A Software Tool to Support the Communicability Evaluation Method

Ramos C.; Moquillaza A.; Falconi F.; Paz F. · Lecture Notes in Computer Science (2026) · DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-30080-5_22

Resumen

In Semiotic Engineering, the Communicability Evaluation Method (CEM) allows for identifying breakdowns in the interaction between a user and an interface. To achieve this, the method establishes five general phases: preparation, application, classification, interpretation, and the construction of the semiotic profile. Communicability evaluation stands out for its ability to identify specific scenarios in the user-interface interaction where usability problems and communicability breakdowns are likely. However, despite this capability, the literature has not shown the presence of tools that allow automating this type of evaluation, considering the five general phases established by the method. On the contrary, different tools are combined, and information is manipulated manually, leading to overexertion and inducing errors. For this reason, in the present study, the development of a web application based on a formal process of the Communicability Evaluation Method is described, providing support for the five phases proposed by its author Clarisse de Souza. The tool allows defining the study’s objective, managing participants and evaluators, identifying breakdowns in the user-interface interaction, visualizing results, and constructing the user’s semiotic profile. In this regard, the development of this application was carried out using the OpenUp framework, where requirements were validated with expert users, and the architecture was developed in collaboration with a Software Engineering specialist. Finally, to validate the tool’s utility, a case study was conducted on a web interface for buying bus tickets with three specialists in the Human-Computer Interaction field, demonstrating the tool’s potential to automate the planning and analysis of communicability tests. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú