White Paper New

Image Editing
Gimp Usability Test
Josiah Heath
Professor Thompson
English 317
1
Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Methodology....................................................................................................................................................................3
Test Environment..............................................................................................................................................................3
Tasks.................................................................................................................................................................................4
Metrics............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Evaluating Criteria............................................................................................................................................................ 5
Results..............................................................................................................................................................................6
Task 1............................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Task 2............................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Task 3............................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Task 4............................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Task 5............................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Task 6............................................................................................................................................................................. 15
Task 7............................................................................................................................................................................. 16
Task 8............................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Task 9............................................................................................................................................................................. 19
Task 10............................................................................................................................................................................22
Task 11............................................................................................................................................................................23
Task 12............................................................................................................................................................................24
Task 13............................................................................................................................................................................25
Task 14............................................................................................................................................................................26
Task 15............................................................................................................................................................................27
Task 16............................................................................................................................................................................29
Task 17............................................................................................................................................................................30
Task 18............................................................................................................................................................................32
Task 19............................................................................................................................................................................33
2
Task 20............................................................................................................................................................................34
Finalized Results............................................................................................................................................................. 36
Conclusion and Recommendations................................................................................................................................. 37
Bibliography................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Appendix: Raw Data....................................................................................................................................................... 38
3
Introduction
Gimp is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It has
many capabilities, and can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online
batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc.The typical users of this
application would be graphic design professionals or students, or people interested in graphic design. Moreover, it would
be students, because Gimp is free. People that use this application would have a higher level of knowledge in this specific
application than the average person. This white paper presents the results of a usability test in Gimp doing various tasks.
Methodology
Test Environment
This test is evaluating the usability of Gimp (32-byte, 2.10 version). The test was performed on a laptop with Windows 10
on the latest edition of Chrome with 2.30 GHz and 8.00 GB of ram. There were 3 tabs open while performing these tests,
and it was done in my house, as many users of this application will be using Gimp at their house or place of work.
4
Tasks
1. Change the Size of an Image for the screen
2. Change the Size of an Image for print
3. Compress an Image
4. Crop An Image
5. Find Info About Your Image
6. Change the Mode
7. Flip An Image
8. Rotate An Image
9. Separating an Object From Its Background
10. Moving a Selection
11. Adding or subtracting selections
12. Creating a Path
13. Changing the size of a brush
14. Creating a basic shape
15. Change Exposure
16. Adjusting Sharpness
17. Removing Unwanted Objects from an Image
18. How to zoom in on an image
19. Add text to an image
20. Align Visible Layers
5
Metrics
Each task will be run on Gimp. The tasks will be evaluated against the five metrics.
Effective: Task was completed successfully. The product requires little to no extra work to perform future tasks.
Efficient: The task was completed in a reasonable amount of time without the need of extra help features.
Engaging: The program included readable, visually appealing, and helpful dropdowns and pop ups for each designated
operation.
Error Tolerant: Errors were easily identifiable and corrected, did not require restarting project
Easy to Learn: The features and tools required were intuitive and easy to access.
Evaluating Criteria
Each metric will be evaluated against the following Likert Scale. Each task will be evaluated against each of the five
metrics, with the metrics being quantified based on this scale The number chosen represents the score that the program
receives in the specific task metric. The higher the score, the better, and vice versa.
The five metrics will be evaluated on a six point scale. The maximum score each test can achieve is 30 points, with a total
evaluating score out of 600 points.
6
Results
Task 1
Change the Size of an Image for the screen
You first open an image in Gimp. This can be done by going to File-Open-Import. This is easy to do and you can select
how you want to import the image. Then, Use Image → Scale Image (Figure 1) to open the “Scale Image” dialog (Figure
2). You can right click on the image to open the menu, or use the menu along the top of the Image window. Notice that the
“Scale Image” menu item contains three dots, which is a hint that a dialog will be opened.
Figure 1
7
Figure 2
The unit of size for the purpose of displaying an image on a screen is the pixel. You can see the dialog has two sections:
one for width and height and another for resolution. Resolution applies to printing only and has no effect on the image's
size when it is displayed on a monitor or a mobile device. For the purpose of displaying an image on a screen, you can
ignore the resolution parameter. For the same reason, do not use any size unit other than the pixel in the height / width
fields. You can now change the size to whatever width and height you need. This was an easy task to complete, and there
were no hiccups while doing this task.
Final Score
28/30
8
Task 2
Change the Size of an Image for print
To change the print size use Image → Print Size to open the “Print Size” dialog (Figure 1). Select a size unit you are
comfortable with, such as “inches”. Set one dimension, and let GIMP change the other one proportionally. Now examine
the change in resolution. If the resolution is 300 pixels per inch or over, the printed image's quality will be very high and
pixels will not be noticeable. With a resolution of between 200 and 150 ppi, pixels will be somewhat noticeable, but the
image will be fine as long as it's not inspected too closely. Values lower than 100 are visibly coarse and should only be
used for material that is seen from a distance, such as signs or large posters. This was an easy task to complete and
should be no problem for the user.
Figure 1
Final Score
30/30
9
Task 3
Compress an Image
To compress an image, Overwrite image-name.jpg or File → Export As to open the “Export Image” dialog (Figure 1).
Figure 1
10
The dialog opens with the file name already typed in the Name box, with the default .png extension. Delete the existing
extension and type JPG instead, and GIMP will determine the file type from the file extension. Use the file extension list to
see the types supported by GIMP. The supported extensions change depending on your installed libraries. Once you have
done this, click Save. This opens the “Export Image as JPEG” dialog that contains the quality control (Figure 2).
The “Export Image as JPEG” dialog uses default values that reduce size in memory while retaining good visual quality;
this is the safest and quickest thing to do. This was a little difficult to follow when doing the steps, but overall, it should be
simple to do.
Figure 2
Reduce the image Quality to make the image even smaller. Reduced quality degrades the image, so be certain to check
“Show preview in image window” to visually gauge the degradation. A Quality setting of 10 produces a very poor quality
image that uses very little disk space. A quality of 75 produces a reasonable image using much less disk space, which
will, in turn, load much faster on a web page. Although the image is somewhat degraded, it is acceptable for the intended
purpose.
Final Score
27/30
11
Task 4
Crop An Image
To crop an image, select Tools → Transform Tools → Crop in the image window. This changes the cursor and allows
you to click and drag a rectangular shape. Click on one corner of the desired crop area and drag your mouse to create the
crop rectangle (Figure 1). You don't have to be accurate as you can change the exact shape of the rectangle later.
Figure 1
12
After completing the click and drag motion, a rectangle with special regions is shown on the canvas. As the cursor is
moved over the different areas of the selected crop area, the cursor changes. You can then drag the rectangle's corners
or edges to change the dimensions of the selected area. As shown in Figure 2, as the crop area is resized, the
dimensions and ratio are shown in the status bar. Press Enter to complete cropping. Easy to understand and complete.
Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
13
Task 5
Find Info About Your Image
When you need to find out information about your image, Use Image → Image Properties (Figure 1) to open the “Image
Properties” dialog (Figure 2), which contains information about the image size, resolution, mode and much more. Easy to
complete, no hiccups.
Figure 1
14
Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
15
Task 6
Change the Mode
To change the Mode, go to Image-Mode, then pick the one that you want to change to (Figure 1). RGB is the default
mode, used for high-quality images, and able to display millions of colors. This is also the mode for most of your image
work including scaling, cropping, and even flipping. In RGB mode, each pixel consists of three different components:
R->Red, G->Green, B->Blue. Each of these in turn can have an intensity value of 0-255. What you see at every pixel is an
additive combination of these three components. Indexed is the mode usually used when file size is of concern, or when
you are working with images with few colors. It involves using a fixed number of colors (256 or less) for the entire image to
represent colors. By default, when you change an image to a paletted image, GIMP generates an “optimum palette” to
best represent your image. Grayscale images have only shades of gray. This mode has some specific uses and takes
less space on the hard drive in some formats, but is not recommended for general use as reading it is not supported by
many applications. Easy to complete when changing modes.
Figure 1
Final Score: 30/30

