  Recent years have seen a sharp increase in the use of open source projects by
common novice users; Open Source Software (OSS) is thus no longer a reserved
arena for software developers and computer gurus. Although user-centered
designs are gaining popularity in OSS, usability is still not considered as one
of the prime objectives in many design scenarios. In this paper, we analyze
industry users perception of usability factors, including understandability,
learnability, operability and attractiveness, on OSS usability. The research
model of this empirical study establishes the relationship between the key
usability factors and OSS usability from industrial perspective. In order to
conduct the study, a data set of 105 industry users is included. The results of
the empirical investigation indicate the significance of the key factors for
OSS usability.
