Agile and context-adaptable methodology for the holistic and systematic evaluation of Web site quality

The high relevance of web-based applications nowadays, the importance of assuring their quality given their penetration in diverse and important economic areas and the special and demanding context on which this software is developed, have motivated the development of this dissertation. A methodology to assess the quality of web sites is defined which incorporates certain features that make it especially suitable to confront the demanding requirements of web development.;The core innovation of the defined method is based on the integration of its features, that although present in other, very few, evaluation methods, suppose the confluence of all of them in one simple solution which confers it a unique identity. Thus, on one side it is remarkable its agile and systematic nature, based on the usage of evaluation patterns which constitute expert knowledge reusable in different evaluations. On the other hand, it is noteworthy its capacity to adapt its behaviour to the particular features of web sites, being able of determining through its analysis process based on the use of facets or web characterisation methods, what elements must be evaluated in each case and with what priority. Besides, it is important to stress its integral character, a quality seldom encountered which responds to its global quality vision in which seven attributes are considered such as usability, accessibility, security, performance, functionality, reliability and maintainability. Finally, it is important to take into account that this method is designed to be used when a product is deployed or in its last development stages, so that the evaluation will not constitute an additional effort over the development process.;All the good features mentioned have been proved experimentally. This process has allowed this method's usage improvements by evaluators without experience, providing a more efficient and satisfactory evaluation method than other existing evaluation techniques. The evaluation framework is completed with the construction of a tool capable of supporting all the steps involved in the evaluation process.