An API Design Process in Terms of Usability: A Case Study on Building More Usable APIs for Smart TV Platform

A systematic mapping study of API usability evaluation methods

“…In addition, evaluating the usability of an API after it is developed, though useful, can be a time-consuming and expensive task since the results of the evaluation may require changes that can be costly to fix once Only two approaches are available in the current literature that address the evaluation of API usability from the design phase. The work of Lee et al [55] and Macvean et al [57] address incorporating API usability evaluation strategies starting from the design phase, so that its usability is continuously monitored and addressed throughout the development phase. These approaches can be of advantage in a team environment, where APIs are developed collaboratively.…”

“…• Unambiguousity: Lee et. al [55] defines it as: The function of an API is figured out by its name. The name conforms to the coding conventions.…”

“…• Primitiveness: Lee et. al [55] defines it as: An API provides a single function. If the function can be provided by the combination of other APIs, it does not meet primitiveness.…”

“…• Convenience: Lee et. al [55] defines it as: The parameters in an API are minimally defined, and order and type of parameters keep consistency.…”

“…Their work found that most of the concerns conformed to the MVC architecture. However, four design flaws negatively affected the usability of JTree that can be fixed to improve its usability.The work of Watson[95], Farooq and Zirkler[30], Faulring et al[31], Grill et al[37], Lee et al[55], Macvean et al[57] and Mosqueira-Rey et al[60] provided new approaches to review APIs in order to evaluate their usability.Watson[95] applied technical communication in the initial design of an API in order to improve its usability. Based on heuristics taken from design guidelines by Cwalina and Abrams[23], he evaluated the usability of an API from a documentation perspective and analysed the API elements for their consistency.The suggestions were incorporated by the development team and corrections were made to make APIs more usable.…”