Continuous improvement focused on usability: an undergraduate thesis applies established mechanisms in a web app
Francisco Heronildo Sousa Santos and João Vitor Ferreira Alves defended at FCTE/UnB an undergraduate thesis applying established usability mechanisms in an evaluation-and-improvement cycle on a web application.
Brasília, March 11, 2024
Usability is one of those characteristics whose evolution is made of small, cumulative steps, hard to justify in isolation. The undergraduate thesis defended in March 2024 by Francisco Heronildo Sousa Santos and João Vitor Ferreira Alves organizes those small steps into a structured cycle, under the advising of Prof. Fabiana Freitas Mendes .
The work grounds its methodological choice in usability mechanisms already consolidated in HCI literature — not in loose heuristics — and applies them to a specific web application in an evaluate-and-improve regime. The duo observes user behavior, identifies friction points, proposes interventions, and measures before-and-after with objective criteria.
This approach brings software quality into the daily life of a real product, avoiding the trap of discussing usability in the abstract. The result is not only an illustrated case but a replicable process for other applications — usually far more valuable than any one-off redesign.
The full text — written in Portuguese — is available at the UnB Undergraduate Theses Digital Library.
About CEDIS: The Center for Studies, Development, and Innovation in Software (CEDIS), linked to the University of Brasília, researches and develops innovative software solutions.