Is It Still Where I Expect It? Users’ Current Expectations of Interface Elements on the Most Frequent Types of Websites

Knowing users’ expectations about what they expect on a website and where they expect to find it is crucial for the success of a website. For the last decade, technological advances have entailed major changes in website design but the impact of these changes on users’ mental representations of web- sites remains unclear. In an online study (N = 841), we asked users to sketch their prototypical ver- sion of an online shop, a news website and a company page, thereby indicating the interface elements they expect on the website and their expected location. We compared our results to those of a pre- vious study to investigate changes in users’ mental representations of websites over time. This com- parison suggests that interface elements such as the logo, main content and navigation area are still expected in the same location although others have shifted to the rich footer area at the bottom of the website. In addition, new elements such as links to social networks have been incorporated into users’ mental representations whereas other interface elements have disappeared. By providing updated consolidated blueprint models for all three website types, we help designers to create expectation-based websites. Further implications for research and practitioners are discussed

Evaluating usability of e-commerce sites by tracking eye movements

The majority of existing e-commerce design guidelines has been derived by conducting heuristic evaluations, without reporting the involvement of the users themselves. This research provides clarification on a number of existing web design guidelines for e-commerce sites based on empirical studies with users. Four studies were conducted and each study focused on a specific set of design guidelines as found in the literature. A combined qualitative and quantitative approach has been used, including a state-of-the-art technique, eye tracking. The eye movement data were complemented by user-profile data elicited through background questionnaires and user-perception data as captured through semi-structured interviews. The first study investigated users’ initial impressions of homepages of e-commerce sites. The second study examined users’ adaptability to persistent or varied placement of design elements. The third and fourth studies explored the effect of the presentation format of e-commerce web pages: the first in terms of the proportion of images, and the second in terms of how key icons related to an e-commerce transaction were presented. On the whole, the results of the studies corroborated existing design guidelines, but they also identified potential refinements. The thesis contributes both methodologically and empirically to Human-Computer Interaction. The combined methodological approach enables insight into the user experience that spans behavioural aspects such as visual search behaviour and visual search performance data, and subjective aspects such as user expectations and preferences. The empirical outcomes amplify the design guidelines from a user’s perspective

Challenges in Developing Applications for Aging Populations

Elderly individuals can greatly benefit from the use of computer applications, which can assist in monitoring health conditions, staying in contact with friends and family, and even learning new things. However, developing accessible applications for an elderly user can be a daunting task for developers. Since the advent of the personal computer, the benefits and challenges of developing applications for older adults have been a hot topic of discussion. In this chapter, the authors discuss the various challenges developers who wish to create applications for the elderly computer user face, including age-related impairments, generational differences in computer use, and the hardware constraints mobile devices pose for application developers. Although these challenges are concerning, each can be overcome after being properly identified

The Feasibility of Dynamically Granted Permissions: Aligning Mobile Privacy with User Preferences

Current smartphone operating systems regulate application permissions by prompting users on an ask-on-first-use basis. Prior research has shown that this method is ineffective because it fails to account for context: the circumstances under which an application first requests access to data may be vastly different than the circumstances under which it subsequently requests access. We performed a longitudinal 131-person field study to analyze the contextuality behind user privacy decisions to regulate access to sensitive resources. We built a classifier to make privacy decisions on the user's behalf by detecting when context has changed and, when necessary, inferring privacy preferences based on the user's past decisions and behavior. Our goal is to automatically grant appropriate resource requests without further user intervention, deny inappropriate requests, and only prompt the user when the system is uncertain of the user's preferences. We show that our approach can accurately predict users' privacy decisions 96.8% of the time, which is a four-fold reduction in error rate compared to current systems.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

Alter ego, state of the art on user profiling: an overview of the most relevant organisational and behavioural aspects regarding User Profiling.

