Semester of Graduation
Spring 2026
Degree Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Degree Name
Masters in Software Engineering
Department
Department of Software Engineering and Game Development
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Md. Shazibul Islam Shamim
Second Advisor
Kanu Priya Singh
Third Advisor
Dhrubajyoti Ghosh
Abstract
Study abroad programs provide students with opportunities to develop global com- petence and intercultural understanding. However, the digital platforms that support these programs often fail to communicate information that reflects the cultural and faith-based needs of diverse student populations. While prior research in Human-Computer Interac- tion (HCI) and usability engineering has explored cross-cultural and accessible design, cultural and religious considerations are rarely integrated into usability engineering pro- cesses. This thesis introduces the Culturally Inclusive Usability Engineering (CIUE) frame- work, which extends traditional usability engineering by integrating culturally informed con- siderations into the system development lifecycle. CIUE begins by identifying the cultural context of the intended user population and translating culturally relevant needs into in- clusive non-functional requirements that guide interface design and development. To evaluate the framework, this study applies a mixed–methods approach com- bining human–centered usability testing, heuristic evaluation using the CARES model (Community, Accommodation, Representation, Expectations, and Sensitivity), and LLM- assisted interface analysis. Participants completed information-seeking tasks on study abroad websites while usability metrics and user perceptions were recorded. In parallel, large language models analyzed the same interfaces using prompts structured around the CARES dimensions. The findings demonstrate that CIUE can reveal usability issues related to cultural representation and accessibility that traditional usability methods may overlook. These re- sults suggest that cultural inclusion can be treated as a measurable dimension of usability and integrated into modern design and evaluation workflows.