Wesson

Usability Issues for E-commerce & E-learning : A Developing Country Perspective
Janet WESSON, Professor, University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Janet WESSON is professor in the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at the University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and Head of the UPE Centre of Excellence in Distributed Multimedia Applications. Janet completed her Ph.D on design methodologies for usability at UPE in 1997. Her current research areas include HCI design patterns, information visualization, mobile computing, usability evaluation and web design. Janet is South Africa's national representative on IFIP TC.13 (Human-Computer Interaction) and vice-chair of CHI-SA, the South African chapter of ACM SIGCHI.

csajlw@upe.ac.za

Abstract

The growth of the Internet and the World-Wide Web (Web) since 1990 has been astonishing. Two key applications, which have been adapted for the Web, are electronic commerce (E-commerce) and online learning (E-learning). Usability has become a critical success factor for both of these applications [Helinski 1997; Wesson 2002]. The initial concern was that Web sites should be usable to enable users to easily access information on the Web. With the significant growth experienced in E-commerce, the focus has shifted from providing usable information sites to making E-commerce sites usable. The first law of E-commerce states that, if customers are looking for a product but they cannot find it, they simply cannot buy it [Nielsen, Molich et al. 2001]. The use of the Web in the future is also predicted to have more impact on learning than all the previous developments in instructional technology [Alessi and Trollip 2001]. The Web offers many opportunities for E-learning and may be used both as a platform and as a delivery medium. The issue of usability is especially relevant for developing countries like South Africa, whose user population is very diverse, in terms of culture, language, education, and computer expertise. The objective of this paper is to explore current usability issues for E-commerce and E-learning in South Africa. The results of two recent experiments conducted in this country will be discussed and common issues identified [Barnard and Wesson 2003; Taljaard and Wesson 2003]. In particular, these studies highlighted the importance of usability for both of these applications and especially the significance of user satisfaction and, in the case of E-commerce, consumer trust.