How Assessing Plasticity Design Choices Can Improve UI Quality: A Case Study

International audienceIn Human Computer Interaction, plasticity refers to the capacity of User Interfaces (UIs) to withstand variations of context of use while preserving quality in use. Frequently, insuring more or less smooth transition from one context of use to the other (from the end-user perspective) is conducted ad hoc. To support a more systematic approach for characterizing UI tuning in terms of quality in use along context of use variations, we present an exploratory study focused deliberately on platform aspects. The design process of this particular case study is detailed and all design decisions have been recorded in terms of their influence on UI ergonomic quality, using Ergonomic Criteria. The interesting result is that most design choices when changing the platform lead to the reexamination of the initial designs. Ongoing work is done to support the insight that considering plasticity seems to help in explicitly broadening UI design choices and sharpening the solution