Usability and user experience Research Papers (original) (raw)

- by Enrico Gandolfi
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- Game studies, Educational Technology, Special Education, Usability

In the following paper, I present through four practical examples how the development of mobile applications changed during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 springtime. To what extent was the work of designers-developers determined by the quarantine, and by the possible time constraints? Which part of their work did they reduce most, and what could go on unchanged? The BPXV app was developed at the request of the 15th district of Budapest to help the district residents to shop and get their medicines during the confinement. A refreshing exception among the examples is the app created to replace Easter watering, Locsolkodj.hu. I also present two solutions suitable for contact tracking, the Virus Radar created in Macedonia, which became the official Hungarian contact tracking app, and the Austrian STOPP CORONA interface/platform? In order to find out the answers to the above questions, I conducted written and telephone interviews with the owners, designers, developers, or researchers of eac...

- by Csilla Herendy
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- Computer Science, Usability and user experience, Cognitive Ergonomics, IEEE

A Tyranny of Evaluation could be palatable if it wasn’t so impoverished. Henry Lieberman complained at the CHI 2003 Fringe about having to do bad evaluation. As an evaluation evaluator, I sympathise, but rather than banish skinny evaluation warlords, I’m trying to fatten them up and civilise them. Like a hungry wolf, evaluation can savage and devour design, but design must feed evaluation to tame it. I’ve drawn up a new HCI menu for this, but I’ve not managed to cook and taste much yet. It’s a banquet too large for my localresearch kitchen. Adding a few super chefs and their teams won’t be enough. It’s now time for CHI 2.0 – high bandwidth collaborative social networking for the biggest method bake in HCI history.

Motivation Usability problems that the heuristic tries to avoid. 1. Visibility of System Status Conformance Question Are users kept informed about system progress with appropriate feedback within reasonable time? Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through analysis of individual tasks. Motivation Feedback allows the user to monitor progress towards solution of their task, allows the closure of tasks and reduces user anxiety. Description of Heuristic Evaluation 2 2. Match between system and the real world Conformance Question Does the system use concepts and language familiar to the user rather than system-oriented terms. Does the system use real-world conventions and display information in a natural and logical order? Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through user studies (or through assumptions about users!), and through the analysis of individual tasks. Motivation A good match minimises the extra knowledge required to use the system, simplifying all task action mappings (re-expression of users intuitions into system concepts). 3. User control and freedom Conformance Question Can users do what they want when they want? Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence takes the form of a diverse set of design features, for example "undo and redo", clearly marked exits etc. Motivation Quite simply, users often choose actions by mistake. 4. Consistency and Standards Conformance Question Do design elements such as objects and actions have the same meaning or effect in different situations? Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through several analyses (consistency within system, conformance to style guides, consistency across task methods). Motivation Consistency minimises user knowledge required to use system by letting users generalise from existing experience of the system or other systems. Description of Heuristic Evaluation 3 5. Error prevention Conformance Question Can users make errors which good designs would prevent? Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through analysis of individual tasks and of system details (e.g. adjacency of function keys and menu options, discriminability of icons and labels). Motivation Errors are the main source of frustration, inefficiency and ineffectiveness during system usage. 6. Recognition rather than recall Conformance Question Are design elements such as objects, actions and options visible? Is the user forced to remember information from one part of a system to another. Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through analysis of individual tasks. Motivation Forcing users to remember details such as command and file names is a major source of error. Recognition minimises user knowledge required to use the system. Summarising available commands or options may allow the user to guess their meaning or purpose. 7. Flexibility and efficiency of use Conformance Question Are task methods efficient and can users customise frequent actions or use short cuts? Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through analysis of individual tasks, and the presence of design features such as keyboard accelerators etc. Motivation Inefficient task methods can reduce user effectiveness and cause frustration. 8. Aesthetic and minimalist design Conformance Question Do dialogues contain irrelevant or rarely needed information? Description of Heuristic Evaluation 4 Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through analysis of individual tasks. Motivation Cluttered displays have the effect of reducing search times for commands or users missing features on the screen. Users unfamiliar with a system often have to find an action to meet a particular need-reducing the number of actions available could make the choice easier. 9. Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors Conformance Question Are error messages expressed in plain language (no codes), do they accurately describe the problem and suggest a solution? Evidence of Conformance Necessary evidence must be identified through analysis of error messages. Motivation Errors are the main source of frustration, inefficiency and ineffectiveness during system usage. The first ten heuristics were originally suggested by Jakob Nielsen. These materials have been developed for use on UK EPSRC project no. GR/K82727 (Extending HCI Design Principles and Task Analysis for Software and Data Visualisation) by Darryn Lavery, Gilbert Cockton and Malcolm Atkinson. A structure has been applied to the heuristics, and to the best of our intentions we have kept the original meanings of the individual heuristics. The structure and any unintended changes to the meanings remain the responsibility of the authors and not Jakob Nielsen.

