A qualitative study of smartwatch usage and its usability

This study aims to explore usability issues of watch‐type wearable devices and to suggest guidelines for improved operation of smartwatches. To do so, we conducted a series of surveys, interviews, and task performance experiments. Thirty smartwatch users from ages 20 to 43 years were recruited. Users’ experiences of smartwatches were collected via a weeklong, online‐based diary study, which consisted of various tasks to be completed while smartwatches were in use. Our study assessed usability problems associated with those tasks, concurrent tasks conducted while interacting with smartwatches, pain points/discomfort that users had while interacting with their devices, and requirements/requests of the smartwatch users. During the week of tracking, participants were asked to complete the usability evaluation three times a day using usability principles we designed for the study: information display, control, learnability, interoperability, and preference. In addition, task performance tests were conducted for the tasks most frequently conducted on touch‐based displays: number entry, swiping, and scrolling. Specific usability issues of smartwatches were identified and summarized for each usability principle by triangulating survey, interview, and task performance evaluation results. Based on the insights from the results of the study, we conclude by suggesting guidelines for further enhancing users’ experience of future smartwatches.     

The effects of design,size, and uniqueness of smartwatches: perspectives from current versus potential users

ABSTRACT

This study proposes design, uniqueness, and screen size as the key components of aesthetic appeal and investigates their role in influencing the use behaviour of current smartwatch users and purchase intentions of potential users. Hypotheses were tested using SmartPLS to analyze data collected from 377 current smartwatch users and 361 potential users. Design aesthetics was found to be the most important factor influencing the behavioural intentions of both user groups. Screen size and uniqueness had significant effects on current users’ use behaviour and potential users’ purchase intentions, respectively. Gender moderated the effect of design on the use behaviour of current smartwatch users, such that female users’ behaviour was more likely to be influenced than male users. A subsequent analysis on the moderating effect of brand revealed that the design aesthetics of smartwatches mattered more for Apple than Samsung in terms of promoting use behaviour.     

Playability: analysing user experience in video games

Currently, few studies focus on analysing the degree of the Player eXperience (PX) in video games. Video games have now become interactive entertainment systems with a high economic impact on society; these are interactive systems characterised by their subjectivity, which differ from other systems in that their main objective is to entertain and amuse the user (player). This work discusses the analysis and evaluation of the User eXperience (UX) in interactive entertainment systems, exploring how usability, given its definition, objectives and the fact it is one of the main dimensions of UX, is not sufficient to characterise the PX, giving rise to a new concept: Playability. In this paper, we present a framework for the analysis and evaluation of the UX in video games. The results show the need and importance of a framework to help us understand and measure the experience that players feel using these types of interactive systems, in order to improve the experience during play time. The proposed framework characterises the experience using attributes to identify and properties to measure UX. It thus provides a multifaceted analysis mechanism to assess the impact of the gaming experience and its relationship with the elements of a video game. We therefore present a system to represent UX based on this framework, with the aim of ensuring and measuring a satisfactory experience of the entertainment system. Finally, we discuss a practical experiment in which an evaluation of the playability of a commercial video game was carried out using the methods proposed in this work.     

Optimization of user experience in interaction design through a Taguchi‐based hybrid approach

User experience (UX), which encompasses all aspects of a user’s interaction with an interactive product, has been recognized as central to interaction design. This paper proposes a Taguchi‐based hybrid approach to realize the optimal UX design. In this approach, design analysis is first used to identify design patterns and UX characteristics. According to the results, a Taguchi experiment is conducted and the signal‐to‐noise ratios are computed. Subsequently, the preference weights for the UX characteristics are obtained by using analytical hierarchy process‐based group decision making. A multiperformance characteristic index is then defined based on the gray relational grade (GRG) obtained through gray relational analysis. On the basis of the GRG, the optimal design can be obtained. A mobile health application design was used to demonstrate the proposed approach. The results show that this approach can effectively enhance UX quality and be used as a universal design approach for optimizing UX.     

