Title: Heuristic, accessibility and usability evaluations of Pakistan's e-government websites

Authors: Rabab Fatima Ansari; Afifa Baqar; Hamna Hassan; Fareeha Saeed

Addresses: Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C, Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan ' Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C, Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan ' Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C, Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan ' Department of Computer Science and Information Technology, Jinnah University for Women, 5-C, Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract: Internet becoming a necessity of life is the reason why government organisations have started to interact with citizens via web. If these websites do not meet the user's need that is being useful, usable and accessible, the users are not going to use them resulting in complications and confusion. Current efforts on government website design mainly concentrate on website features that would enhance its usability, but few of them answer why some websites are better than others to facilitate citizens' information seeking. This paper evaluates accessibility, heuristic and usability faced by citizens in e-government websites. The study is conducted on the basis of Web Content Accessibility Guideline version 2.0 and Jakob Nielsen's heuristic principles, using web accessibility tools and conducting a survey on usability testing. The objective of this research paper is to create awareness among people about HCI principles and ignorance of government towards disabled users.

Keywords: website accessibility; heuristic evaluation; website usability; e-government; electronic government; government websites; website design; disabled users; disabilities; HCI; human-computer interaction; Pakistan.

DOI: 10.1504/EG.2016.074247

Electronic Government, an International Journal, 2016 Vol.12 No.1, pp.66 - 85

Received: 27 Nov 2014
Accepted: 28 Sep 2015
Published online: 19 Jan 2016 *

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