The importance of usability in product choice: A mobile phone case study

Usability has become established as an important aspect of product design. This paper describes an investigation that was carried out to identify the importance of usability in product choice related to other product attributes. Interviews were initially carried out to identify possible attributes that contribute to product choice. Experiments were then undertaken using the methods of active information search, structured preference elicitation, ranking and interviews in order to find out what attributes were important to people when choosing an example product – mobile phones. It was found that usability is indeed important in product choice but perhaps not as much as users themselves believe. Other attributes that were found to be more important were features, aesthetics and cost. The process of product choice was found to be complex and it may be the case that people have come to expect usability in their products. Further research is needed to understand more fully the changing role of usability in product choice and to further improve the quality of the user–product relationship.     

Usability risk level evaluation for physical user interface of mobile phone

The mobile phone has become an indispensable device in everyday life. However, many usability problems were generated by the multi-functionality of mobile phones. There was an important increase on the user interface (UI) design and usability. With the introduction of a variety of forms and keypads in mobile phones, the user's need of controllability, grip-stability, and usability were raised in the UI aspect. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the physical user interface (PUI) elements of mobile phones, and defined the degree of usability risk such as key level value, function level value, and grip level value. Also, this study proposed an evaluation framework to quantitatively measure the usability risk in the mobile phone PUI elements. For this, the mobile phone PUI elements were analyzed and classified by key type, function, and form-factor. Hence, in the case study was investigated and evaluated 133 mobile phones in the market by the proposed framework. As a result, the proposed evaluation framework enabled the measurement of the mobile phone usability risk level in the early stages of the concept design. This made possible the prediction of design problems related with the mobile phone PUI.     

多平台移动用户界面生成方法的研究

针对多平台移动用户界面开发的各种问题,提出一个模式驱动的多平台移动用户界面生成方法（Pattern-Driven Multi-Platform development of mobile user interface）,以下简称PDMP,来加快目前多个平台的用户界面开发流程的开发效率。使用PDMP,开发者可使用高等抽象层次的开发语言来进行界面开发并以此减少劳动力成本,并使用多平台或跨平台（Android & iOS）的转换技术来为每个平台自动生成纯粹的原生用户界面。提出一个虚拟平台的概念,开发者可以在虚拟平台上构建抽象用户界面并依据转换规则转换到相应的具体平台。     

A factor combination approach to developing style guides for mobile phone user interface

This paper proposes a systematic approach to developing comprehensive guidelines for mobile phone user interface, and presents a case study to validate the approach. The approach applies a systematic combination of three critical factors: general usability principles, UI components and guideline properties to developing guidelines. In the case study, this factor combination approach was very effective in collecting experts’ ideas, creating guidelines and editing them. The resulting style guide can provide comprehensive and useful guidelines for designing mobile phone UI.

Relevance to Industry

UI designers can use the results of the study as a practical method to develop style guides for mobile phone UIs. The approach taken in the study will also be helpful in managing complex guideline information systematically.     

Time-out in user interface: the case of mobile text input

In many user interfaces with restricted input capabilities, a time-out is used to automatically change the user interface (UI) from one mode to another. In this paper, we study the learning of time-outs and the effect of feedback on it in the case of mobile phone text entry. The effects of three different feedback schemes (auditory/visual/no feedback) on the learning of two different time-out lengths were compared. We measured the response time (RT) from the time-out occurrence to the time of the users action. Error rates and the development of the RTs in different schemes were used as measures of learning. We also studied if the users learned to estimate the time-out lengths, or if they just reacted to the available feedback. There were three main findings. Without feedback, RTs had a great variation. Auditory feedback enabled faster RTs than visual feedback. Finally, we found evidence of short-term learning, but not much of a lasting effect. The possible application of adapting time-out length to user RT is discussed.     