Design-inclusive UX research: design as a part of doing user experience research

Since the third wave in human–computer interaction (HCI), research on user experience (UX) has gained momentum within the HCI community. The focus has shifted from systematic usability requirements and measures towards guidance on designing for experiences. This is a big change, since design has traditionally not played a large role in HCI research. Yet, the literature addressing this shift in focus is very limited. We believe that the field of UX research can learn from a field where design and experiential aspects have always been important: design research. In this article, we discuss why design is needed in UX research and how research that includes design as a part of research can support and advance UX design practice. We do this by investigating types of design-inclusive UX research and by learning from real-life cases of UX-related design research. We report the results of an interview study with 41 researchers in three academic research units where design research meets UX research. Based on our interview findings, and building on existing literature, we describe the different roles design can play in research projects. We also report how design research results can inform designing for experience methodologically or by providing new knowledge on UX. The results are presented in a structured palette that can help UX researchers reflect and focus more on design in their research projects, thereby tackling experience design challenges in their own research.     

An integrated framework of user experience-oriented smart service requirement analysis for smart product service system development

The rapid deployment of digital technologies drives the conventional product service system (PSS) to shift into a new paradigm known as smart PSS. Empowered with smart capabilities, smart PSS has great potential in creating positive user experience (UX). The requirements analysis is an essential task for successful development of smart PSS with strong UX. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research on the requirement analysis of smart PSS by incorporating smart-enabled UX perspective. Hence, this paper proposes a framework of user experience-oriented smart service requirement (UXO-SSR) analysis for smart PSS development. At first, the relevant factors (e.g., user personas and activity journey) are integrated to conceptualize the UX in smart PSS context. Second, a four-phase model is proposed for identifying UXO-SSR, which can provide an effective tool for acquiring UX requirements of smart PSS from holistic perspective. Third, a novel asymmetric trapezium cloud-based uncertain linguistic BWM approach is developed to evaluate the priority of the identified UXO-SSRs. The approach can appropriately handle the hybrid uncertainties (i.e., hesitancy, fuzziness and randomness) of linguistic evaluation information, thereby improving the accuracy of evaluation results. Finally, a case study of smart sleep service system is presented to demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of the proposed framework.     

A psychometric user experience model based on fuzzy measure approaches

User experience (UX) is considered a key quality of interactive products in today’s competitive mass markets and is of growing interest in both academia and industry. UX concerns the encounters a user has while interacting with products, systems, and services. It is ubiquitous, omnipresent, and dynamic in nature, referring to the non-quantifiable, subjective, affective-based, and context-dependent processes. UX is difficult for researchers to objectively and uniformly measure as it involves complex human perceptual interpretations of experiential responses with a certain degree of uncertainty, imprecision, and vagueness. Based on the user experience questionnaire (UEQ), this paper presents a psychometric UX model using fuzzy measure approaches, the purpose of which is to develop a metric for quantitative assessment of certain product UXs through a user experience index (UXI). This model enables researchers to understand users’ perceptions of the interactions that constitute qualities of using a specific product. An empirical study concerning the episodic UX measures of using a set of touch mice was conducted to verify the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed UX model. The theoretical and practical implications of the UX model are also discussed.     

Identification of UX dimensions for incident reporting systems with mobile applications in urban contexts: a longitudinal study

Incident reporting systems enable end-users to report problems that they have experienced in their working activities to authorities. Such applications are sought to sense the quality of the environment, thus enabling authorities to promote safety and well-being among citizens. Many governments are now promoting the use of mobile applications allowing citizens to report incidents in their neighbourhood to the administration. Nonetheless, it is not clear which user experience dimensions affect the adoption of incident reporting systems, and to what extent anticipated use of the system (anticipated UX) is a determinant for predicting the user experience with the final application. In order to understand how citizens perceive incident reporting systems and which factors affect the user experience (UX), we have performed empirical studies including interviews in early phases of the development process and empirical user testing of advanced prototypes. In this paper, we present the results of a longitudinal study on the evolution of the perception of UX dimensions along the development process, from interviews to running prototypes. Hereafter, we describe the method that has been used for coding the findings of these empirical studies according to six UX dimensions (including visual and aesthetic experience, emotions, stimulation, identification, meaning & value and social relatedness/co-experience). Moreover, we describe how the findings have been associated with users’ tasks. The findings from interviews and user testing indicate that whilst the perceived importance of some UX dimensions (such as identification and meaning & value) remains similar over time, other dimensions such as stimulation and emotions do evolve. Beyond the practical implications of this study for the design of incident reporting systems, this work presents an approach that allows comparing the results of UX assessments in different phases of the process.     

