Avaliação heurística da usabilidade em museus virtuais: uma análise do Museu da Diversidade Sexual

Abstract

This research aims to investigate aspects related to usability in virtual museums. The object of study is the website Museum of Sexual Diversity, due to its relevance and scope in the context of museums and virtual exhibitions. To develop this research, the following starting question is raised: Which usability aspects, supported by Jakob Nielsen's ten heuristics and Izabel França de Lima's model, are present in the Museum of Sexual Diversity? From this, the general objective is to evaluate the usability of the digital information environment of the Museum of Sexual Diversity, based on Jakob Nielsen's Heuristics and Izabel França de Lima's methodological model. It is theoretically supported by the areas of Information Science, with a focus on usability and Museology, with emphasis on the concept of a virtual museum, thus being a multidisciplinary research. Methodologically, it is characterized as research of an applied nature, with a mixed approach, descriptive in terms of objectives and operationalized by the case study method. It uses an electronic form as a data collection instrument, divided into ten heuristics that make it possible to measure aspects of efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction regarding the usability of the Museum of Sexual Diversity. The target audience for this research is assessment specialists categorized as beginners, intermediate or advanced. 15 evaluators participated in the research, 6 beginners, 6 intermediate and 3 advanced. The results demonstrate that the Museum of Sexual Diversity generally meets the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction, with possibilities for small adjustments that can improve usability. The main improvement suggested relates to the implementation of a search tool, since the lack of this negatively affected the evaluation of usability in the three categories analyzed. The other adjustments are specific suggestions that can be applied to future changes to the website and can provide a better user experience, with usability problems corrected. It is concluded that virtual museums are fundamental spaces for the democratization of cultural heritage and, in this context, the Museum of Sexual Diversity is an important environment for preserving the memory and culture of the LGBTQIAPN+ community. Therefore, for virtual spaces to have their role enhanced, it is pertinent to carry out a usability assessment to correct any flaws or problems.