A study of usability principles and interface design for mobile e-books

This study examined usability principles and interface designs in order to understand the relationship between the intentions of mobile e-book interface designs and users' perceptions. First, this study summarised 4 usability principles and 16 interface attributes, in order to conduct usability testing and questionnaire survey by referring to Nielsen (1993), Norman (2002), and Yeh (2010), who proposed the usability principles. Second, this study used the interviews to explore the perceptions and behaviours of user operations through senior users of multi-touch prototype devices. The results of this study are as follows: (1) users' behaviour of operating an interactive interface is related to user prior experience; (2) users' rating of the visibility principle is related to users' subjective perception but not related to user prior experience; however, users' ratings of the ease, efficiency, and enjoyment principles are related to user prior experience; (3) the interview survey reveals that the key attributes affecting users' behaviour of operating an interface include aesthetics, achievement, and friendliness.     

Visualisation improves the usability of voice-operated mobile phone services

Three different versions of a voice-operated mobile city guide service with a hierarchically structured dialogue were evaluated in a mobile setting. One numbered menu style (standard) service, and two services which contained terms derived from underlying real-world referents, were implemented. The real-world referents (metaphors) used were: an office filing system and a computer desktop. It was hypothesized that the use of interface metaphors would allow more participants to visualize the service structure, leading to an improvement in performance relative to the standard service. Forty-two phone users undertook three different tasks with one of the three phone services. User performance and attitudes to the services were recorded, and post-task interviews were conducted. Results showed that significantly more participants using the metaphor-based services visualized the services. Visualizers performed significantly better than non-visualizers, with visualization emerging as a significant predictor of both attitude and performance. We argue that designing speech-based mobile phone services using an appropriate spatial metaphor leads to high levels of visualisation, which allows participants to orient themselves and to navigate more effectively within the hierarchical service architecture. The usability benefits afforded by visualization may become especially important when using phone services in cognitively demanding mobile settings.     

Modeling user experience: A case study on a mobile device

User experience (UX) consists of all aspects of interactions between a user and a product. Recently, many studies have been conducted to define the UX concept, but few studies have attempted to quantify UX. This paper proposed quantification models that integrate major elements of UX into a single index. A variety of models were proposed and evaluated including compensatory (i.e. simple linear, polynomial and S-shaped value) and non-compensatory (i.e. conjunctive and disjunctive) models. A case study with a commercial tablet PC was conducted in which a total of 26 subjects participated in a laboratory environment. Each participant performed a pretest ensuring the ability to make ratio judgments and then evaluated predefined dimensions with the modified magnitude estimation procedure. A total of 22 hierarchical dimensions were evaluated such as overall UX, its elements (i.e. usability, affect and user value) and sub-elements. Both compensatory and non-compensatory models had high performance in terms of goodness of fit. The results of this study are expected to help product or service designers develop indices representing an overall UX value.Relevance to industryThis study proposed quantification models that aggregate elements of UX. Although the UX index has been controversial, the single value developed by the models can be expected to help decision-makers understand about products or services intuitively.     

A methodological approach for user interface development of collaborative applications: A case study

In the last few years, the production of systems which support learning and group work has been high. However, the design and development of these types of systems are difficult, mainly due to the multidisciplinarity involved. Furthermore, the Graphic User Interface (GUI) of an application is receiving greater attention, since it can be decisive in determining if the application is accepted or rejected by users. Model-based design is a widespread technique in the user interface development process. While reviewing approaches that deal with the modeling and design of user interfaces supporting collaborative tasks, we have detected that there is no proposal that links interactive and collaborative issues. We have introduced a methodological approach to solve this shortcoming. This approach is called CIAM (Collaborative Interactive Application Methodology) and it is composed of several stages in which conceptual models are created using CIAN (Collaborative Interactive Application Notation). These models start by modeling the organization in which the application will be used, as well as the tasks that must be supported. In the initial stages, the organization and the collaborative tasks are modeled using high-level specifications. In the following stages, the level of detail increases and, finally, the interaction between the individual users and the application is modeled using ConcurTaskTrees (CTT) notation. The interaction model acts as a bridge between the design and the implementation of the Graphic User Interface. In this paper we present our methodological approach and an example of applying this method for user interface design of collaborative and interactive applications.     

