Automatic consistency evaluation tool for graphical user interfaces

Computer tools for usability evaluation are useful for quantitative usability evaluation. We propose methods for automatically evaluating the consistency of Graphical User Interface (GUI) widget properties. These methods detect inconsistent widgets by judging widgets that have minor property values as inconsistent with widgets that have major ones, as human evaluators do. We also propose a method for recording widget property values. This method records the data by using GUI application executables, not GUI resource files. We have developed a computer tool, GUITESTER2, which can implement the proposed methods. The tool could detect inconsistencies in labeling terminology, button locations, etc., for existing GUI applications, which confirmed the effectiveness of the tool.