Heuristicidade: um software educacional baseado em Role-playing Game para exercitar princípios de usabilidade de software por analogias

Abstract

Introduction: The increasing use of technology, through devices such as computers, smartphones and tablets, influence all sectors of society, therefore there is also a growing need for systems that are more interactive for human use. Disciplines such as Human-Machine Interface (HMI) study the usability surrounding computer systems, but some practitioners in the area often do not apply the principles of HMI in the software development process. It is essential to encourage the culture of using these principles through new teaching methods in the training of new professionals. In this context, digital games emerge, especially the Role-Playing Game (RPG), which have several characteristics, among them, a motivating effect. Objective: This paper proposes educational software based on RPG to assist in the teaching and learning process of undergraduate students in Computer, on the software usability principles. Materials and Methods: Software is cross-platform available for Web, mobile and desktop context. It has two versions, a complete one developed through the Construct and a prototype codified in Java organized in Model-View-Controller architecture; both developed by the iterative and incremental process. It is an RPG that, in its plot, narrates the adventure of a citizen residing in a city with diverse problems and, through its knowledge in principles of design, solves them. These problems are arranged in challenges through analogies to contemporary situations of a city. The player assumes the role of the citizen and must solve the challenges, through interaction with other citizens, mayor of the city and resources collection. The RPG interfaces follow basic principles of design and, for their elaboration, a survey was carried out in the RPG style game literature. The scenario is 2D and uses digital gaming techniques like sprites and tilemaps. It is described in a game design document. To evaluation the software and of your contribution in the process of teaching and learning, there was a controlled experiment with objective and prospective techniques from investigation by questionnaire applied to students who attended the discipline of HMI. The questionnaires follow heuristics of pedagogical usability and design principles. The analysis of the data was given by System Usability Scale (SUS) and by statistical inference by the Chi-Square test. Results: The Heuristicity RPG was classified, after the experiment, as excellent in the SUS evaluation. Statistical analysis evidenced the hypothesis that the software provides a significant contribution in the teaching and learning process of HMI principles. Conclusions: The use of games in Education can stimulate students' interest in the teaching and learning process. It was also observed the empathy of the students in the scenario proposed, mainly, to have a friendly interface, containing playful elements and arranged in current technologies of the daily life of these students.