ComparisonofOnlineLateX

Software
AusabilitytestofShareLatexandOverleaf

https://goo.gl/images/7pcHsJ https://goo.gl/images/SoRxtW

JesusVargas
04.016.2017

INTRODUCTION 2

METHODOLOGY 2
EQUIPMENTANDENVIRONMENT 2
TASKS 2
TESTMETRICS 3
EVALUATION 3

RESULTS 3
TASK1 3
TASK2 5
TASK3 7
TASK4 8
TASK5 10
TASK6 12
TASK7 13
TASK8 14
TASK9 16
TASK10 17
OVERVIEW 19

RECOMMENDATIONSANDCONCLUSIONS 19

BIBLIOGRAPHY 20

APPENDIX:RAWDATA 21

1
INTRODUCTION

TwoonlineLateXsoftwarethatarehelpfulforthosewritingtechnicaldocuments
especiallymathematicalnotation,areSharelatexandOverleaf.Thiswhitepaper
presentstheresultsfromausabilitytestoftheseprograms.Morespecifically,theresults
concentrateontencommontasksfoundinbothprograms.Thesetasksarecommonly
usedforfirsttimeonlineLateXusers.

METHODOLOGY

EQUIPMENTANDENVIRONMENT

ThistestwasconductedonaLenovoChromebook(Version57.0.2987.137(64-bit),
Platform9202.60.0(OfficialBuild)stable-channelclapper,Firmware
Google_Clapper.5216.199.7).

WecanassumethattheusersforLateXwritersareinaquietandcomfortable
environment.Theuser(s)mayworkwithateamorindividuallywhilecreatingteX
documents.Furthermore,weareassumingthattheusersarefamiliarwritingLateX
code.

Therefore,theusabilitytestwasconductedinaquietenvironmentwithanevaluation
foreachtaskimmediatelyafter.Forthesakeofhumanerror,thetaskswereperformed
separatelyforSharelateXandOverleaf.Theevaluationfocusedon5predetermined
metrics.

TASKS

1. Registeringorcreatinganaccount
2. Navigationthroughthehomepage
3. creating/writingaproject
4. SettingsandConfigurationswhileonplatform
5. HelpMenu
6. AccountSettings/ProfileSettings
7. PricingandUpgrades
8. Contact
9. Sharing/SocialMedia
10. Blog/Newsfeed

2
TESTMETRICS

Effective:Thetaskwascompleted.

Efficient:Thetaskcanbecompletedinareasonableamountofclicksor

commandshortcuts.

Engaging:Styleandoutputsforthistaskwereappealingandenhancedthe

projectexperience.

ErrorTolerant:Softwareshowserrorsorerrorsareeasytocorrect.

EasytoLearn:Thetoolsforthistaskwereeasytouse.

EVALUATION

Eachofthemetricswillbeevaluatedonalikertscale.Ahigherscorewillrepresenta
betterperformance.Thus,afivewillbeascaleofstronglyagreeandaonewillbeascale
ofstronglydisagree.(Table1)

Table1:LikertScale

StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Disagree

5 4 3 2 1

Themaximumscoreforeachtaskwillbe25andtheoverallmaximumscoreforeach
softwarewillbe250.Onthecontrary,theminimumforeachtaskwillbe5andanoverall
minimumof50.

RESULTS

TASK1
Registeringorcreatinganaccount

CreatinganaccountwasstraightforwardforbothOverleafandSharelatex.Both
requiredavalidemail,andapasswordthathadatleast8characterswithacapitalletter
andaspecialsymbol.Afterthat,theuserwouldneedtoclickregisteronSharelatexor
Createmyaccountonoverleaf.

3
Fortherestofthewhitepaper,orangewillberepresentingShareLatex,andgreenwill
beOverleaf.

Infigure1givestheratingforthe
firsttask.Overleafreceiveda4for
effectivenessbecausethetaskwaseasily
attainable.Itrequiredafewclicksand
littletyping.Overleafalsoallowsusersto
signupthroughotheronlineaccounts
suchasgoogle.Thisrequiresafewmore
steps.ShareLatex,didntgiveusersthis
methodforsigningup.Howeverit
requiredlessclicking.
Figure1

BothOverleafandShareLatexreceiveda4forefficientbecausethetaskwas
completedinareasonableamountoftime.Overleafextendedtheuserexperienceby
allowingtosignupthroughanotheraccount.ShareLatexonlyneededaemailand
password.Bothrequiredaminimumofthreeclicks.