This report gives an overview of the most relevant organisational and\ud behavioural aspects regarding user profiling. It discusses not only the\ud most important aims of user profiling from both an organisation’s as\ud well as a user’s perspective, it will also discuss organisational motives\ud and barriers for user profiling and the most important conditions for\ud the success of user profiling. Finally recommendations are made and\ud suggestions for further research are given

An Inquiry into Mental Models of Web Interface Design

Here we adopt a cognitive science orientation to inquire into web interface design using the lens of mental models. A mental model is an internal cognitive representation of some aspect of the real world. The human mind automatically constructs and refines these models to provide a basis from which we can reason, make decisions, and form expectations. Even without conscious awareness, cognitive theory suggests that each web user has developed a mental model of what constitutes agreeable web interface design. But what is the nature of these mental models? Further, to what extent do people possess a general, shared mental model of web interface design? We examine these questions using a novel methodological approach in conjunction with statistical analyses and thermal imaging. We find not only that people possess a shared mental model of web interface design, but also that this shared model is remarkably cohesive from person to person

Influence of national culture on website design Republic of Turkey vs the United Kingdom

In this paper the influence of cultural dimensions on website design and their design features were examined through a comparative study of Turkey and the United Kingdom. Countries were chosen due to having opposite cultural dimensions scores when compare to each other. The purpose of the study was to learn more about the design features of websites and measure the effect of cultural dimensions on them. A questionnaire (composed of three criteria each for UAI, PDI, MAS and IDV dimensions of Geert Hofstede’s cultural model) was designed to content analysis of nineteen websites (highly ranked e-commerce and non e-commerce ones) from each country and applied by five experts. The statistical significance of the results was tested by Welch t-test. Findings showed that there is significant difference in power distance and masculinity features of the websites which are in accordance with the dimension scores of the countries. On the other hand, same significance was not seen in uncertainty and collectivism features in design due to the United Kingdom reflecting the same design features as Turkey.Neste trabalho, a influência das dimensões culturais sobre o design do site e as suas características foram examinadas através de um estudo comparativo da Turquia e Reino Unido. Estes países foram escolhidos devido a estarem em polos opostos nas pontuações das dimensões culturais. O objetivo do estudo foi saber mais sobre as características de design desses sites e medir o efeito das dimensões culturais sobre eles. Um questionário (composto de três critérios para a UAI, PDI, MAS e IDV, dimensões de Geert Hofstede) foi projetado para codificar as características de design de sites (classificados em e-commerce e em não e-commerce) de cada país e aplicado por cinco especialistas. A utilização do teste t de Welch permitiu concluir que há uma diferença significativa nas características relativas a distância de poder e relativas a masculinidade dos sites que estão em concordância com os scores das dimensões dos dois países. Por outro lado, as diferenças não se mostraram significativas relativamente ao controle de incerteza e individualismo no design

Writing for mobile media: The influences of text, digital design and psychological characteristics on the cognitive load of the mobile user

Text elements on the mobile smartphone interface make a significant contribution to the user’s interaction experience. In combination with other visual design features, these words curate the path of the mobile user on a journey through the information to satisfy a specific task. This study analyses the elements that influence the interpretation process and optimum presentation of information on mobile media. I argue that effective digital writing contributes to reducing the cognitive load experienced by the mobile user. The central discussion focuses on the writing of text for this medium, which I suggest forges an entirely unique narrative. The optimum writing approach is based on the multi-dimensional characteristics of hypertext, which allow the writer to facilitate the journey without the user losing control of the interpretation process. This study examines the relationship between the writer, the reader and the text, with a unique perspective on the mobile media writer, who is tasked with achieving balance between the functionality and humanity of digital interaction. To explore influences on the development of the relevant writing techniques, I present insights into the distinctive characteristics of the mobile smartphone device, with specific focus on the screen and keyboard. I also discuss the unique characteristics of the mobile user and show how the visual design of the interface is integral to the writing of text for this medium. Furthermore, this study explores the role, skills, and processes of the current and future digital writer, within the backdrop of incessant technological advancement and revolutionary changes in human-computer behaviour

Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to Information Quality

Building upon a process-and context-oriented information quality framework, this paper seeks to map and explore what we know about the ways in which young users of age 18 and under search for information online, how they evaluate information, and how their related practices of content creation, levels of new literacies, general digital media usage, and social patterns affect these activities. A review of selected literature at the intersection of digital media, youth, and information quality -- primarily works from library and information science, sociology, education, and selected ethnographic studies -- reveals patterns in youth's information-seeking behavior, but also highlights the importance of contextual and demographic factors both for search and evaluation. Looking at the phenomenon from an information-learning and educational perspective, the literature shows that youth develop competencies for personal goals that sometimes do not transfer to school, and are sometimes not appropriate for school. Thus far, educational initiatives to educate youth about search, evaluation, or creation have depended greatly on the local circumstances for their success or failure