Shifting knowledge from analysis to design: requirements for contextual user interface development

There is consensus among the members of the HCI community as well as among software developers that work tasks and user characteristics (i.e. context) should play a leading role in the course of system development. There seems to be less consensus on how the information about users and work tasks should be acquired and subsequently moved to the design process of a development project. Due to the use of unifying methods and concepts--such as object-orientation-- that might be used for analysis, design and implementation, this transition seems to be facilitated. However, few inputs have been provided to guide developers on how to shift knowledge from analysis to design when task- and user knowledge are considered to be inherent parts of the development knowledge. This paper details the interface between analysis and design, reviews existing concepts to bridge the gap between the two phases of development, and enriches these findings with some empirical results from a survey with respect to practical experiences. From these findings, requirements to successfully shift knowledge in the early phases of software development have been derived.     

Perceived feature utility-based product family design: a mobile phone case study

To assure profit maximization through mass customization and personalization, effectively eliciting consumer needs across different market segments is critical. Although functional performance specifications and adequacy of various design forms can be measured directly and objectively, many designers and engineers struggle with clearly evaluating product criteria requiring subjective consumer input; the fact that these inputs change over time further complicates the process. To appropriately evaluate product criteria, an effective design decision-making analysis is required. In this study, we propose a methodology to assure effective elicitation of needs and their inclusion in design decision making and illustrate it using a mobile phone product family design scenario. First, consumer perceived utility of design features is gathered using a questionnaire (500+ responses) and then modeled using multi- attribute utility theory to facilitate the evaluation of a product family while responding to needs across customer clusters shaped by demographics. The methodology goal is to determine the relative goodness of a product family in comparison to its competition. We also compare and evaluate the application of the proposed method to conjoint analysis.     

The Webkit tangible user interface: a case study of iterative prototyping

Here we describe our 18-month iterative-design program to create Webkit, a tangible user interface (TUI) to help school children learn argumentation skills - an English National Curriculum requirement. The goal was to have Webkit disappear into the environment such that the teachers and students remained focused on the learning activity. However, the school children wouldn't be allowed to evaluate our prototypes unless we showed that the classroom time allocated to our research simultaneously helped teach the curriculum. To achieve this, we developed a form of user-centered design called curriculum-focused design. When we used CFD, the curriculum and student needs motivated not just the final technology but also our design process.     

智能手机用户体验的影响因素研究

本研究运用关键事件法,通过收集智能手机用户使用经历中的满意因素和不满意因素,探析智能手机用户体验的影响因素。最终识别出7大类、21小项影响智能手机用户体验的关键因素,旨在为改善和提升用户体验提供新的视角。     

Incorporating user satisfaction into the look-and-feel of mobile phone design

The look-and-feel of the mobile phone was investigated using a consumer survey. Seventy-eight participants evaluated the design of 50 different mobile telephones on the perceived scale of image/impression characteristics, including: luxuriousness, simplicity, attractiveness, colourfulness, texture, delicacy, harmoniousness, salience, rigidity, and overall satisfaction. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis were used to evaluate results. The results showed that the image and impression characteristics of the products were closely related to the human-product interface specifications as well as overall shape of the product. Design variables such as texture, use of surface curvature, surface treatment, operating sound, and control response ratio were perceived as important by customers. This study also suggested a series of statistical processes for selecting and screening the critical design variables closely related to the customer's impression of a product. The product evaluation and analysis methods could be generalized to other consumer products.     

