Abstract
A user interface cost benefit analysis is an examination of the estimated costs associated with user interface design and evaluation tasks against the potential benefits to the software product. The Cost Benefit Analysis Tool (CBAT) is a human factors management tool written in SuperCard™. The tool is based on research by Mayhew (1993) and Mantei and Teorey (1988). CBAT supplements previous research efforts by the addition of more user interface tasks during typical software development lifecycle phases. The main cost benefit form is completed by means of electronic worksheets which are used to estimate both the costs and the benefits used in the overall analysis. Both cost and benefit estimates can be tailored to individual organizational needs. The tool provides the capability to print out data used to perform the cost benefit analysis and on-line help is provided for all worksheets. Future enhancements to CBAT are suggested in the following areas: additional user interface cost tasks and benefit estimates, the saving of analysis data into individual files, the inclusion of a graphic scheduling capability, and improvements to the software performance and flexibility.
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