Usability Requirements for Learning Management Systems in Open Distance Electronic Learning Environments: Considering Lecturers’ Views on Students’ Needs

Abstract

The global digitization drive, accelerated by the 2020 health pandemic brought renewed research interest in the use and usability of learning management systems (LMSs). The purpose of this study was to propose validated usability guidelines for an LMS in an open distance and electronic learning (ODeL) context based on lecturers’ views of students’ needs. A set of usability requirements was abstracted from the literature and used as the basis for a heuristic evaluation (HE) of the institution’s LMS. The results were triangulated with the results of three other usability evaluation methods including usability testing with eye tracking, a post-test system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire and interviews. The primary contribution is the validated usability requirements for ODeL LMSs. A secondary contribution is the triangulation approach, which allowed a comparison of the usability evaluation methods’ results and confirmed HE as an effective and efficient evaluation method for LMSs.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work is based on the research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa [Grant No. 98564].

Notes on contributors

Sewisha Lehong

Sewisha Lehong has an MSc in Computing and is pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at the University of South Africa (Unisa). He lectures in Computer Science and Information Systems at Unisa and has contributed by publications at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction and Information and Communication for Development.

Judy van Biljon

Judy van Biljon has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of South Africa and an MSc from the University of the Free State. She holds the National Research Foundation’s Chair in Information and Communication for Development hosted by the School of Computing at the University of South Africa.

Ian Sanders

Ian Sanders has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Pretoria and an MSc in Applied Mathematics from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He was a full Professor at the University of South Africa until the end of 2021. He is retired but still supervising postgraduate students.