- by Gilbert Cockton
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- Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, Usability, Heuristics

This paper defines electronic reading (e-reading) and then continues to discuss the diverse definitions of the main resource of e-reading, which are, electronic books (e-books). It then proceeds to describe the formats and standards of... more

- by Norshuhada Shiratuddin
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- Usability and user experience

In a world more and more competitive, where the requirements and demands from technology-aware users grow as the supply is increased, telecom operators face great challenges to be able to deliver their products. In order to achieve this, enterprises are growing awareness of the fact that evaluating the product's internal and external quality is not enough anymore. The user experience and the quality in-use of a product are equally important, if not more. This paper describes a framework for the measure and evaluation of the user experience based on the standard ISO/IEC 9126-4. The evaluation is based on four main aspects: effectiveness, productivity, safety and satisfaction. The aim of this paper is to prove that the evaluation of the quality in use of mobile services can be significantly sped up by the automation of its capture and analysis processes.

- by Ivan Pretel
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- User Experience (UX), Usability and user experience, Mobile HCI, Mobile Services

The aim of this study is to evaluate the usability of the mobile application of Centralized Hospital Appointment System (CHAS) developed by the Ministry of Health in 2012, as part of e-government efforts in Turkey. A study group was formed consisting of 16 people, 8 females and 8 males between the ages of 18 and 55, and selected for their CHAS experience. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used as part of a mixed research design. Qualitative data sources for the study consisted of observation notes taken while performing authentic tasks that were selected through field research, notes generated by the think-aloud method and meeting notes taken after the process. Quantitative data were collected with a performance evaluation form and questionnaire. Researchers analyzed the data using SPSS 21 program for the quantitative data, and using Microsoft Word and Excel for the qualitative data derived from the participant group. Descriptive analysis, nonparametric chi-square test (sing...

- by İrem Coskun
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- Usability, Mobile Technology, E Government, Usability and user experience

Based on my work in coursework 1, I am now required to finish off the re-design of the website interface for Twitter. According to my notes on the interviews and observations, I am able to establish both the functional and non-functional requirements for the re-design of the site. I am going to use my frequency list that outlines the main concerns across all the participants to help me cover the most important functional and non-functional requirements. For this task, I will list and prioritise the requirements that are to be addressed in my re-design. From these interviews and observations, I have learnt that the tasks remain the same for these users and there are some similarities in their goals and the problems they experience. As I started to interview and observe more and more users, the information about their tasks/activities was more or less the same and I would see slight differences in their goals. There would be variations in the problems they encountered because not all the users would have experienced the same difficulties due to the different ways they use the site (e.g. some users may use all the features of the site whilst some do not). I found that I learnt less and was not really gaining much information as I continued with the number of interviews and observations that I had to fulfil. I felt that I already knew the information when I had asked these investigation subjects to answer my questions or implement my commands/tasks in the interviews and observations. I would say that definitely the first interview and observation allowed me to learn a considerable amount about why users use Twitter and how they do.

