A Study of Learnability in Software as Perceived by Practitioners in User Experience and Learning Design Professions

In the technology space, there are many factors that contribute to the marketability of software, including pricing and overall usefulness of the product (Jayathilaka, 2021). Many factors contribute to how usable a software is, including satisfaction, error prevention, memorability, efficiency, and learnability (Nielsen, 1994b). Learnability is one factor that may be affected or addressed by both user experience (UX) and learning design (LD) professional groups. While both fields address learnability, very few studies have been conducted to look at the UX interpretation of learnability as it relates to the LD interpretation (Elliott et al., 2002; Li et al., 2023). This study addressed the gap in understanding between UX and LD professionals regarding learnability in software by exploring the degree of consensus on the importance of various learnability factors. A survey was distributed to UX and LD professionals, comprising open-ended, multiplechoice, categorical, and Likert-type questions about demographics, perceptions of usability and learnability, and the importance of specific learnability attributes. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and exploratory factor analysis, Krippendorff’s Alpha, independent samples t-tests, and chi-square analyses. The analysis showed significant differences in how UX and LD professionals prioritize learnability factors, suggesting potential for collaborative improvement. These findings highlight the need for a unified framework to define and assess learnability in software and lays the groundwork for developing integrated assessment tools and methodologies applicable across both fields to support more effective software design and training.