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Usability as a Key Quality Characteristic for Developing CAAD Tools and Environments

In this paper, we will stress the importance of usability as a key quality characteristic for the Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) software prototypes. We claim that usability evaluation practices can assist the integration of human factors and the accommodation of local differences. These practices are not solely limited to interface tests, but they can also provide valuable information on the possible added values of CAAD software prototypes, increase the overall product quality and thus contribute to the sustainable development of the CAAD research field. In this context, we aim to initiate a constructive discussion on this topic by reviewing various usability frameworks and highlighting possible opportunities and challenges of applicable evaluation methods. Consequent to this discussion, we will elaborate on our recent findings relating to the reliability and effectiveness of particular evaluation methods applied to a web-based geographic virtual environment prototype. In conclusion, we will introduce a new “design usability” framework that is suitable for CAAD software development; which suggests a variety of design usability quality characteristics, cost-effective evaluation methods and possible influence factors in the evaluation process.