Four experiments were conducted to test whether peak-end rule replicates in the web environment. The current enjoyment tool (CET) was developed to capture real-time enjoyment ratings. Experiment 1 mainly tested the effect of the task order- and the tool on retrospective assessments. The results showed that the tool did not influence participants? judgments. Using the number of links to determine task difficulty was not found to be a very effective measure of enjoyment. Experiment 2 further tested the peak-end rule using a free-browsing style. The results showed that peak and end enjoyment moments were relatively low predictors of retrospective assessment, compared with the combination of a wider range of moments. The E2 results also demonstrated that duration did not correlate with either the real-time enjoyment moments or retrospective assessment of enjoyment. Experiment 3 focused on the effect of manipulating the order of selected sections of a website on retrospective assessments...

Cloud computing is a new method to provide computing resources and increase computing power in organizations. Despite the many benefits this method shares, it has not been universally used because of some obstacles including security issues and has become a concern for IT managers in organization. In this paper, the general definition of cloud computing is presented. In addition, having reviewed previous studies, the researchers identified effective variables on technology acceptance and, especially, cloud computing technology. Then, using DEMATEL technique, the effectiveness and permeability of the variable were determined. The researchers also designed a model to show the existing dynamics in cloud computing technology using system dynamics approach. The validity of the model was confirmed through evaluation methods in dynamics model by using VENSIM software. Finally, based on different conditions of the proposed model, a variety of scenarios were designed. Then, the implementation of these scenarios was simulated within the proposed model. The results showed that any increase in data security, government support and user training can lead to the increase in the adoption and use of cloud computing technology.

- by Maurice Dawson
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- Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar a análise de alguns critérios ergonômicos e de usabilidade, propostos por Nielsen (1994), Jordan (2002) e Shneiderman (2004) aplicados em quatro jornais disponibilizados no formato digital para... more

- by Fabricio A Kipper and +1
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- Design, Usability, Ergonomics, Usability and user experience

This paper reports a preliminary study evaluating accessibility and usability of a Brazilian government website-the national digital catalogue of assistive technology (CNPTA). Although since 2004 e-government information should be broadly accessible, several studies indicate that web accessibility has not been accomplished in many government websites. This study is part of a research project that analyses whether this negative outcome replicates on government websites intended for people with disabilities. The website was assessed by automated testing and the results were compared to the outcomes from user testing. The paper discusses the findings compared with past studies and not only proposes specific aspects to enhance the website, but also it outlines several points to be considered in the next steps of the research project, as well as in other research that considers web accessibility and usability for blind people.

- by Luis Carlos Paschoarelli
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- Computer Science, Accessibility, Inclusive Design, User Centred Design

Une étude quantitative menée auprès de 916 visiteurs d’un musée français a permis de mesurer les bénéfices expérientiels retirés de l’usage d’un outil interactif dans un contexte muséal et de vérifier si le vécu diffère en fonction de l’utilisation ou non d’un outil numérique de médiation et de sa nature (mobile ou fixe), mais également en fonction de la prise en compte de dimensions fonctionnelle ou hédonique de l’expérience d’usage.

Teoretická část práce analyzuje relevantní a současnou literaturu zabývající se definicí, metodami a procesy oboru User Experience Designu. Dále analyzuje User Experience Design, design obecně a poptávku po sémantizaci a estetizaci produktů i služeb v širším ekonomickém a socio-technologickém kontextu.
Cílem výzkumné části práce je porovnat pochopení a vhodnou aplikaci User Experience metod a procesů mezi teorií a praxí; naším úkolem tak je se „dozvědět, jak znalost a využití User Experience metod a procesů praktikujících respondentů liší od teoretické literatury. K těmto otázkám se výzkum dále ptá na personální informace a informace týkající se pracovního týmu, ve kterém respondenti působí.

This paper discusses the methods and results of Usability Evaluation in the context of Web of the NVDA screen reader-software speech synthesizer, which allows visually impaired to use the computer. As an instrument for data collection was used two methods: an interface embossed (made with EVA) with the aim of presenting a web page to users through touch and a roadmap with the technique of Usability Evaluation-Communicability Test. With this evaluation sought to understand the degree of usability of the NVDA in the access the Web by people with visual impairments. Resumo. Neste artigo serão discutidos os métodos e resultados da Avaliação de Usabilidade no contexto Web do leitor de tela NVDA-software sintetizador de voz, o qual permite ao deficiente visual utilizar o computador. Como instrumento de coleta de dados utilizou-se dois métodos: uma interface em alto relevo (confeccionada com E.V.A) com o objetivo de apresentar uma página web aos usuários através do tato e um roteiro com a técnica de Avaliação de Usabilidade Teste de Comunicabilidade. Com essa avaliação procurou-se compreender qual o grau de Usabilidade do NVDA no acesso a Web por pessoas com deficiência visual.

