Heuristics Considering UX and Quality Criteria for Heuristics

Heuristic evaluation is a cheap tool with which one can take qualitative measures of a product’s usability. However, since the methodology was first presented, the User Experience (UX) has become more popular but the heuristics have remained the same. In this paper, we analyse the current state of heuristic evaluation in terms of heuristics for measuring the UX. To do so, we carried out a literature review. In addition, we had a look at different heuristics and mapped them with the UX dimensions of the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). Moreover, we proposed a quality model for heuristic evaluation and a list of quality criteria for heuristics

A Taxonomy of Digital Service Design Techniques

In a digital world, service designers need to apply design techniques to meet increasing user expectations. While there are many design techniques out there, the current taxonomies of design techniques provide little guidance for designers when it comes to selecting appropriate design techniques during the design process. Hence, a well-structured taxonomy is needed. This research-in-process seeks to apply a taxonomy development method to classify design techniques and to identify important dimensions in order to provide an overview of digital service design techniques. Our preliminary results present a taxonomy with five dimensions, each of which includes mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive characteristics. In future research, we plan to evaluate the usefulness of our taxonomy and compare our taxonomy with those that are currently available. Furthermore, we expect to look into the potential interrelations among the dimensions and build a model that explains and predicts the appropriate techniques for a given situation

User Experience: Buzzword or New Paradigm?

International audienceThis paper explores User Experience, a rather novel and popular view on human-computer interaction, through an extensive review of the literature. After introducing its polysemous nature, this paper describes the origins of User Experience, its scope, components and various definitions. Then, User Experience methods are surveyed, distinguishing processes, frameworks, and specific methods. The conclusion identifies a set of issues about the needs for increased User Experience maturity

Establishing usability heuristics for heuristics evaluation in a specific domain: is there a consensus?

Heuristics evaluation is frequently employed to evaluate usability. While general heuristics are suitable to evaluate most user interfaces, there is still a need to establish heuristics for specific domains to ensure that their specific usability issues are identified. This paper presents a comprehensive review of 70 studies related to usability heuristics for specific domains. The aim of this paper is to review the processes that were applied to establish heuristics in specific domains and identify gaps in order to provide recommendations for future research and area of improvements. The most urgent issue found is the deficiency of validation effort following heuristics proposition and the lack of robustness and rigour of validation method adopted. Whether domain specific heuristics perform better or worse than general ones is inconclusive due to lack of validation quality and clarity on how to assess the effectiveness of heuristics for specific domains. The lack of validation quality also affects effort in improving existing heuristics for specific domain as their weaknesses are not addressed

Identifying and explicating knowledge on method transfer: a sectoral system of innovation approach

Post-print (lokagerð höfundar)With the advances in information technology and its increasing impact on humans and society, there has been an expanding need to spread knowledge from domain to domain. This need is not least in the area of human–computer interaction, which includes a rich culture of carrying out usability evaluations in many different domains and technology platforms. This paper aims to show how transfer of methods takes place, by explicating and formalizing the process. It will contribute to the quest for knowledge on the constituents of the process of transferring methodological knowledge and their relationships. A sectoral system of innovation approach is used to analyse the constituents of a selected sector, crisis management, where training is essential and which is rapidly adopting technology for operations and training. Two case studies are described where heuristics evaluation and user testing were applied on simulation software that allows training for crisis management. The analysis results in a process model, describing the transfer of methodological knowledge within the sectoral system of innovation framework.The research leading to these results has received funding from COST Action IC0904, Twintide, and the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. [FP7-242474], CRISIPeer Reviewe

Käyttäjien mukaan ottaminen mobiililaitteiden paikkatietoja hyödyntävien sovellusten eri kehitysvaiheissa

Tarkastelen tutkielmassani mobiililaitteiden paikkatietoja hyödyntävien sovellusten kehitysprosessia. Keskityn selvittämään, kuinka käyttäjät on otettu mukaan paikkatietoja hyödyntävien mobiilisovellusten kehitystyössä ja kuinka heidät kannattaisi tulevaisuudessa ottaa mukaan. Tutkielman aineistona käytetään taustakirjallisuutta aiemmista tutkimuksista sekä kolmen paikkatietoja hyödyntävien mobiilisovellusten kehittäjän haastatteluja. Taustakirjallisuuden perusteella selvitin, millaista käyttäjätutkimusta mobiilisovellusten kehityksessä on aikaisemmin tehty ja millaisia erilaisia vaiheita sekä menetelmiä mobiilisovellusten kehitysprosessissa on käytetty. Tutkimusten perusteella voidaan todeta, että paikkatietoja hyödyntävien mobiilisovellusten kehitysprosessi on käyttäjälähtöistä. Käyttäjiä pyritään ottamaan mukaan kehitysprosessin kaikissa vaiheissa ideointivaiheesta valmiiseen sovellukseen asti niin perusteellisesti kuin mahdollista. Käytännössä rajalliset resurssit ja testaus- sekä käyttöympäristön vaihtelevuus vaikeuttavat käyttäjien mukaan ottamista kehittäjien toivomassa laajuudessa