Image1.a

Asforengaging,Overleafreceivedafiveforthecombinationofothersocialmedia
accounts.Also,lookingatimage1.b,thestyleengageswiththeiruserswithcolorand
andusingphraseslikeCreateyouraccount.ShareLatexreceivedafivesinceitwas
engagingbutdidnthaveanythingoutstandingfortheirusers.

4

Image1.b

Inregardstoerrortolerant,neitherOverleafnorShareLatexhadanyerrorswhile
signingup.Iftherewasone,errorsuchaswrongemailoremailalreadybeenused,
bothprogramswoulddescribethistotheuser.

Lastly,bothprogramswereeasytouseforthefirsttask.

TASK2
NavigationthroughtheHomepage

Forthistask,thetestfocusedonsimplicity.Thisincludedtheamountofscrolling,and
howthetabsworkedwhenmovingthemouseoverthem.
Infigure2givestheratingforthe
secondtask.Overleafreceiveda5for
effectivenessbecausethetaskwaseasily
attainable.Theuserisabletoeasilyscroll
upanddownonthehomepageandscroll
overanytabs.ShareLatexwasvery
similar.Theperformanceswentwell.

Figure2

Inregardstoefficiency,Overleafcontainedtoomuchinformationforfirsttimeusers,
butaccessible.ThusOverleafreceiveda4fornavigationthroughthehomepage.On
theotherhand,ShareLatexwasverysimple.Afirsttimeusercouldhavenotrouble

5
 knowinghowtocreateadocumentorlookthroughpreviousdocumentsasseenin
image2.a.

Image2.a


Onthecontrary,Overleafreceiveda5forengagement.Overleafdoesagreatjob
engagingtheirusersbyincludingwordslikeMyandusingiconsthathelptheuser
findacertaintool.Forexample,thehaveasymbolthatlookslikeatrashcantoletthe
usererasedocuments.(Seeimage2.b)

Image2.b
BothOverleafandShareLatexreceiveda5onerrortolerant.Theuserwillhaveno
troublescrollingaroundthehomepage.Forthistask,Networkconnectionwas
disregardedandassumingthattheuserhashighspeedinternet.

AgainShareLatex,receiveda5foreasytousebecauseitwasverysimple.While
Overleafreceiveda3.Itwasattainabletoscrollaround,butgiventomanytoolsand
informationmayconfusefirsttimeusers.

6
TASK3
Creating/writingaProject

Forthistask,theusabilitytestfocusedonamountofclicksneededtocreateaproject,
whataddedfeaturesweregiven,andamountoftimespent.
Infigure3givestheratingforthe
thirdtask.OverleafandSharelatex
receiveda5foreffectivenessbecausethe
taskcouldbeeasilyaccomplished.The
userisabletoclickcreateaproject,click
thetypetheywouldliketomake,and
beginafterarough5secondload.

Figure3

BothOverleafandShareLatexwereawardeda4onefficientbecausethetaskwas
completedinareasonableamountoftime,buttherewasashortpauseforloading.

Asforengagement,Overleafreceiveda4bylettingtheuserchoosetheirdesired
templateorlettingtheuserchooseablankdocument.Ontheotherhand,ShareLatex
didthesamebutengagedtheirusersmorebyincludingarequirementtotitletheir
document.Also,ShareLatexkeptitsimplewithlessvisuals.(seeImage3.aand3.b)

Image3.aImage3.b

BothOverleafandShareLatexreceiveda5onerrortolerantsincetherewerenoerrors
foundwhiledoingthistask.

7
 Lastly,OverleafandShareLatexreceiveda5oneasytousebecauseitrequiredfew
clicksandlittlewaiting.

TASK4
Settingsandconfigurationswhileonplatform

For this task, the usability test concentrated on how useful the features where and on
complexity. Questions that users might ask -and therefore were tested- How do I change my
font? How do I change the color background? Is there any shortcut commands?
Infigure4givestheratingforthe
fourthtask.Overleafreceiveda3for
effectivenessbecauseitwasmore
challengingtoaccomplishthesetasks.
Theywereachievablebutrequiredsome
timetosearch.ShareLatexdidntrequire
asmucheffort,buthadnothing
outstandingsotheyreceiveda4.

