Applying a User-centred Approach to Interactive Visualization Design

Analysing users in their context of work and finding out how and why they use different information resources is essential to provide interactive visualisation systems that match their goals and needs. Designers should actively involve the intended users throughout the whole process. This chapter presents a user-centered approach for the design of interactive visualisation systems. We describe three phases of the iterative visualisation design process: the early envisioning phase, the global specification hase, and the detailed specification phase. The whole design cycle is repeated until some criterion of success is reached. We discuss different techniques for the analysis of users, their tasks and domain. Subsequently, the design of prototypes and evaluation methods in visualisation practice are presented. Finally, we discuss the practical challenges in design and evaluation of collaborative visualisation environments. Our own case studies and those of others are used throughout the whole chapter to illustrate various approaches

Designing for Usability in 3D Virtual Environments

This paper is about designing 3D applications and the software design process in desktop virtual environments. Here, we introduce parts of our work on a design-focused approach to usability engineering and software development for 3D desktop virtual environments. We begin by discussing some of the current limitations in virtual environment research. We then introduce alternate perspectives for improving the usability of virtual environment applications. We highlight the need for a software development approach to designing virtual environment applications and provide some arguments for this. Finally, we conclude by providing a summary of our work-in-progress solution

CO-CREATING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE EMERGING ELECTRONIC IDENTITY MANAGEMENT PLATFORM

Digital transformation of public sector entails prominence to electronic identity (e-ID) management platforms. The new, user-centric systems for e-ID management can be enhanced with Artificial intelligence (AI) and distributed ledger technology (DLT). However, such technological complexity can make these systems counter-intuitive for an ordinary user. Existing research identifies that the socio-technical arrangements for e-ID platforms are often ignored. In this study, we investigate what kind of requirements users have for an e-ID management platform in public sector. We employed principles of cocreation methodology to design and run a series of workshops in five European municipalities. Despite technological propositions of an e-ID platform, accessibility, usability, and security attributes were the most debated issues among the prospective users. The results from the co-creative requirements elicitation suggest for broadening the discussions around e-ID management platforms to encompass social and socio-technical aspects in the design and development of these systems

Advanced design methods for successful innovation

Innovation is the key to our future, for the companies we work for, for us as designers, and for the universities educating new generations of designers. The tools we use are becoming increasingly sophisticated, macthing the complex intricacies of the products, services and solutions we are working on. The world we work in is changing and so are we: our field of design is coming of age. Our message is simple and straightforward: to help organisations adopt advanced design methods, equipping then to deal with the dynamic development environments we encounter as practitioners. This supports Design United's mission: to stimulate and increase interaction between design practitioners and the university design schools. This is vital, as the implementation of advanced design methods requires intensive collaboration when defining and resolving research challenges, and developing new research methods and tools. This is meant to be a hands-on book. It has been written by researchers working in the field of innovative design questions. They tell us what they have done and how they did it, based on real-life cases. This book provides readers with a clear overview of recently researched and developed design methods that have the potential of making many individuals and organisations more successful in achieving their goals

Advanced design methods for successful innovation

Innovation is the key to our future, for the companies we work for, for us as designers, and for the universities educating new generations of designers. The tools we use are becoming increasingly sophisticated, macthing the complex intricacies of the products, services and solutions we are working on. The world we work in is changing and so are we: our field of design is coming of age. Our message is simple and straightforward: to help organisations adopt advanced design methods, equipping then to deal with the dynamic development environments we encounter as practitioners. This supports Design United's mission: to stimulate and increase interaction between design practitioners and the university design schools. This is vital, as the implementation of advanced design methods requires intensive collaboration when defining and resolving research challenges, and developing new research methods and tools. This is meant to be a hands-on book. It has been written by researchers working in the field of innovative design questions. They tell us what they have done and how they did it, based on real-life cases. This book provides readers with a clear overview of recently researched and developed design methods that have the potential of making many individuals and organisations more successful in achieving their goals

Bonding Over Distances: Building Social Presence Using Mixed Reality for Transnational Families

Sparked by the frustrations experienced in transnational family communication and inspired by an interest in exploring the potentials of a mixed reality (MR) future landscape, this study investigates the primary research question: how can we use mixed reality to build social presence for transnational family communication? This study reviews literature and contextual works from relevant fields, including presence and social presence, mixed reality, transnational relationships (inter-family and human-space relationships), and technology for social presence for transnational families. Then, the researcher situates this study at the intersection of the before mentioned categories. Utilizing the Research through Design methodology and paired user testing methods, this study describes 4 iterative MR prototypes for building social presence for transnational families, highlighting each prototype’s relation to a secondary research question, exploration goals, features, performance evaluation, and takeaways for the next iteration. Then, it documents and analyzes data collected from in-depth user testing sessions with 6 transnational family pairs totaling 12 participants, each with one member living locally (in Toronto), and the other overseas. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected from different components of the user testing, including observation notes from paired-up live connection sessions for collaborative tasks, interviews, and online surveys. This study contributes to theory at the overlapping fields of social presence, mixed reality research, transnational family relationship, and human-space relationship. The mixed reality prototypes, design frameworks, and evaluation criteria for designing mixed reality spaces to build social presence for transnational families also provide significance to design practice

Gamification of assembly planning in virtual environment

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of the gamification of virtual assembly planning on the user performance, user experience and engagement. / Design/methodology/approach: A multi-touch table was used to manipulate virtual parts and gamification features were integrated into the virtual assembly environment. An experiment was conducted in two conditions: a gamified and a non-gamified virtual environment. Subjects had to assemble a virtual pump. The user performance was evaluated in terms of the number of errors, the feasibility of the generated assembly sequence and the user feedback. / Findings: The gamification reduced the number of errors and increased the score representing the number of right decisions. The results of the subjective and objective analysis showed that the number of errors decreased with engagement in the gamified assembly. The increase in the overall user experience reduced the number of errors. The subjective evaluation showed a significant difference between the gamified and the non-gamified assembly in terms of the level of engagement, the learning usability and the overall experience. / Research limitations/implications: The effective learning retention after training has not been tested, and longitudinal studies are necessary. The effect of the used gamification elements has been evaluated as a whole; further work could isolate the most beneficial features and add other elements that might be more beneficial for learning. / Originality/value: The research reported in this paper provides valuable insights into the gamification of virtual assembly using a low-cost multi-touch interface. The results are promising for training operators to assemble a product at the design stage