Defining user experience goals to guide the design of industrial systems

The key prerequisite for experience-driven design is to define what experience to design for. User experience (UX) goals concretise the intended experience. Based on our own case studies from industrial environments and a literature study, we propose five different approaches to acquiring insight and inspiration for UX goal setting: Brand, Theory, Empathy, Technology, and Vision. Each approach brings in a different viewpoint, thus supporting the multidisciplinary character of UX. The Brand approach ensures that the UX goals are in line with the company's brand promise. The Theory approach utilises the available scientific knowledge of human behaviour. The Empathy approach focuses on knowing the actual users and stepping into their shoes. The Technology approach considers the new technologies that are being introduced and their positive or negative influence on UX. Finally, the Vision approach focuses on renewal, introducing new kinds of UXs. In the design of industrial systems, several stakeholders are involved and they should share common design goals. Using the different UX goal-setting approaches together brings in the viewpoints of different stakeholders, thus committing them to UX goal setting and emphasising UX as a strategic design decision.     

Optimization of user experience in mobile application design by using a fuzzy analytic-network-process-based Taguchi method

Mobile application (app) design is an expanding research area, with user experience (UX) as its core. UX encompasses all aspects of human–computer interaction, and thus the optimization of UX has multiple objectives. Quality characteristics related to UX are subjective and even subconscious; moreover, there exists interdependence among UX quality characteristics. However, very little attention has been focused on these issues when optimizing UX based on multiple objectives. In this paper, a fuzzy analytic network process (ANP)-based Taguchi method is proposed for optimizing UX in mobile app design. First, design patterns and UX quality characteristics are determined. Subsequently, a Taguchi experiment is designed and carried out, and then signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios are calculated. A fuzzy ANP is adopted to derive the preference weights for the UX quality characteristics. Based on these weights, the S/N ratios are converted into a multiperformance characteristic index (MPCI) by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Finally, according to the MPCI, the significant design patterns are identified by using the analysis of variance, and the optimal design is obtained by using the response table and response graph. A mobile health app design was presented to illustrate the proposed approach. The results suggest that the proposed approach can effectively manage the interdependence among the subjective and even subconscious UX quality characteristics in the optimization process, and be used as a universal robust design approach to optimize UX in mobile app design.     

Product attributes and user experience design: how to convey product information through user-centered service

The user experience (UX) is a critical issue in both the product design and service sector. Ensuring that customers can easily understand a product or service and thus ensuring higher satisfaction with the customer–product (service) interaction process is essential for survival among competitive industries. However, few studies have attempted to integrate all relevant factors into a comprehensive model of UX. The present study addresses this need by proposing a conceptual UX interaction model that incorporates the characteristics of usability and user interaction level based on quality of experience. A method to apply the model and the steps to implement the data collection and analysis are also proposed. The UX interaction model requires a systematic approach to: (1) decompose the product or service characteristics during a UX interaction process; (2) determine typology of UX items of each characteristic; and (3) select appropriate and feasible strategies to improve these UX items. A quantitative survey for mobile phone users was developed to investigate differences among types of UX and product characteristics. This study provides valuable empirical evidence on the UX interaction model for particular industries where superior quality service experiences are to be achieved.     