Incorporating user satisfaction into the look-and-feel of mobile phone design

The look-and-feel of the mobile phone was investigated using a consumer survey. Seventy-eight participants evaluated the design of 50 different mobile telephones on the perceived scale of image/impression characteristics, including: luxuriousness, simplicity, attractiveness, colourfulness, texture, delicacy, harmoniousness, salience, rigidity, and overall satisfaction. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis were used to evaluate results. The results showed that the image and impression characteristics of the products were closely related to the human-product interface specifications as well as overall shape of the product. Design variables such as texture, use of surface curvature, surface treatment, operating sound, and control response ratio were perceived as important by customers. This study also suggested a series of statistical processes for selecting and screening the critical design variables closely related to the customer's impression of a product. The product evaluation and analysis methods could be generalized to other consumer products.     

Shortcomings and user requirements associated with cricket helmets currently in use: A study on features for safety and usability

Wearing helmets has reduced the risk of head and facial injury among cricketers. Yet, design gaps are present in the cricket helmets currently being used. The aim of this research was to identify the shortcomings and user requirements pertinent to safety and usability of cricket helmets. The objectives were to explore the design criteria and the drawbacks of state-of-the-art cricket helmets, to identify user requirements for design and to analyse them. To collect data, a three-faceted approach, i.e. a literature review (n = 58), a video-based accident analysis (n = 24) and a user study (n = 42), was used. A frequency analysis technique based on the constant comparative method was used to identify and prioritize the shortcomings and user requirements. Findings from the three approaches were then triangulated to confirm the shortcomings and user requirements. Results revealed that poor fit, inadequate impact attenuation capacity and thermal discomfort are the main categories of shortcomings in the cricket helmets. Research on multi-objective optimisation of features for better fit, impact attenuation and thermal comfort (FIT) is suggested as future work.     

一种复杂产品界面可用性定量评估方法的研究和应用

可用性评估是保证界面质量的重要手段。利用粗糙集灰色分析解决复杂产品界面可用性评估中的模糊问题,建立界面可用性评估模型;基于任务将难以直接评估的复杂界面分解成多个子界面,建立新的复杂界面可用性评价指标的测量方法和实验范式,从而实现对复杂界面可用性的客观评价。经实例验证,本方法可实现对多个复杂界面方案进行可用性评估和优选,最后通过脑电实验验证了其有效性。     

Teallach: a model-based user interface development environment for object databases

Model-based user interface development environments show promise for improving the productivity of user interface developers, and possibly for improving the quality of developed interfaces. While model-based techniques have previously been applied to the area of database interfaces, they have not been specifically targeted at the important area of object database applications. Such applications make use of models that are semantically richer than their relational counterparts in terms of both data structures and application functionality. In general, model-based techniques have not addressed how the information referenced in such applications is manifested within the described models, and is utilised within the generated interface itself. This lack of experience with such systems has led to many model-based projects providing minimal support for certain features that are essential to such data intensive applications, and has prevented object database interface developers in particular from benefiting from model-based techniques. This paper presents the Teallach model-based user interface development environment for object databases, describing the models it supports, the relationships between these models, the tool used to construct interfaces using the models and the generation of Java programs from the declarative models. Distinctive features of Teallach include comprehensive facilities for linking models, a flexible development method, an open architecture, and the generation of running applications based on the models constructed by designers.     

MOG user interface builder: a mechanism for integrating application and user interface

Tools which provide graphical editing techniques for the design of user interface presentations are increasingly commonplace. Such tools vary widely in the mechanisms used to define user interfaces and while some are general purpose, others are targeted at particular application domains. Designers faced with varying requirements must choose one tool and live with its shortcomings, purchase a number of different tools, or implement their own. The paper describes an approach to facilitating the latter by providing a library of augmented user interface components called MOG objects which embody both end-user and editing semantics. User interface design tools based on this approach need only provide mechanisms for composing MOG objects into user interfaces and the addition of any other, higher-level functionality. MOG-based user interfaces retain an in-built editing capability and are inherently tailorable.