— Gesture recognition has been considered as one of the most effective input methods to interact with virtual environments (VEs). The skeleton tracking techniques which have been widely used for gesture recognition purposes showed common accuracy issues with Micro-gestures that can affect user's enjoyment. In this paper, we propose a multimodal interaction technique and test it using a designed wearable head-mounted tracker as a measurement instrument. We also designed a theoretical framework to resolve the weaknesses of Micro-Gestures recognition in CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment). The effectiveness of proposed method and its impact of user's joyfulness has been tested by a 3D gesture-based interface. The results showed improvement in user's enjoyment using the designed measuring and input method for navigation within a 3D CAVE by improving system's accuracy.

- by Mahdi Babaei
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- Virtual Environments, User Experience (UX), Wearable Computing, User Centred Design

Research Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to provide a roadmap and guidelines for the design of a digital library of theses and dissertations in Libyan universities. Building such a digital library is expected to improve the current state of research activities in Libyan universities and satisfying users' needs and requirements. This paper is expected also to create awareness among policy makers in Libyan universities towards the use and implementation of information technology in the academic environment. Methodology/ Approach: A system design approach is to be used for the design of the proposed digital library. This approach can be defined as the planning of the procedures to be used in an experimental study. In this approach, each phase consists of a number of stages, each stage is subdivided into steps and each step further contains a series of tasks. Consequently, the total work is broken down into manageable portions. This approach can even be applied to recognize if a specific plan achieves a preferred goal.

Creating test with numerous items in Moodle can be tedious and less intuitive compared to conventional method. This study aims to determine the Markdown to Moodle performance in easing the test construction process and explain the underlying factors of the behavioral intention to use the application. Markdown to Moodle is an application that allows users to type the bulk of test items directly to the browser and generates .doc, .md and .xml files stored in the local drive. The .xml can be imported to Moodle test bank. This lessens the time of creating test items one at a time in the Moodle. A training and a survey were conducted among teachers with Moodle usage experience. Results from this study allowed the researchers to determine the usability of the application and the users behavioral intention. This highlights the workflow continuity in test construction as a key factor in the usage and performance of the application.

- by Julius Garcia
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- Computer Science, Usability, Assessment, MOODLE

A well given design’s attention to Learnability, Contextuality and Operationability as Usability characteristics issues of software, and information systems generally is an evolving and challenging area in the field of Information systems, and Human Computer Interaction as an area of expertise. The procedure of testing and evaluating usability as quality characteristics in information systems has equally attracted researchers and professionals more in the recent times due to the developers’ attempt to meet the diverse users’ needs in the development of usable information systems. Hence, the paper aims to bring to the limelight; these current issues of usability and usability testing, the trend of the challenges inherent in the usability testing and evaluation process, then suggest the necessary attention that must be provided by subsequent researches in the bid to solve these lingering design research problems.

- by P-Hector Okere
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- Usability and user experience

This paper provides a comparison of using multiple evaluation methods within the domain of Human-Computer Interaction. A number of evaluation methods are discussed as well as used in practice. The debate of whether to use usability... more

- by Damian Schofield
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- Human Computer Interaction, Communication, Usability, User Experience (UX)

The users (citizens) need well designed, easy-to-use and usable websites, but in most countries they have difficulties orienting and using on public administration websites. In this paper it is written about the possible basics of the problem. It is also presented some available and tried testing methods, which are useful for testing the websites. It is also shown as a case studies from the field of public administration, which are based on the author’s academic researches conducted in Bologna, Italy (2010) and in Hungary (continuously since 2009), and which were tested with different testing methods. The examples presented in this study show that the websites of the government and the city governments should not go without the systematic user testing, particularly the
investigation of the mental models.
This paper is based on the author’s presentation at NKE-WUD 2015 conference in Budapest.

