Evaluation of South African Universities’ Web Portal Interfaces using a Triangulation of Ubiquitous Computing Evaluation Areas and Technology Acceptance Model

Abstract

There are growing concerns over the user friendliness and other usability issues of South African Universities’ Web Portal Interfaces (UWPIs), which obviously will negate the user acceptance of the UWPIs. The main goal of this study is to develop a framework that could be used to evaluate and provide additional guidelines to improve the Usability and User Acceptance of South African UWPIs. The study applies a triangulation of Ubiquitous computing Evaluation Areas (UEAs) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as theoretical foundations to derive the research model. Multiple regression and stepwise regression analyses are used. The results suggest that Interaction and Invisibility of UWPIs are the most important measures that have a huge impact on user acceptance and usability, respectively. The results of the study provide guidelines for the design and development of South Africa UWPIs to meet their usability and user acceptance.