Figure4

Inregardstoefficiency,Overleafrequiredsomeexperiencenavigatingthroughits
features,andmadeitchallengingforfirsttimeusers.Lookingatimage4.a,wasthe
mainmenuforsettingsontheproject.However,Overleafalsoincludedshortcutson
thetopbar,buthardtoidentifywhattheydo.ShareLatexwasmoresimpleandhad
mostoftheirsettingsinonemenu.Theyalsoincludedanewwindowforshortcut
[commands].

Image4.a

8
 Asforengagement,Overleafengagedtheiruserswithmultiplemethodsofadjusting
theirsettings.Forthistask,overleafmadeitcomplicatedforfirsttimeusers.Onthe
otherhand,ShareLatexkeptitsimplewithasinglecolumnmenuandtextthatiseasy
toread.Theyincludedapartneredcompanytosavetheirdocumentselsewhere.(See
Image4.b)

I mage4.5
WhilebothOverleafandShareLatexalloweduserstoadjustormodifytheirprojects,
theyhadaslightlagerror.ShareLatexwouldincludeanautomaticsavefortheir
adjustments,butwithoutcareafirsttimeuserchangingthecompilerwillmakeithard
tochangesettingslikefont.Overleaf,wouldtaketimetoloadthenewsettings,evenif
nonewereadded.

Intermsofeaseofuse,Overleafwasrateda2fortheircomplexity,andtheirbuffer.
ShareLatexwasgivena4foritssimplicityandhelpingtheiruserswithHotkeys.

TASK5
Helpmenu

Forthistask,thetestfocusedonscrolling,typingaquestiononthesearchbar,and
navigatingthroughitsoutput.

9
 Infigure5givestheratingforthe
fifthtask.Overleafreceiveda5on
effectivenessbecausewhenaskinga
popularsearch,itallowedtheuserto
scrollorclickondifferentpages
numbered1,2,3,etc.ShareLatexdidnt
includethisfeature,insteaditlettheuser
scrollthroughonelongpage.

Overleafswasgradeda4fortheirefficiencybecausetheuserwouldhavetotypeand
clickenterorclickonsearch.WhileShareLatexwouldsearchastheusertypedinthe
searchbar.Therefore,ShareLatexearneda5.

Asforengagement,Overleafearneda5becauseitlettheuserroamthroughdifferent
categoriesortopicsrelevanttotheuserssearch.Also,theywouldattracttheir
audiencewithimagesoftheirlogo.ShareLatexhadanadvantagewithefficiencybut
wasntasengaging.

Overleafdidnthavemanyerrors.Itearneda4becauseitwoulddisplaytheamountof
resultsincorrectlyattimes.ForexampleifonetypedchangefontOverleafwouldsay
therewouldbeeither115or116results.Forthatsameexample,ShareLatexwould
alsosearchforwordswithsimilarcharacters.Foroneoftheresults,itincludedthe
wordcontinued.However,itdidshowhowtochangefontsonthefirstthreeresults.
ThusShareLatexreceiveda3.

Lastly,bothOverleafandShareLatexearneda5foreasytousesincetheuseronlyhad
totypeandscroll.Image5.ashowsthehelpmenuforShareLatexandimage5.bshows
thehelpmenuforOverleaf.

Image5.a

Image5.b

TASK6
AccountSettings/ProfileSettings

Forthistask,theusabilitytestobservedonchangingpasswords,linkingaccounts,and
fillingoutuserprofile.

10
 Infigure6givestheratingforthe
sixthtask.OverleafandShareLatex
receivedafiveoneffectivenessbecause
theuserisabletoaccomplishthesubtasks
listedbefore.

Figure6

Overleafreceiveda4forefficiencybecausethecommonchangingpassword,requires
firsttimeuserstocreateapasswordaftercreatinganaccountiftheycreatedit
throughanotherLinkedaccount.WhileShareLatexdisplaysthisoptionatthevery
beginningoftheaccountsettings.(seeimage6.a)

Image6.a

Asforengagement,Overleafearneda3foritsunattractivetext,tools,andvisuals.(See
image6.b)ShareLatexwasawardeda4becauseofitssimplicity.Itdidnotreceive
becauseithadnosignificantengagementwiththeuser.

11

Image6.b
BothOverleafandShareLatexearneda5forerrortolerantbecauseitdidnthaveany
errors.Theonlyerrors,dependedontheuserforignoringanydirectionsorany
obviousstatements.

