THE IMPACT OF USER EXPERIENCE ON HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION - RESULTS FROM A USABILITY STUDY

For a large number of applications, mobile devices offer a manifold variety of potentials to improve business processes. However, most projects still fail to be successful with regard to key performance indicators (KPI). There is a growing understanding that human computer interaction is a key factor for the successful use of mobile devices in practice. However, it is still unclear how interfaces can be designed according to the specific needs of a user applying mobile devices in a business context. In this study we show that user experience has a strong impact on efficient human computer interaction. We present the results of a usability study on a mobile tool for IT-Service technicians. The results show that (a) even low experienced users can achieve sufficient task performance with a usable tool and (b) that participants of all experience groups perform better in the field setting compared to the lab

Benefits that a business can derive from human-computer interaction interventions

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) interventions such as User Experience, Usability and Accessibility are widely accepted as great milestones in the developmental process of computer-based system applications – be it web-based, PC-based or ubiquitous. However, there is still a need for an understanding of the critical benefits – both tangible and intangible – that HCI interventions may bring within business. It is still necessary to investigate and clearly understand how the issues that emanate from the usability and accessibility problems affect business as well as what value HCI techniques contribute to the profitability of implementing and using computer-based systems. A case study approach was undertaken within a Travel Management Company (TMC) on a computer-based system used for both back-end and front-end activities, such as invoicing as well as Management Information System (MIS) reports. The aim was to ascertain how the incorporation of HCI interventions (Usability and Accessibility) in evaluating the design and the development process of software applications can impact on the usefulness of such computer application systems. The investigation in areas such as the redefining business processes in order to generate a competitive advantage, enhancing user skills, improving user productivity, user satisfaction and retention, reducing training costs, and quality service provision were of particular interest. The end results of the study affirm an important and significant role that specific and focussed HCI interventions make in the successful implementation of contemporary computer-based systems. However, for businesses to gain most of the potential benefits from HCI interventions, both the software development houses and business practitioners should make use of the HCI techniques and place greater priority and emphasis on the awareness and use of HCI (Usability) standards in the development processComputingM. Sc. (Information Systems

Investigating the User Experience with a 3D Virtual Anatomy Application

Decreasing hours dedicated to teaching anatomy courses and declining use of human cadavers have spurred the need for innovative solutions in teaching anatomy in medical schools. Advancements in virtual reality (VR), 3D visualizations, computer graphics, and medical graphic images have enabled the development of highly interactive 3D virtual applications. Over recent years, variations of interactive systems on computer-mediated environments have been used as supplementary resource for learners. However, despite the growing sophistication of these resources for learning anatomy, studies show that students predominantly prefer traditional methods of learning and hands-on cadaver-based learning over computer-mediated platforms. There is limited research on evaluating user experience in the use of interactive 3D anatomy systems, even though Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) studies show that usability (ease of use) and user engagement are essential to technology adoption and satisfaction. The addressable problem of the research was to investigate how ease of use and flow affected aspects of the students’ engagement experience with the use of a 3D virtual anatomy application. The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of a 3D virtual application in performing dissection learning tasks and to understand aspects of user engagement as assessed by ease of use and flow experience. The flow experience was quantified using the Short Flow State Scale (S FSS-2) and the System Usability Scale (SUS) to measure perceptions about ease of use and user satisfaction. The research questions included: (1) What consequences of flow do students experience? (2) What aspects of the 3D virtual platform are distracting to performing the learning tasks? (3) How do students’ perception of ease of use affect the flow experience based on the SUS and S FSS-2 scores? (4) How do students rate their level of engagement as measured by flow based on their S FSS-2 scores? (5) How does flow help explain student satisfaction and motivation? (6) How do students perceive use of the application to learn anatomy compared with cadaver-based dissection? The study consisted of medical student participants who were asked to complete virtual dissection activities associated with learning objectives in the Structure of the Human Body course to perform using a 3D virtual anatomy application. A subset of participants who completed the learning task and the surveys had a follow-up Cognitive Walkthrough with Think-Aloud Protocol observation activity with an interview segment to gain deeper insights into their user experience with the application. The data from the convergent mixed method analysis indicated that ease of use had some impact on the flow experience and that perceived user satisfaction and motivation were attributed to the interactive 3D visualization design. Seven super-ordinate themes were identified: Ease of Use, Learnability, Interface-Technical, User Satisfaction, Visuospatial, Focus/In the Zone, and CA vs Cadaver. The results have implications for educators (particularly anatomists), educational technologists, and HCI and UX practitioners. Additional research should be conducted using the long version of the Flow State Scale to provide a better understanding of each flow dimension. Further study is recommended with students who have hands-on experience with human cadaver dissection that are also able to compare their experience with the use of a 3D virtual anatomy platform for a direct side-by-side assessment. It would also be helpful to conduct the study as part of the entire duration of the anatomy course and assess how the flow experience impacts student learning performance

