MEASURING SATISFACTION OF USAGE OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEM (WBIS) FOR e-SERVICES

Advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the drastic growth of the Internet over the past decade have considerably changed the environment for end users of computer systems. Therefore, it is important to review how user satisfaction is measured with information systems, especially in a web-based environment. User satisfaction has become one of the most important measures of the success or effectiveness of information systems; however, there is a need of better understanding of its structure and dimensionality in the web environment. The objective of this research was to develop and validate an instrument for measuring user satisfaction in a web-based environment. In this research, three commercial websites were taken as representatives of Web-Based Information Systems (WBIS) for e-services. This study involved testing the validity and reliability of the end-user satisfaction over a set of heuristics, based on responses from users of three e-service websites. This thesis explores not only the role of user satisfaction but also the role of aesthetics and other factors, which play a significant role in service oriented websites. In the past, satisfaction was thought to originate from the effectiveness and efficiency of a product and less from its aesthetic qualities. This theory is beginning to change as numerous studies have indicated the importance of visual aesthetics in web design. In service interfaces, aesthetics (the perceived visual appeal and appropriateness of an object) has shown to correlate positively with many aspects of usability and emotional satisfaction