Lastly,OverleafandShareLatexearneda5foreasytouse,becausefirsttimeusers
wouldhavenotroublescrollingandchangingoraddingtotheirprofilesettings.

TASK7
Pricingandupgrades

Forthistask,theusabilitytestobservedtheeaseofupgrading,andorganizations.
Infigure7givestheratingforthe
seventhtask.OverleafandShareLatex
receivedafiveoneffectivenessbecause
theuserisabletoupgradewithafew
clicksandtyping.

Figure7

Inregardstoefficiency,Overleafreceiveda4becauseitrequiredanadditionaltask
beforefillingoutpaymentinformation.OnShareLatex,thetaskwasstraightforward
andalsogavethebenefitofafreetrialsotheusercouldcancelbeforebeingcharged.
(SeeImage7.aand7.b)

12

Image7.a

Image7.b

Inregardstoengagement,bothOverleafandShareLatexearneda4becausetheyboth
engagedwiththeuser.Itlettheuserclickandchoosewhichoptiontheyprefered.
TherewasntanysignificantengagingprocessesforeitherShareLatexorOverleaf.

Asforerrors,nonewerewitnessed.ThereforebothOverleafandShareLatexearneda
5forerrortolerant.

Lastly,OverleafandShareLatexbothgota5foreasytolearnbecauseitrequiredafew
clicks,fillingoutsomeinformation,andclickingagree.

TASK8
Contact

Forthistask,theusabilitytestreliedonhoweasyitistosendamessageforsuggestions,
comments,orcomplaints.
Infigure8givestheratingforthe
eighthtask.OverleafandShareLatex
receivedafiveoneffectivenessbecause
theuserisabletoaccomplishthetaskby
clickingcontactorcontactuson
bottomofthehomepage.Also,theyare
abletowriteamessageandsendittothe
company.

Figure8

13
 OverleafandShareLatexbothearneda5forefficiencysinceitdidntrequiremany
clickstosubmitsomefeedbacktoeachcompany.

Asforengaging,Overleafreceiveda5becausethewebpageforcontactingOverleaf
includedamapandaddress.ShareLatexearneda4becauseitdidnthaveanything
significantlikethatofOverleaf.(SeeImage8.aand8.b)

Image8.a

Image8.b

EventhoughOverleafreceiveda5forengagement,Overleafearneda4onerror
tolerantbecausethemapincludedwascausingsomelaginscrolling.ShareLatex
receiveda5becausetherewerenoerrors.
Asforeaseofuse,bothonlineLatexsoftwareearneda5becauseitdidntrequire
muchefforttosubmitfeedback.Itrequireasfewas4clickstosubmitsomefeedback
inbothprograms.

TASK9
Sharing/SocialMedia

Forthistask,thetestmeasuredaccessandqualityofuse.

14
 Infigure9givestheratingforthe
ninthtask.OverleafandShareLatex
receivedafiveoneffectivenessbecause
theuserisabletoaccomplishthetaskby
clickingShareorInviteOthersleftof
thehomepage.

Asforefficient,bothprogramsrequiredlittletimeandefforttoaccomplishthetask.It
wouldrequireevenlessiftheuserhadtheiraccountintegratedwithoneofthemedia
links.(seeImage9.aandImage9.b)

Image9.a

Image9.b
Inregardstoengagement,OverleafandShareLatexearneda4becausetheuserisable
toaccomplishthetaskbutitwasntreallysignificant.

Lastly,bothOverleafandShareLatexreceiveda5onerrortolerantandeaseofuse.
Therewerenoerrorsfoundandthistaskwaseasilyaccomplishedwithafewclicks
andsometyping.

15
TASK10
Blog/Newsfeed

Forthistask,thetestfocusedonengagement,additionalfeatures,andsubscription.
Infigure10givestheratingforthe
tenthtask.Overleafreceiveda4on
effectivenessbecauseusersareableto
accomplishthetask,butduetosomeerror
latermentioned,itdidntreceivea5.On
theotherhand,ShareLatex,hadnoerrors
whichmadeiteffectiveforfirsttime
users.

Asforefficient,Overleafearneda4becauseithadnothingtoooutstandingforits
webpageblog.WhileShareLatexstoodoutwithitslargeimagesandintriguingstories
relatingtoitscompanyandusers.