The Role of User Experience in a Business-to-Business Context

As industrial companies strive to discover new ways to provide value for their customers, their focus has shifted from offering products and services to creating superior experiences for customers and users. This study focuses on the role of user experience (UX) in a business-to-business (B2B) context. The main objective is to increase the understanding of how UX is perceived and utilized in the suppliers’ and customers’ activities within a B2B context. From the suppliers’ view, the focus is on the role of UX in research and development (R&D) and also in sales and marketing (S&M). In the customer companies, the aim is to create knowledge about whether UX has an impact on technology investment decisions. In addition, a comparison is made between the users and designers of specific products considering the importance of UX-related attributes. A case study research strategy was adopted in order to better understand complex phenomena and the dynamics present within single settings. An embedded case study design included three cases, all of which consisted of one supplier company and two customer companies. As the study follows the research paradigm of pragmatism, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to address the research questions. The results suggest that although UX was seen as an important aspect, some challenges occurred in utilizing UX-related knowledge. Although supplier companies focused on designing better experiences for the users, methods for utilizing UX in new product development (NPD) were not internalized yet in all cases and other stakeholders working outside of R&D were not actively involved in the design process. Considering UX in sales activities, it was found challenging to transfer the benefits of UX into sales argumentation or to find suitable methods for disseminating UX-related knowledge effectively for potential customers. From the customers’ point of view, UX can have an indirect impact on supplier selection as previous experiences of the supplier and their products affect decision making. The products’ market superiority and technical details, as well as the supplier company’s reliability, were considered the most important aspects in choosing a supplier. The results also suggest that R&D mostly agrees on which UX-related attributes are important for users. The results indicate that the pragmatic aspects (e.g. reliability, ease-of-use) of technological products are more important than the hedonic aspects (e.g. attractiveness, visual aesthetics). The study’s findings contribute to both prior research and managerial practices. The research provides new knowledge to the research streams of UX as well as customer value in the B2B context. First, a framework is presented in order to combine these theories and illustrate the benefits of UX for different stakeholders. The findings of the empirical part of the study contribute especially in the research on user-centered de-sign and value-based UX selling, as well as the value of UX in technology investment decisions. Based on previous studies on UX measurement, this research also offers a systematically constructed tool for measuring the importance of UX in different contexts. The study also provides practical implications for managers striving to incorporate UX into everyday practices in their company.Teollisten yritysten pyrkiessä löytämään uusia keinoja tuottaa arvoa asiakkailleen, on havaittavissa siirtymä tuotteiden ja palveluiden tarjoamisesta ylivertaisten kokemusten luomiseen asiakkaille ja tuotteiden loppukäyttäjille. Tämä tutkimus keskittyy käyttäjäkokemuksen rooliin yrityskontekstissa. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä siitä, miten käyttäjäkokemus koetaan ja miten sitä hyödynnetään toimittajien ja asiakkaiden toiminnoissa yrityskontekstissa. Toimittajien näkökulmasta käyttäjäkokemuksen roolia tutkitaan tuotekehityksessä sekä myynnissä ja markkinoinnissa. Asiakasyrityksissä tarkoitus on tuottaa tietoa siitä, onko käyttäjäkokemuksella vaikutusta teknologian hankintaan liittyvissä päätöksissä. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa on vertailtu tuotteiden suunnittelijoiden ja käyttäjien näkemyksiä käyttäjäkokemukseen liittyvien tekijöiden tärkeydestä. Tutkimusstrategiana käytettiin tapaustutkimusta, joka mahdollistaa monitahoisten ilmiöiden sekä sisäisen dynamiikan ymmärtämisen yksittäisissä tapauksissa. Tutkimus koostui kolmesta tapaustutkimuksesta, joista jokainen sisälsi yhden toimittajayrityksen ja kaksi asiakasyritystä. Koska tutkimus on luonteeltaan pragmaattinen, tutkimuskysymysten vastaamiseen käytettiin sekä kvalitatiivisia että kvantitatiivisia menetelmiä. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että vaikka käyttäjäkokemus koettiin tärkeänä, käyttäjäkokemukseen liittyvän tiedon hyödyntämisessä ilmeni haasteita. Vaikka toimittajat keskittyivät parempien kokemusten suunnitteluun tuotteidensa käyttäjille, menetelmiä käyttäjäkokemuksen hyödyntämiseen tuotteiden kehittämisessä ei ollut vielä sisäistetty kaikissa tapauksissa. Myöskään tuotekehityksen ulkopuoliset sidosryhmät eivät aktiivisesti osallistuneet kehitysprosessiin. Erityisesti käyttäjäkokemuksen tuomien etujen muuttaminen myyntiargumenteiksi sekä sopivien menetelmien löytäminen tiedon välittämiseksi potentiaalisille asiakkaille koettiin myyntitoiminnassa haasteelliseksi. Asiakkaiden näkökulmasta käyttäjäkokemuksella voi olla epäsuora vaikutus toimittajan valintaan, sillä aikaisemmat kokemukset toimittajasta ja heidän tuotteistaan voivat vaikuttaa investointipäätökseen. Tuotteen paremmuus markkinoilla ja sen tekniset ominaisuudet, kuten myös toimittajan luotettavuus koettiin kaikista tärkeimpinä tekijöinä toimittajaa valittaessa. Tulokset myös osoittavat, että tuotteiden kehittäjät kokevat suurimmaksi osaksi samat käyttäjäkokemukseen liittyvät tekijät tärkeinä kuin tuotteiden käyttäjät. Erityisesti pragmaattiset tekijät (esim. luotettavuus, käytön helppous) koettiin tärkeämpinä kuin hedonistiset tekijät (esim. houkuttelevuus, hyvännäköisyys). Tutkimuksen tulokset tuovat oman kontribuutionsa sekä aikaisempaan tutkimukseen että johtamiskäytäntöihin liittyen. Tutkimus tarjoaa uutta tietoa käyttäjäkokemuksen ja asiakasarvon tutkimukseen yrityskontekstissa. Ensinnäkin, teoreettinen viitekehys yhdistää edellä mainitut teoriat osoittaakseen käyttäjäkokemuksen hyödyt eri sidosryhmille. Empiirisen osuuden tulokset tuovat oman panoksensa käyttäjäkeskeisen suunnittelun ja käyttäjäkokemuksen arvopohjaisen myynnin tutkimuksiin, kuten myös käyttäjä-kokemukseen arvoon teknologian investointipäätöksissä. Aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin pohjaten tutkimus tarjoaa myös systemaattisesti rakennetun menetelmän käyttäjäkokemuksen tärkeyden mittaamiseen. Tutkimus tarjoaa myös ehdotuksia johdolle siitä, miten käyttäjäkokemusta voidaan sisällyttää yrityksen jokapäiväisiin käytäntöihin

