Avaliação ergonômica da interface do portal da coordenação de graduação do SIGAA UFPB: um relato de experiência

Abstract

The aim of this study is to conduct an ergonomic evaluation of the interface of the Undergraduate Coordination Portal within the Integrated System for Academic Activities Management (SIGAA) at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). This evaluation seeks to identify usability issues, cognitive barriers, and opportunities to improve the platform’s design. The study is based on the researcher’s professional experience as an employee of the institution, who observes daily the challenges users face when interacting with the system. This motivated a systematic analysis using heuristic evaluation techniques and the usability principles proposed by Jakob Nielsen (1994). To understand the user experience, the study adopts a qualitative, descriptive methodology, analyzing aspects such as information clarity, visual consistency, navigability, and system feedback. The methodological process includes defining the interface entry points, implementing a heuristic inspection protocol, and classifying the results according to Nielsen’s ten principles. The findings indicate that, although SIGAA is an effective and consolidated tool for academic management, it presents ergonomic limitations that negatively affect user experience. These limitations are mainly related to system state visibility, interface element consistency, and error prevention. Based on these results, a Technical Report on the Ergonomic Evaluation of Institutional Digital Interfaces and a Procedures Manual for the main activities carried out by the coordination office through the portal were developed. The goal is to standardize future analyses, encourage accessibility, and foster a user-centered design culture at UFPB, while establishing flowcharts for the main activities. Thus, this study aims to contribute to improving usability, efficiency, and user satisfaction in academic systems, integrating theory and practice within the scope of the Professional Master’s program. The resulting technical products are intended to serve as a methodological guide for future ergonomic evaluations in educational digital environments and to formalize the main activities carried out through the portal, demonstrating step-by-step processes inside and outside the system, relating standards and necessary actions for task execution.