Overleafearneda4onengagementbecauseitletuserssubscribeorreceivethelatest
newsthroughemail.Overleafhighlightedthetabreadmore.whereShareLatexusers
justneedtomovethemouseoverthetitle.ShareLatexprovidestrongersummaries
andmoreinteractivetitles.ThusShareLatexearneda5.

AsforErrortolerant,Overleafconnectedtheirsearchwiththeirblogwhichwould
throwusersoff.Thesearchbarwouldleadthemtothetaskmentionedearlierbutbe
titledBlog.ShareLatexusersdoexperiencethesameresults.Therefore,Overleaf
earneda3andShareLatexa5.

Lastly,OverleafandShareLatexbothearneda5onthistaskbecauseanusercould
easilyreadovertheirblogorevensubscribetoreceiveemailsfromthem.(SeeImage
10.aand10.b)

16

Image10.a

Image10.b

OVERVIEW

BothOverleafandShareLatexwereverysimilarontasksandmanyoftheirtoolswere
locatedinsimilarareas.Thefollowingshowstheoverallscoreforeachtask

17


TotalScore

Overleaf ShareLatex

218 229

RECOMMENDATIONSANDCONCLUSIONS

Clearly,ShareLatexdominatedintheusabilitytest.Howeverthiswasforfirsttime
onlineLatexusers.

ShareLatexisrecomendedforfirsttimeusers/beginnerslearningLatex.However,asthe
userprogressesinlearningLatex,itisrecommendedtouseOverleafbecauseitoffers
morefeatures.

18
BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.sharelatex.com/

https://www.overleaf.com/

19
APPENDIX:RAWDATA

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
1

4 4 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5

This task was accomplished. Didn't require
many clicks, but some patience when
Notes:
signing up through another integration link
like google.
The task was completed. It was really simple.
Not as engaging or appealing, but user was
able to complete this task effectively.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
2

5 4 5 5 3 5 5 3 5 5

Navigation was easily accomplish. It may ShareLatex is simple and straightforward.

Notes: seem more challanging for time users but it They don't focus to much on engagement,
is attainable with practice. but they make easy for first time users.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
3

5 4 4 5 5 5 4 5 5 5

20
 Creating a project required a few clicks. The ShareLatex makes it easy for users to make
task was easy, and users were directed to a new project and create a title from the start.
Notes: their new project. However, Overleaf opens It enters users to a new page with some text
a new page which was unneccessary. already include. It is easy to use and free of
errors.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
4

3 3 3 4 2 4 4 5 4 4

This was accomplished but required some ShareLatex simplicity makes it effective for
additional experience. This is took time and users to configure any modifications for
Notes:
effort. The program needs to reduce actions debuggin or changing fonts.
or give the user a better platform.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
5

5 4 5 4 5 4 5 3 3 5

The help menu was engaging and easy to This task was completed but made it difficult
use. to search for specific help. He search bar
Notes: wasn't accurate either. It would display the
popular topics with key words but than it
would search for common characters.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
6

5 4 3 5 5 5 4 4 5 5

21
 The task was accomplished. However, for
those who created an account through
Notes: google, twitter, etc., needed to created a
password to change settings and modify
profile settings.
The task was easily fulfilled. It had no errors
and showed how to change the password
from the start.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
7

5 4 4 5 5 5 5 4 5 5

This task was accomplished through several The task was completed. It was easy and
Notes: clicks and some typing. didn't require a lot of work. Also, it gave the
user the option to use a trial for free.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
8

5 5 5 4 5 5 4 4 5 5

Contacting the company didn't require a lot Contacting the company was easy to do. It
Notes: of effort. The map on the webpace caused was somewhat engaging and didn't take to
some lag but overall it was easy to use. much effort.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
9

5 4 4 5 5 5 4 4 5 5

22
 Sharing projects or inviting others to use This task was completed and was simple to
overleaf was easy and didn't require a lot of share with others.
Notes:
effort. It was linked with several social
networks.

Overleaf ShareLatex

Error Easy Easy

Effectiv Engagin Toleran To Effectiv Engagin Error To
Task
e Effecient g t Learn e Effecient g Tolerant Learn
10

4 4 4 3 5 5 5 5 5 5

The blog was easy to navigate and use. This task was completed and was easy to
Clicking read more let the user learn more subscribe. It had no errors and the articles
Notes: about an article. Overleaf could improve their were engaging.
blog search bar. It would direct users to
something irrelevant to blogs.

23