Analysing the Role of Interactivity in User Experience

An experimental investigation into the role of interaction in user experience (UX) with a controlled manipulation of interactivity features (e.g. avatars, interactive video) in a university information website is reported. The more interactive version had better affect and hedonic ratings, even though its perceived usability was worse. Analysis of qualitative data showed users were attracted to the interactive features, although they complained about poor usability. The results of the experiments are discussed to consider the role of interactivity in user experience and the differences between users’ quantitative judgements of UX and their comments on interactive features which reveal different perspectives

Mobile Agents for Mobile Tourists: A User Evaluation of Gulliver's Genie

How mobile computing applications and services may be best designed, implemented and deployed remains the subject of much research. One alternative approach to developing software for mobile users that is receiving increasing attention from the research community is that of one based on intelligent agents. Recent advances in mobile computing technology have made such an approach feasible. We present an overview of the design and implementation of an archetypical mobile computing application, namely that of an electronic tourist guide. This guide is unique in that it comprises a suite of intelligent agents that conform to the strong intentional stance. However, the focus of this paper is primarily concerned with the results of detailed user evaluations conducted on this system. Within the literature, comprehensive evaluations of mobile context-sensitive systems are sparse and therefore, this paper seeks, in part, to address this deficiency

Mobile information access in the real world: A story of three wireless devices

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2008 ElsevierThe importance of the user perspective to the wireless information access experience cannot be understated: simply put, users will not indulge in devices that are perceived to be difficult to use and in technologies that do not offer quality infotainment – combined information and entertainment – content. In this paper, we investigate the impact that mobile devices have on the user wireless infotainment access experience in practice. To this end, we have undertaken an empirical study placed in a ‘real-world’ setting, in which participants undertook typical infotainment access tasks on three different wireless-enabled mobile devices: a laptop, a personal digital assistant and a head mounted display device. Results show that, with the exception of participants’ level of self-consciousness when using such devices in public environments, the user wireless information access experience is generally unaffected by device type. Location was shown, though, to be a significant factor when users engage in tasks such as listening to online music or navigation. Whilst the interaction between device and environment was found to influence entertainment-related tasks in our experiments, the informational ones were not affected. However, the interaction effects between device and user type was found to affect both types of tasks. Lastly, a user’s particular computing experience was shown to influence the perceived ease of wireless information access only in the case of online searching, irrespective of whether this is done for primarily informational purposes or entertainment ones

Assessing the effectiveness of multi-touch interfaces for DP operation

Navigating a vessel using dynamic positioning (DP) systems close to offshore installations is a challenge. The operator's only possibility of manipulating the system is through its interface, which can be categorized as the physical appearance of the equipment and the visualization of the system. Are there possibilities of interaction between the operator and the system that can reduce strain and cognitive load during DP operations? Can parts of the system (e.g. displays) be physically brought closer to the user to enhance the feeling of control when operating the system? Can these changes make DP operations more efficient and safe? These questions inspired this research project, which investigates the use of multi-touch and hand gestures known from consumer products to directly manipulate the visualization of a vessel in the 3D scene of a DP system. Usability methodologies and evaluation techniques that are widely used in consumer market research were used to investigate how these interaction techniques, which are new to the maritime domain, could make interaction with the DP system more efficient and transparent both during standard and safety-critical operations. After investigating which gestures felt natural to use by running user tests with a paper prototype, the gestures were implemented into a Rolls-Royce DP system and tested in a static environment. The results showed that the test participants performed significantly faster using direct gesture manipulation compared to using traditional button/menu interaction. To support the results from these tests, further tests were carried out. The purpose is to investigate how gestures are performed in a moving environment, using a motion platform to simulate rough sea conditions. The key results and lessons learned from a collection of four user experiments, together with a discussion of the choice of evaluation techniques will be discussed in this paper