Usability evaluation method for mobile applications for the elderly: A methodological proposal

This study aims to propose a practical methodology to measure and evaluate the usability of mHealth mobile applications, focusing on elderly users and their primary limitations. The study starts with an analysis of existing methodologies and tools to evaluate usability and integrates concepts related to inspection and inquiry methods into a proposal. The proposal includes the opinions of experts and representative users; their limitations; their profiles; the types of applications and their domains; the type of devices used; the applicability during the development process; and the accessibility. To facilitate the application of the methodology and integrate concepts found in different tools into one application, the creation of a software tool that automates the evaluation process is proposed. The applicability of the methodology and tools is evaluated and finally the results, conclusions and recommendations for future work are presented. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.