Percepção estética da interface e desempenho do usuário em tarefas operacionais: estudo de caso em um sistema de gerenciamento de chaves

Abstract

This study investigated whether there is an association between perceived interface aesthetics and user performance in operational tasks, considering task duration and error rate. The objects of analysis were the initial and improved versions of the prototype of a key management system, whose development followed user-centered design principles. The methodology involved the application of interactive tests with Maze, in which cognitive walkthrough, task duration, and error rate were assessed, along with qualitative observations, complemented by the VisAWI questionnaire for qualitative-quantitative evaluation of aesthetics. Results indicated that participants successfully completed the proposed tasks and assigned high aesthetic ratings to the interface in both tested versions (mean scores close to 6.5 on a 7-point scale). Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that only performance variables were significantly associated with each other, while correlations between performance and aesthetics were slightly negative but very close to zero, suggesting that a visually pleasant interface does not necessarily imply greater efficiency in task execution for the context in which it was applied. Nevertheless, the improved version presented a reduction in error rate, indicating a possible indirect influence of aesthetics. Practical contributions include the combined use of interactive testing and aesthetic evaluation to guide visual and functional improvements, as well as the appreciation of aesthetics from the pre-development stage of technological solutions. Theoretically, the study complements the literature on user-centered design by discussing the boundaries of the relationship between aesthetics and performance.