Title: A heuristic evaluation instrument for e-government online software

Authors: Jerald Hughes; Punit Ahluwalia; Vishal Midha

Addresses: Computer Information Systems, College of Business Administration, University of Texas – Pan American, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, 78539 TX, USA ' Computer Information Systems, College of Business Administration, University of Texas – Pan American, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, 78539 TX, USA ' Computer Information Systems, College of Business Administration, University of Texas – Pan American, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, 78539 TX, USA

Abstract: An important component of e-government maturity is online software tools for financial analysis directly on the website. This paper develops a novel extension of website heuristic evaluation methodology, contributing a set of guidelines which encompasses not only website content, but also online software quality, based on established software evaluation concerns. Interactive online retirement and tax planning software tools are used as exemplars to demonstrate the evaluation methodology. Online software tools from five nations in four regions of the globe are evaluated for three different kinds of tasks. Results indicate that such tools have considerable room for improvement.

Keywords: electronic government; e-government usability; heuristic evaluation; online software; online calculators; interactive software; e-government maturity; financial analysis; website content; software quality; software evaluation; retirement planning; tax planning.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2013.051273

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2013 Vol.10 No.1, pp.1 - 18

Published online: 03 Jan 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article