16
Task 7
Flip An Image
Use Tools → Transform Tools → Flip (Figure 1). After selecting the flip tool from the toolbox, click inside the canvas.
Controls in the Tool Options dockable let you switch between Horizontal and Vertical modes.
Figure 1
After selecting the flip tool from the toolbox, click inside the canvas. The tool flips the image horizontally. Use the options
dialog to switch between horizontal and vertical (Figure 2). Vertical (Figure 3). Easy to do, each step was not complicated.
17
Figure 2
Figure 3
Final Score
30/30
18
Task 8
Rotate An Image
To rotate an image, go to Image → Transform → Rotate 90° clockwise (or counter-clockwise). The image below
demonstrates a 90 degrees CCW rotation (Figure 1). No hiccups while completing, every command responded effectively.
Figure 1
Final Score
30/30
19
Task 9
Separating an Object From Its Background
To separate an object from its background, you must use GIMP’s selection tools (Figure 1). The “Free Select Tool” allows
you to draw a border using either freehand or straight lines (Figure 1). Use this when the subject has a relatively simple
shape (Figure 2).
Figure 1 Figure 2
The “Intelligent Scissors Select tool” lets you select a freehand border and uses edge-recognition algorithms to better fit
the border around the object (Figure 3). Use this when the subject is complex but distinct enough against its current
background (Figure 4).
20
Figure 3
Figure 4
The “Foreground Select Tool” (Figure 5) lets you mark areas as “Foreground” or “Background” and refines the selection
automatically (Figure 6).
Figure 5 Figure 6
21
Once you have selected your subject successfully, use Select → Invert. Now, instead of the subject, the background is
selected (Figure 7). Then, you would make whatever changes you need to the background. It is relatively easy to select
an object, but there is no tool that can automatically select an object, making it harder to select an object accurately.
Figure 7
Final Score
25/30
22
Task 10
Moving a Selection
To move the selection, press the Ctrl+Alt or Shift+Alt keys, and then use click-and-drag (Figure 1). This is for the
selection tools that do not have handles, like the “Rectangle Select” and the “Ellipse Select.” Those two are not used
often, so I am using the “Free Select” for this task. This is easy to do, and there are no hiccups.
Figure 1
Final Score
30/30
23
Task 11
Adding or subtracting selections
To add a selection, press and hold the Shift key while making a selection to temporarily enter add mode, after making a
selection pressing Shift, press Enter, and you will get two different selections (Figure 1). To subtract a selection, press
and hold the Ctrl key while making a selection to temporarily enter subtract mode, then press Enter to remove part of the
selection (Figure 2). This is fairly simple, no difficulties.
Figure 1 Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
24
Task 12
Creating a Path
Start by drawing the outline for your path; the outline can be modified later. To start, select the Paths tool using Use Tools
→ Paths from the menu. Left click in the image to create the first point of the path. Move the mouse to a new point and
left click to create another point linked to the previous point. Although you can create as many points as you desire, you
only need two points to learn about Paths. While adding points, the mouse cursor has a little “+” next to the curve, which
indicates that clicking will add a new point. When the mouse cursor is close to one of the path points, the “+” changes into
a cross with arrows; like the move tool. You can then move the existing path point. To close your path, go with the mouse
on top of the point you want to connect to, and then Ctrl-click that point. When you are done designing your path, you
can click Enter. This will turn the path into a Selection (Figure 1). This is easy to do, all parts of it had no difficulty
Figure 1
Final Score: 30/30