How User Experience Changes over Time: A Case Study of Social Network Services

While interacting with a product or a service, people have diverse experiences, which constitute user experience (UX). In this study, the hierarchical dimensions of UX were considered, including overall UX, its elements (usability, affect, and user value) and their subelements. To determine how UX changes over time, the temporal changes of the influence of each element and subelement were analyzed. Twenty subjects participated in a longitudinal experiment by using a social network service (SNS). The most important element of UX changed from usability to user value after one week of use. These results suggest that adoption of an SNS occurs in two phases: a phase of affected by usability and a phase affected by user value. Identification of these phases and the systematic approach used in the study are expected to contribute to design and evaluation of new SNSs and other products and services.     

Developing Elements of User Experience for Mobile Phones and Services: Survey,Interview, and Observation Approaches

The term user experience (UX) encompasses the concepts of usability and affective engineering. However, UX has not been defined clearly. In this study, a literature survey, user interview and indirect observation were conducted to develop definitions of UX and its elements. A literature survey investigated 127 articles that were considered to be helpful to define the concept of UX. An in‐depth interview targeted 14 hands‐on workers in the Korean mobile phone industry. An indirect observation captured daily experiences of eight end‐users with mobile phones. This study collected various views on UX from academia, industry, and end‐users using these three approaches. As a result, this article proposes definitions of UX and its elements: usability, affect, and user value. These results are expected to help design products or services with greater levels of UX. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. This article was published online on 20 October 2011. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected 13 June 2013.     

Text Input on a Smartwatch QWERTY Keyboard: Tap vs. Trace

This study examines text input performance on a smartwatch using tap and trace input methods on a standard QWERTY keyboard (Swype^TM). Participants were either experts or novices to the tracing technique on their smartphone. No users had experience typing on a smartwatch. Participants were able to type at speeds comparable to, or exceeding, those reported in the literature for smartphones and small screen devices. Both novices and tracing experts typed faster overall using the trace input method than the tap method and experts typed the fastest using trace (37 WPM). Word error rates were also comparable to those reported for smartphone text input. These results suggest that using a standard QWERTY keyboard that allows both tap and trace for text input is a viable option on a smartwatch.     

Developing a UX KPI based on the user experience questionnaire

Decisions in Companies are made typically by using a number of entirely different key figures. A user experience key figure is one of many important key figures that represents one aspect of the success of the company or its products. What we aim in this article is to present to those responsible for a product a method of how a user experience key performance indicator (UX KPI) can be developed using a UX questionnaire. We have developed a UX KPI for use in organizations based on the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). To achieve this, we added six questions to the UEQ to measure the importance of the UEQ scales. Based on the UEQ scales and the scores given for importance, we then developed a User Experience Questionnaire KPI (UEQ KPI). In a first study with 882 participants, we calculated and discussed the UEQ KPI using Amazon and Skype. The results show that the six supplementary questions could be answered independently of the UEQ itself. In our opinion, the extension can be implemented without any problems. The resulting UEQ KPI can be used for communication within an organization as a key performance indicator.     

User experience of museum technologies: the phenomenological scales

Museums increasingly rely on technology as a guarantee of enhanced visitor experience. However, both in Information Systems and Museology research, little attention has been paid to the evaluation of user experience (UX) with technologies in cultural heritage environments. This paper reports research in this area that uses a framework of interpretive archaeology and phenomenology. Users of museum technologies are studied to determine whether the framework's criteria correspond to visitor expectations and can be met by Information Technologies (IT). Our epistemology is methodologically independent and by using a multi-methodological approach, mixing both qualitative and quantitative approaches, it is consistent with the original spirit of the theory of understanding. The findings confirm the importance of phenomenology and post-phenomenology as a reference to assess IT UX in museums. In addition, our field study indicates that technologies available in museums – namely audio guides, interactive kiosks and computers – contribute positively to an experience of the past.     