Diretrizes para o design visual de periódicos científicos eletrônicos com base na experiência do usuário

A presente tese propõe diretrizes para o design visual de interface de periódico científico eletrônico com base na experiência de usuário medida pela atratividade e pelas qualidades pragmáticas e hedônicas da interface. A fundamentação teórica que apoia a pesquisa é dividida em três tópicos principais: revistas científicas, experiência do usuário e avaliação de interface. O tópico inicial trata da evolução das técnicas e dos suportes para impressão até a editoração eletrônica. Nesse contexto, a revista científica eletrônica é caracterizada como artefato tecnológico, passível de processo de produto. Em sequência, apresenta-se um levantamento, na literatura da área, de pesquisas em avaliação de qualidade dos periódicos científicos, no qual verifica-se a ausência de critérios de avaliação pormenorizados sobre design visual e experiência do usuário. No segundo tópico, faz-se referência a autores clássicos e contemporâneos, mostrando em que bases são postulados os conceitos de usabilidade e de experiência do usuário. Encerrando a fundamentação teórica, apresenta-se o mapeamento de 99 métodos de avaliação de experiência do usuário, do qual destaca-se a carência de métodos para avaliação de experiência do usuário que permitam realização online; e que assegurem validação científica. A metodologia da pesquisa foi também dividida em três partes: investigação da experiência do usuário, pesquisa com especialistas e elaboração de diretrizes. Intencionou-se responder seguinte questão: Como o design visual da interface afeta a experiência do usuário de periódicos científicos eletrônicos? Para tal, inicialmente, definiu-se uma ferramenta de coleta de dados específica para investigação da experiência do usuário de periódicos científicos com foco no design visual. O método foi estabelecido a partir da geração e da combinação de conceitos oriundos de outros três métodos de avaliação de interface, comparados e selecionados em uma matriz de decisão. A ferramenta de coleta de dados foi utilizada para testes com 41 usuários, na avaliação das revistas Blake, Infodesign, PMGP e Design & Tecnologia, presentes no Open Journal System. Como resultados dessa etapa, obtiveram-se 52 grupos de requisitos, referentes a cada uma das qualidades da experiência do usuário. Esses requisitos formaram uma base de orientações consideradas para a redação das diretrizes. Em continuidade, a pesquisa com especialistas possibilitou verificar a existência de fortes correlações entre as qualidades da experiência do usuário e os fundamentos do design visual, por meio de uma matriz de qualidade, segundo a técnica do desdobramento da função qualidade. Dessa forma, atestou-se a relevância dos fundamentos de design visual selecionados para a experiência do usuário de revistas científicas eletrônicas. A etapa final da pesquisa destinou-se à elaboração de diretrizes para o design visual de revistas científicas eletrônicas com base na experiência do usuário. Essas diretrizes foram aplicadas por três designers no redesenho de interface da revista Design & Tecnologia. Um desses projetos foi escolhido para novo teste de experiência, com 22 usuários. Os números obtidos mostraram que a experiência foi considerada pelos usuários mais positiva nessa segunda avaliação, o que atestou a efetividade das diretrizes postuladas para orientação no projeto de periódicos científicos eletrônicos. A tese encerra com a representação visual dessas diretrizes em uma matriz que aponta prioridades de projeto a partir da hierarquia de fundamentos definida na pesquisa com especialistas. Considera-se que essa pesquisa pode auxiliar designers e editores em projetos de periódicos científicos eletrônicos, com vistas à qualificação desses que são, atualmente, os principais veículos de comunicação científica.The present thesis proposes guidelines for the visual design of electronic scientific periodical interface based on the user experience measured by the attractiveness and the pragmatic and hedonic qualities of the interface. The literature review that supports the research is divided into three main topics: scientific journals, user experience and interface evaluation. The initial topic deals with the evolution of techniques and media for printing to electronic publishing. In this context, the electronic scientific journal is characterized as a technological artifact, subject to product process. In the sequence, a research survey is presented on the quality evaluation of scientific journals, in which there is a lack of detailed evaluation criteria on visual design and user experience. In the second topic, reference is made to classic and contemporary authors, showing in what bases are postulated the concepts of usability and user experience. Closing the literature review, we present the mapping of 99 methods of evaluation of user experience, which highlights the lack of methods to evaluate user experience that allow online realization; and to ensure scientific validation. The methodology of the research was also divided into three parts: research of user experience, research with specialists and elaboration of guidelines. It was intended to answer the following question: How does the visual design of the interface affect the user experience of electronic scientific journals? For this, initially, a specific data collection tool was defined to investigate the user experience of scientific journals focusing on visual design. The method was established from the generation and combination of concepts from three other methods of interface evaluation, compared and selected in a decision matrix. The data collection tool was used for tests with 41 users, in the evaluation of the magazines Blake, Infodesign, PMGP and Design & Technology, present in the Open Journal System. As a result of this step, we obtained 52 sets of requirements, referring to each of the qualities of the user experience. These requirements formed a basis for guidelines for drafting the guidelines. In continuity, the research with specialists made it possible to verify the existence of strong correlations between the qualities of the user experience and the fundamentals of visual design, through a quality matrix, according to the technique of unfolding the quality function. In this way, the relevance of the visual design fundamentals selected for the user experience of electronic scientific journals was attested. The final stage of the research was aimed at developing guidelines for the visual design of electronic scientific journals based on user experience. These guidelines were applied by three designers in the design redesign of Design & Technology magazine. One of these projects was chosen for a new experience test with 22 users. The numbers obtained showed that the experience was considered by the users to be more positive in this second evaluation, which testified to the effectiveness of the guidelines postulated for orientation in the design of electronic scientific journals. The thesis ends with the visual representation of these guidelines in a matrix that points out project priorities from the hierarchy of foundations defined in the research with specialists. It is considered that this research can assist designers and editors in projects of electronic scientific periodicals, with a view to the qualification of those that are currently the main vehicles of scientific communication