source projects.
The main differentiating point of this model is
that, it provides additional activities and deletes
those which cannot be realized in distributed, open
source projects with little end user activity and
budget. For example, usability tests are omitted
while they are regarded as strong validators from
end users' point of view.
Main features of this model are as follows:
monitoring possibility.
5.
It's a common sense to report usability bugs in
the first review stage. As subsequent design
> coding > review cycles occur, bug reports
start to increase in design and coding stage
also, with the help of increase in the number
of end users.
ConClusion
In this chapter, we examined different types of
collaboration methods of usability experts and
developers working in a distributed domain, focus-
ing particularly on open source projects. Given
the limitations and features of usability processes
in this approach, we proposed an “open usability
engineering method” which could be exploited in
distributed projects, which could assure the success
of open source projects usability wise.
Just as the scarcity of well-defined usability
processes, experts and users giving feedback in
open source world, there's also lack of a structured
approval system. Since developers are also users
of the application, there's a self-approval method
in terms of reliability, security, performance, and
also usability, eliminating the need for 3
rd
party
interaction. Instead of building a self-dependency
framework, projects could be implementing an
open, distributed usability approval methodology.
A certification model could also be adopted in order
1.
Each stage is interconnected and related with
at least one usability activity.
2.
Usability starts early in planning stage;
however it's a common way to increase the
level of usability activities during the design
and coding phases.
3.
Each activity is used at least in one stage.
The only point where the user is not involved
is the planning stage.
4.
Every activity can be tracked via the Internet,
giving project stakeholders a controlling and
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