| Abstract | Descriptions of problems found in usability evaluations aim to help developers improve an
interactive system. However, little is know about what makes a problem description useful to
developers. The present paper describes how four developers assessed the utility of 619
usability problems and relates their assessments to characteristics of how problems were
described. Developers find problem descriptions that are clear, propose solutions, and elaborate
on why something is a problem of significantly higher utility than problems without such
information. Problems coded as persistent for expert users are assessed of higher utility than
descriptions of novice users’ problems. Reference to observable user actions made no difference
to developers’ assessment of utility. While developers did not see problems produced with an
empirical and an inspection method as differing in utility, methods differed in how problems
were described. We conclude by discussing recommendations for how to report the results of
usability evaluations. |