25
Task 13
Changing the size of a brush
To change the brush size, use the Size slider of the tool options after clicking on the Brush (Figure 1). The shortcut key for
decreasing the size by 1 is [ , and the key for increasing the size by 1 is ]. To decrease the size by 10, us {. To increase
size by 10, use }. You can use the slider or the shortcut keys, both are easy and simple to use.
Figure 1
Final Score
30/30
26
Task 14
Creating a basic shape
To create a shape, use a selection tool. For this example, use the “rectangle selection tool” (Tools-Selection
Tools-Rectangle Select). To create a new selection, press and hold the left mouse button while you move the mouse to
another position in the image. The selection is created when you release the mouse button (Figure 1). Easy to do.
Figure 1
Final Score
30/30
27
Task 15
Change Exposure
To change exposure, go to Colors-Exposure, and the “Exposure” dialog box will pop up (Figure 1). Increasing the black
level will make the photo darker (Figure 2), and increasing the exposure will make the photo lighter. Easy to do, no
complications.
Figure 1
28
Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
29
Task 16
Adjusting Sharpness
To sharpen an image, go to Filters->Enhance->Sharpen (Unsharp Mask) in the image menu. There are two
parameters, “Radius” and “Amount” (Figure 1). The default values often work pretty well, so you should try them first.
Increasing either the radius or the amount increases the strength of the effect (Figure 2). If you make the unsharp mask
too strong, it will amplify noise in the image and also give rise to visible artifacts where there are sharp edges. Easy to do,
no difficulty.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
30
Task 17
Removing Unwanted Objects from an Image
To remove unwanted objects from an image, go to Tools-Paint Tools-Clone. The Clone tool allows you to paint over one
part of an image using pixel data taken from another part (or even from a different image). The trick to using the clone tool
effectively is to be able to find a different part of the image that can be used to “copy over'' the unwanted part. To use the
clone tool, press Ctrl and click on the part of the image you want to use to clone over the undesired object (Figure 1).
Then, start brushing over the unwanted image to remove it to match the part of the picture you want it to match. You
should align the two circles directly to be able to get a perfect brush over the undesired image. When complete, it will look
like Figure 2. The program works fine, but it is up to the skill of the user to be able to paint over the undesired object.
Figure 1
31
Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
32
Task 18
How to zoom in on an image
To zoom in on an image, click the magnifying glass in the Toolbox (Figure 1). To select if you want to zoom in or out, click
on either of those options in the “Tool Options” area (Figure 2). Click on the area of the photo you want to zoom in on, and
the photo will enlarge (Figure 3). It is the same if you want to zoom out. Easy to do, no hiccups.
Figure 1 Figure 2
Figure 3
Final Score: 30/30