UX Curve: A method for evaluating long-term user experience

The goal of user experience design in industry is to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through the utility, ease of use, and pleasure provided in the interaction with a product. So far, user experience studies have mostly focused on short-term evaluations and consequently on aspects relating to the initial adoption of new product designs. Nevertheless, the relationship between the user and the product evolves over long periods of time and the relevance of prolonged use for market success has been recently highlighted. In this paper, we argue for the cost-effective elicitation of longitudinal user experience data. We propose a method called the “UX Curve” which aims at assisting users in retrospectively reporting how and why their experience with a product has changed over time. The usefulness of the UX Curve method was assessed in a qualitative study with 20 mobile phone users. In particular, we investigated how users’ specific memories of their experiences with their mobile phones guide their behavior and their willingness to recommend the product to others. The results suggest that the UX Curve method enables users and researchers to determine the quality of long-term user experience and the influences that improve user experience over time or cause it to deteriorate. The method provided rich qualitative data and we found that an improving trend of perceived attractiveness of mobile phones was related to user satisfaction and willingness to recommend their phone to friends. This highlights that sustaining perceived attractiveness can be a differentiating factor in the user acceptance of personal interactive products such as mobile phones. The study suggests that the proposed method can be used as a straightforward tool for understanding the reasons why user experience improves or worsens in long-term product use and how these reasons relate to customer loyalty.     

User experience: does it matter in complex systems?

This paper explores the concept of user experience (UX) within complex systems in the domain of nuclear power production. The specific context is the development of main control room solutions. As UX has become a prevalent concept in human–computer interaction and related research fields, it is a valid question, whether the concept could bring something new to the research concerning complex safety–critical systems also. In this paper, we introduce the concept of UX as an indicator of the users’ subjective feeling of the appropriateness of the proposed tool for the activity. Based on activity theoretical contemplation, we presume that UX is grounded in the feelings and emotions evoked in the usage of the systems and which concern the status of the whole activity. In the paper, a theory-based characterization of UXs in the particular domain is developed based on three general functions of a tool: instrument, psychological, and communicative. We present the operationalization of UX and three studies in which UXs concerning different control room systems during a control room transformation process were followed. Based on the results of the three studies, we find that the significance of UX as an indicator of quality in use lies in the ability to bring the professional users’ experiences, which are embedded in the inner characteristics of the work and not always observable by external evaluators, to the process of designing new systems. Evidence to support the initial background assumption that UXs may concern instrumental aspects of tools was identified in the studies.     

基于灰色层次分析法的老年人APP 用户体验评价研究

为了提高老年人APP 的用户体验水平,提出一种基于灰色层次分析法(AHP)的老 年人APP 用户体验评价模型。首先,构建用户体验的评价体系;接着,通过AHP 计算评价指 标的权重;最后,采用灰色关联分析法(GRA)将用户体验的评价指标整合为灰色关联度,从而 根据灰色关联度选择最优方案。以移动医疗APP 作为案例,结果表明基于灰色AHP 的APP 用 户体验评价模型可以有效地评价老年人APP 的用户体验水平,为设计决策提供依据。     

The evaluation of user experience of a human walking and a driving simulation in the virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) has been implemented in various applications such as gaming, e-learning, rehabilitation, etc. Although many studies have been conducted to evaluate the user experiences (UX) of various applications in VR, there are few studies evaluating the UX of VR in a holistic view. Since user experience means holistic feelings caused by attributes like efficiency, effectiveness, pleasure, and attractiveness, it is necessary to evaluate user experience in many respects, including presence, usability, and workload. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the UX of VR in four various metrics: presence, workload, usability, and flow. In this study, the user experience factor was confirmed through the previous studies comparing visual display terminals (VDT) and head-mounted displays (HMD). In addition, the UX difference between VDT and HMD in two different situations, walking and driving, is analyzed. The data of 26 participants were analyzed and found that there were significant differences in the four studied metrics related to UX. In the driving situation, the usability value was higher in VDT, whereas they were higher in HMD for walking. Comparing the two contexts in HMD, walking was significantly higher in three metrics: presence, usability, and flow. The results show that HMD is better in terms of user experience than VDT, and HMD is more suitable for walking situations than for driving situations. Through this study, in terms of user experience, it is suitable to replace walking tasks with VR when the experiment in a real-world environment is impossible.