Using a Hybrid Method to Evaluate the Usability of a 3D Virtual World User Interface

One of the current problems for Human-Computer Interaction is the limitation of methods to functionally evaluate usability in 3D virtual world applications. This paper describes a hybrid usability evaluation method which we use to conduct an expert review of the user interface of a 3D virtual world application in Second Life. With the walkthrough highlighting ‘in-world’ task-based problems and heuristics focusing on the user interface, the hybrid method was very effective in capturing usability problems. We therefore conclude that using a hybrid method for usability evaluation in 3D virtual world applications may be more effective than using a single-perspective method.