Factors Influencing Graduate Students' Preference of Software Tools for Building Engineering Applications

Abstract

Based on previous research on technology acceptance models, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of four variables (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, output quality and enjoyment) on students' intentions to use Google Drive Spreadsheet and Arquimedes software for budgeting and measurement purposes in the Building Engineering context, as well as students' preferences to use each program. A sample of 92 students received training in both programs and evaluated them. Results suggest that students prefer Google Drive Spreadsheet in the academic context and Arquimedes in the professional context. Findings also show a significant effect of perceived usefulness and output quality on usage intentions of both applications, as well as an effect of output quality on perceived usefulness. However, with respect to the rest of variables, differences were found between Google Drive Spreadsheet and Arquimedes. While in the case of Google Drive Spreadsheet perceived usefulness and output quality worked as mediators of enjoyment, and perceived ease of use had no significant effect on any variable, in the case of Arquimedes all the variables had a significant effect on usage intentions. These results suggest that when a technology is perceived as very easy to utilize, such as Google Drive Spreadsheet, the variable perceived ease of use has very little or no impact on individuals' intentions to use that technology. Findings are discussed in terms of its implications for practice and further research.