Investigating the Usability of the Integrated Research Automation System (SYAT): A Heuristic Evaluation

Objectives: Today, many hardware and software products, including office automation software, and web-based websites are used by employees, including professors and employees of different departments in offices. Websites are considered one of the main competitive advantages in any organization. This study aims to investigate the usability of the Integrated Research Automation System (SYAT): A Heuristic Evaluation. Methods: The present study was a descriptive- cross- sectional study with a heuristic evaluation performed on the integrated research system software (SYAT) by 3 evaluators. They then evaluated the intensity of each of the ten options and scored from 0 to 4. After each problem was classified as one of the 10 branches of Nielsen's evaluation by the evaluators, similar problems were eliminated and the average scores and the severity of the deterioration of the problems were calculated. Results: A total of 92 usability problems were identified in evaluating the usability of the web-based software (system) using the components provided by Nielsen. The majority of the issues were related to the detection instead of reminder with 16 problems (17.32%). The lowest number of problems was related to both compatibilities between the system and the real world, and the clarity of the system status with 6 cases (6.52%). Conclusion: The usability assessment method is inexpensive and simple and the problems caused by websites and applications can be evaluated as feedback to improve them. The more accurate the needs of SYAT system users are, the more effective the system will be and the more satisfied the users will be.