- by Csilla Herendy
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- Usability and user experience

The aim of this paper was to analyze video-sharing websites, and
understand what makes users prefer either Dailymotion or Youtube.
Youtube is preferred rather than Dailymotion, and I found users complained about Dailymotion usability. I finally tried to give some ways to improve Dailymotion’s interface by using more structured pages, with less information and advertisement, but also by using expressive interfaces and avoiding being qualified as a “frustrating interface” by avoiding a too long waiting time before videos.

- by Romain SIMON
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- Human Computer Interaction, User Experience (UX), Interaction Design, User Interface

Many methods and tools have been proposed to assess the User Experience (UX) of interactive systems. However, while researchers have empirically studied the relevance and validity of several UX evaluation methods, few studies only have explored expert-based evaluation methods for the assessment of UX. If experts are able to assess something as complex and inherently subjective as UX, how they conduct such an evaluation and what criteria they rely on, thus remain open questions. In the present paper we report on 33 UX experts performing a UX evaluation on 4 interactive systems. We provided the experts with UX Cards, a tool based on a psychological-needs driven approach, developed to support UX Design and Evaluation. Results are encouraging and show that UX experts encountered no major issues to conduct a UX evaluation. However, significant differences exist between individual elements that experts have reported on and the overall assessment they made of the systems.

knjiga iz Interakcija covek masina zrenjanin 2011

- by Marinko Dejan
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- Human Computer Interaction, Usability and user experience, HCI

— Mobile technology can improve lives of older adults through remote health monitoring (telehealth), memory aids (including medicine reminders), personal data management, and social and communication assistance. Although numerous design guidelines, design principles, and heuristics have been developed to improve the user interface (UI) design of mobile applications for older adults, many usability problems are still reported. Alternatively, universal design (UD) advocates designing products and interfaces usable by all people, with all ranges of abilities. Older adults population is diverse in terms of the ranges of limitations as well as combinations of limitations they have. Design guidelines targeted towards specific abilities and limitations are not effective in a case of multiple limitations or diversity of limitations in older adults. Applying design guidelines to UD principles would address diversity of limitations within this population group. This project explores the ways in which we can bridge discrepancies between the existing design guidelines and UD principles to improve design of mobile health applications for older adults. In this paper, we describe usability studies and redesign of the remote patient monitoring (RPM) mobile application UI for older adults, refined RPM mobile app interface using the UD approach, and a set of inclusive design guidelines that reconcile inconsistencies between design guidelines and UD principles. Keywords— human factors; mobile health applications; older adults; remote patient monitoring; universal design; user interface

In this article, the development of a questionnaire-based usability evaluation method for e-learning applications is described. The method extends the current practice by focusing not only on cognitive but also affective considerations that may influence e-learning usability. The method was developed according to an established methodology in HCI research and relied upon a conceptual framework that combines Web and instructional

This paper contrasts the user-centred design with the gamification design framework and proposes a model of usability benefits adapted to gamification. The model is useful for selling the usability activities to management and strategists when developing gamified solutions, services, and software. In this paper, we focus on identifying the benefits since they can be used to legitimise the usability activities in a development project. The user-centred design process focuses on understanding the user, their needs and requirements, and the paper shows that the benefits of this approach transcends the user dimension and reaches towards the developing organization by providing competitive advantage and reduced developing costs.

- by Mikko Rajanen and +1
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- Usability, User Experience (UX), Usability and user experience, Cost-Benefit Analysis

Recent technological developments have made it possible for digital technology to offer interaction modes that can engage the whole body. These systems can track the users' movements to support rehabilitation, to play games or to create music, among other activities. One important implication of interacting with the whole body is the increased relevance of the user's experience. A number of approaches and frameworks have been proposed to design these movement-based systems and some of them pay special attention to the user's experience. This paper maps the space of design frameworks for movement-based interaction that focus on user experience. It classifies existing frameworks by their type and by characteristics that could help practitioners intending to design applications of that sort to make informed decisions about what framework to employ. Additionally, and to illustrate the use of the classification, we include a case study related with selecting and deploying some of these frameworks for a design exercise.