33
Task 19
Add text to an image
To add text to an image, go to Tools → Text, and the “Text” dialogue box will pop up (Figure 1). Then, draw a rectangle
with the grid to add text in it, and type the text (Figure 2). You can change the font, size, color, and margin if need be
(Figure 1). You can enlarge the box by dragging out the squares on the corners of the rectangle (Figure 2). Easy to do, not
difficult.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
34
Task 20
Align Visible Layers
To align the layers, go to Image → Align Visible layers. The “Align Visible Layers” dialogue will pop up (Figure 1). In the
dialogue box for “Horizontal style,” click “Collect.” This will align the layers on the left edge, as dictated by the “Horizontal
base” (Figure 2). You could align the layers further up, based on the “Vertical Style.” Relatively easy to do, the program
responded well.
Figure 1
35
Figure 2
Final Score
30/30
36
Finalized Results
Grand Total
590/600
37
Conclusion and Recommendations
The usability test for GIMP was overall very smooth. There were hardly any problems in completing the tasks, and the program ran
efficiently throughout each one. When doing each task, nothing surprising popped up, and the program ran exactly like the
instructions said it would on the user manual. The audience is not really developers, but one suggestion would be to add a better
selection tool, like in Task 9, to use AI or a magic wand to automatically select the main object in an image, so you do not have to
free-hand select the object or miss out on some parts of the object with the selection.
Bibliography
GIMP Team. “GNU Image Manipulation Program.” GNU Image Manipulation Program, 2023, docs.gimp.org/2.10/en/.
Kimball, Spencer; Mattis, Peter. GIMP. 2.10, GNU Project, 21 November 1995 [Computer Software].
38
Appendix: Raw Data
Tasks Task 1 Task 2

Action Change the Size of an Image for the screen Change the Size of an Image for print
Efficient The task was completed in a reasonable amount of The task was completed in a reasonable amount of
time without the need of extra help features time without the need of extra help features
Strongly Disagree Slightly Slightly Agree Strongl Strongly Disagree Slightly Slightly Agree Strongl
Disagree Disagree Agree y Disagree Disagree Agree y
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Effective Task was completed successfully. The product Task was completed successfully. The product
requires little to no extra work to perform future tasks requires little to no extra work to perform future tasks
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Engaging The program included readable, visually appealing, The program included readable, visually appealing,
and helpful dropdowns and pop ups for each and helpful dropdowns and pop ups for each
designated operation. designated operation.
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Error Errors were easily identifiable and corrected, did not Errors were easily identifiable and corrected, did not
Tolerant require restarting project require restarting project
39
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Easy to The features and tools required were intuitive and The features and tools required were intuitive and
Learn easy to access easy to access
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Additional Pretty simple to do, although it was not that easy to Easy to do, no difficulty. Everything responded as it
Notes learn about the different sizes to use in pixels. should.
40
Tasks Task 3 Task 4
Action Compress an Image Crop an Image
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
41
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Additional Easy task to complete, but the image will lose quality Easy to do, no difficulty. Everything responded as it
Notes when you compress it smaller, so that would require should.
extra work. I marked it down here, but it is kind of
inevitable that compression will make the image lose
quality.
42
Tasks Task 5 Task 6
Action Find Info About Your Image Change the Mode
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
43
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Additional Easy to do, no difficulty. Everything responded as it Easy to do, no difficulty. Everything responded as it
Notes should. should.
44
Tasks Task 7 Task 8
Action Flip an Image Rotate an Image
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
45
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
46
Tasks Task 9 Task 10
Action Separating an Object From its Background Moving a Selection
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
47
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Additional It takes some extra work to select an object using the Easy to do, no difficulty. Everything responded as it
Notes selection tools in this task, especially if you mess up. should.
That is why in the conclusion I recommended a tool
that can just automatically select the object that you
want to select.
48
Action Adding or Subtracting Selections Creating a Path
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
49
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
50
Action Changing the Size of a Brush Creating a Basic Shape
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
51
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
52
Action Change Exposure Adjusting Sharpness
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
53
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
54
Action Removing Unwanted Objects From Image How to Zoom in on an Image
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
55
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
56
Action Add Text to an Image Align Visible Layers
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
57
Agree Agree
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Gimp Usability Test

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Tasks Task 1 Task 2

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