Usability Analysis of the Ronnie Baugh (Oggun II) Tractor Using the Single Usability Metric [RESEARCH NOTE]

Abstract

Agricultural mechanization is one of the policies created by the Philippine government to alleviate systemic problems facing the country. In 2020, a local company was licensed to manufacture the American-designed Ronnie Baugh tractor (RBT), which aims to enable smaller-scale production with low-cost and customizable features. This study assessed the usability of the RBT and evaluated the appropriateness of its design for Filipino tractor operators using the single usability metric (SUM). A total of 21 participants were classified according to their age and experience (A – young and experienced, B – old and experienced, and C – young and inexperienced) and were given driving tasks. Task completion, completion time, error rate, and satisfaction were then measured and averaged, leading to a computed SUM result of 64.69%. This value translates into a high marginal experience under the System Usability Scale (SUS) with a D-grade scale, which implies that the design is still unacceptable and may be further improved to ensure satisfaction among users. Moreover, a singular assessment of the four metrics showed that (1) 100% task completion was attained, (2) task performance and satisfaction did not differ between the experienced and inexperienced participants, and (3) the error rate had an erratic behavior and a contradicting result as compared to empirical evidence. Overall, the usability of the RBT might influence user dissatisfaction and its economic and practical impact on integrations. The existing design of RBT also poses an opportunity for localization, considering that it is more economical to manufacture.