ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 675

Validation and Usability Testing
While the benefits of large dataset visualisation, including enhancing comprehension, enabling
multi-scale evaluation, and facilitating hypothesis formation (Ware, 2012) have long been established in principle, there is little guarantee that an individual software application will achieve
these aims. To validate the effectiveness of EnViz, a two-year testing programme was initiated.
Usability testing is generally viewed as an aspect of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). A major
part involves field testing with non-expert users, ideally with controlled experiments that allow
the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data (Te’eni et al., 2007). A typical approach is
to measure parameters such as Response Time, Response Accuracy, and Mental Effort (Huang et
al., 2009).
The EnViz testing programme involved modelling and testing three different examples of different scales and building typologies. The usability testing was in the form of eight workshops with
a total of 89 participants which took place in three venues in the UK and Mexico. The Response
Accuracy of the participants was measured directly while the Mental Effort was gauged indirectly via user self-reporting in questionnaires. In these experiment, participants had increased Response Accuracy when using EnViz compared to the traditional spreadsheet form (despite the
users not having used the application before), while there was a clear preference in using the
application to examine the data, as opposed to using Excel. The results were documented extensively in a journal paper (Patlakas et al, 2014).

Gamification in the Built Environment
Gamification, defined here as using a game-like format to achieve a target outside pure entertainment, diversion, or leisure, has seen a rapid increase in application the past few years. An
extensive survey by Hamari et al (2014) found it being applied in various fields such as commerce,
health/exercise, business, data gathering, and innovation. In the Built Environment, sustainable
energy use has been a focus as described by Gustafsson et al (2009) and Coen et al (2013). Unsurprisingly, education has been a major field of application of gamification with a wide variety of
techniques utilised for this purpose; according the Kapp (2012) the research consensus is largely
that appropriately-designed games can be beneficial as learning tools for both games and adults.

Designing a Built Environment Game: Pilot Study
Huang and Soman (2013) have identified a five step process to applying gamification in an educational setting. The authors designed a game using this five step process. Specifically:
1. Understand the Target Audience and the Context
The game was targeted at undergraduate university students. The core target audience was firstor second-year students in Built Environment programmes, with a secondary audience of students at higher levels and, potentially, neighbouring disciplines.
2. Defining Learning Objectives
The aim was two-fold: firstly, to provide students with an introduction to concepts of POE, environmental design, and facilities management in an entertaining and engaging way.
Secondly, to compare the student engagement and performance when using a spreadsheet-based

Using gamification to enhance understanding of building performance

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