- by Gustavo Casillas Lavín
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- Engineering, Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, Design
- by Janne Paavilainen
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- Usability, Video Games, Gambling Studies, Usability and user experience

Using results from an original survey instrument, this study examined student perceptions of how useful Google Apps for Education (GAFE) was in students' learning of core concepts in a first-year college composition course, how difficult or easy it was for students to interact with GAFE, and how students ranked specific affordances of the technology in terms of its usability and usefulness. Students found GAFE relatively easy to use and appreciated its collaborative affordances. The researchers concluded that GAFE is a useful tool to meet learning objectives in the college composition classroom.

- by Maury Brown
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- Usability, User Experience (UX), Usability and user experience, Google

The internet has developed into the number one port for communication and information. With the millions of websites available, search engines play a vital role in filtering information online. Over time, both search engines and technical equipment have been changing: web-enabled devices have been getting smaller, new search engines were launched, new search features added, and the presentation of the search results has undergone modifications. Users have been changing their search habits, too, they have been getting more experienced in searching the web. Analytical search engine studies, e.g. logfile analyses, are numerous. User-focused studies of search engine behavior and user satisfaction, on the other hand, are still rare. However, certain scenarios, such as exploratory searches, and the users' subjective satisfaction may not be captured in those analyses. Nonetheless, the users' subjective opinions and skills eventually decide upon the achieved search performance and the success of a search engine. The last user-focused search engine studies in Germany are from more than a decade ago. This study investigates user search engine behavior and satisfaction from the perspective of internet users in Germany. An survey was conducted to learn about search engine usage frequency, preferred search engines, and priorities for search engine selection, and to assess specific search habits, such as preferred search query language, customization of the search engine language settings, and the necessity for repetitive searches and query rephrasing as perceived by the users. The survey also evaluated the users' satisfaction with the search results in general, the search results on the first page, as well as the results retrieved with German versus English search queries. Where possible, the paper compares the findings with the user-focused studies from 2003 and 2005.

- by Annegret M. Gross
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- Information Systems, German Studies, Information Science, Information Retrieval

- by Buket Taşkın
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- Usability, Mobile Technology, E Government, Usability and user experience

This study aimed to determine the usability of a 3D touch screen kiosk system for way-finding at a shopping mall in Ankara, Turkey. The usability testing was conducted in collaboration with 15 authentic users and the usability problems were determined by giving authentic tasks to them. The data were collected using a usability testing form. The participants were given six authentic tasks and asked to complete them using the kiosk. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods, content analysis, and the Mann-Whitney U Test. The tasks were completed with a high rate of success. There was no significant difference between the task durations of male and female participants. The main findings of the study show that prior experience using the kiosk and giving guidance during usage reduces the duration of the tasks, that there are certain problems with the touch screen and its 3D properties, participants' transfer of the types of interaction with which they are familiar to the kiosk experience leads them to make mistakes, and there are some usability problems related to the interface and content design. The results of this study and its suggestions about information and interface design can be used to design more usable kiosks.

- by Esra Telli and +2
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- Information Systems, Information Science, Information Retrieval, Human Computer Interaction

Obesity is a major health problem around the world. Saudi Arabia is a nation where obesity is increasing at an alarming rate. Mobile apps could help obese individuals but they need to be usable and personalized to be adopted by those users. This paper aims at testing the usability of a fitness mobile app" Aded Surat", an app in Arabic language. This paper presents an extensive literature review on the attributes that improve the usability of fitness apps. Then, it explains our methodology and our set up of a trial to test the usability of Aded Surat app that is popular in Saudi Arabia. The usability attributes tested are effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction, memorability, errors, learnability and cognitive load. The trial is done in collaboration with participants from the Armed Forces Hospitals-Taif Region in Saudi Arabia. The results highlight that the app failed to meet with the usability attributes.