User-Centered Guidelines for Design of Mobile Applications

In this study, interviews were conducted to derive user-centered guidelines for the interface design of mobile applications. These guidelines cover general design issues in input, display, navigation, and feedback. They address five out of seven elements that describe effective mobile commerce interface design proposed by Lee and Benbasat [7]. Compared to guidelines obtained in prior studies, the guidelines derived from this study are user-centered and can be apply to multiple form factors. The comparison between e-commerce and mobile commerce design guidelines suggest that the mobile context plays the most important role in designing mobile commerce interfaces

Designing a usable mobile application for field data collection

Doctor of Science in Engineering - EngineeringThe advent of mobile technology, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) and convergence of voice and data over wireless networks have led to an explosion of a wide range of mobile applications. These applications include mobile internet browsers, handheld GPS navigation systems, Location Based Services (LBS), mobile workforce management systems, and so on. While much of the underlying technology is already available, there are challenges with respect to the usability of mobile applications. This project investigates the usability of a mobile application for field data collection in a utility industry. The purpose of the investigation is to gain a better understanding of the usability requirements for a mobile field data collection application but more importantly, how to meet these requirements using appropriate usability engineering techniques. A usage-centered design approach is used to design the user interface for the field data collection application. During this model-driven design process, the usability requirements are analyzed in terms of the user requirements, field data collection tasks and the operational context of fieldwork. An Underground Utility Closure (UUC) data sourcing work employed at a telecommunications utility is used as a case study for the field data collection work. The user interface is implemented as a functional prototype on a pocket computer and evaluated for usability in a field setting. It is envisaged that the usability requirements and design guidelines presented in this project will enable software engineers to meet the design challenges of usable mobile applications for field data collection and mobile computing in general

Mobile application design principles based on Nielsen’s and Molich’s design guidelines (NMDG) for hearing-impaired Malay Sign Language (MSL)

This study is primarily concerned with constructing the Malay Sign Language (MSL) mobile application design principles for the hearing-impaired (HI) alpha generations based on Nielsen’s and Molich’s Design Guidelines (NMDG). Numerous MSL mobile applications have been developed and are currently available in the market to support HI learners in learning sign language interactively. Preliminary studies found that the existing MSL mobile applications fail to elicit cognitive abilities among HI learners, which is critical for improving their memorability and understanding of sign language. Previous researchers suggested hybridizing the NMDG in developing the MSL mobile applications since it could evoke cognitive ability among the users. However, the existing NMDG does not consider the context of the HI learners. Therefore, this study proposes new design principles for the MSL mobile application based on the NMDG. Two specific objectives were formulated. The Design Science Research Method (DSRM) has been adopted. Sixteen design principles were constructed through the User-Centered Design (UCD) approach. Then, the design principles were validated through three validation approaches which are expert review, prototyping, and user experience testing, to ensure it is useful and reliable. Five experts with different backgrounds were chosen to validate the design principles. Next, a semi-working prototype was successfully designed and developed based on the proposed design principles. The findings of the user experience testing indicate that the design principles can fulfil the needs of the HI alpha generations. Additionally, it can evoke cognitive ability as they can memorize and understand the application by completing the tasks within the allotted time without distractions. These findings demonstrate that the design principles can act as a manual for future researchers designing and developing the MSL mobile application for HI learners, particularly the HI alpha generation

Considering the User in the Wireless World

The near future promises significant advances in communication capabilities, but one of the keys to success is the capability understanding of the people with regards to its value and usage. In considering the role of the user in the wireless world of the future, the Human Perspective Working Group (WG1) of the Wireless World Research Forum has gathered input and developed positions in four important areas: methods, processes, and best practices for user-centered research and design; reference frameworks for modeling user needs within the context of wireless systems; user scenario creation and analysis; and user interaction technologies. This article provides an overview of WG1's work in these areas that are critical to ensuring that the future wireless world meets and exceeds the expectations of people in the coming decades

Guidelines Towards Better Participation of Older Adults in Software Development Processes using a new SPIRAL Method and Participatory Approach

This paper presents a new method of engaging older participants in the process of application and IT solutions development for older adults for emerging IT and tech startups. A new method called SPIRAL (Support for Participant Involvement in Rapid and Agile software development Labs) is proposed which adds both sustainability and flexibility to the development process with older adults. This method is based on the participatory approach and user empowerment of older adults with the aid of a bootstrapped Living Lab concept and it goes beyond well established user-centered and empathic design. SPIRAL provides strategies for direct involvement of older participants in the software development processes from the very early stage to support the agile approach with rapid prototyping, in particular in new and emerging startup environments with limited capabilities, including time, team and resources

A participatory approach for digital documentation of Egyptian Bedouins intangible cultural heritage

The Bedouins of Egypt hold a unique intangible cultural heritage (ICH), with distinct cultural values and social practices that are rapidly changing as a consequence of having settled after having been nomadic for centuries. We present our attempt to develop a bottom-up approach to document Bedouin ICH. Grounded in participatory design practices, the project purpose was two-fold: engaging Egyptian Engineering undergraduates with culturally-distant technology users and introducing digital self-documentation of ICH to the Bedouin community. We report the design of a didactic model that deployed the students as research partners to co-design four prototypes of ICH documentation mobile applications with the community. The prototypes reflected an advanced understanding for the values to the Bedouins brought by digital documentation practices. Drawing from our experience, three recommendations were elicited for similar ICH projects. Namely, focusing on the community benefits; promoting motivation ownership, and authenticity; and pursuing a shared identity between designers and community members. These guidelines hold a strong value as they have been tested against local challenges that could have been detrimental to the project

Culture in the design of mHealth UI:An effort to increase acceptance among culturally specific groups

Purpose: Designers of mobile applications have long understood the importance of users’ preferences in making the user experience easier, convenient and therefore valuable. The cultural aspects of groups of users are among the key features of users’ design preferences, because each group’s preferences depend on various features that are culturally compatible. The process of integrating culture into the design of a system has always been an important ingredient for effective and interactive human computer interface. This study aims to investigate the design of a mobile health (mHealth) application user interface (UI) based on Arabic culture. It was argued that integrating certain cultural values of specific groups of users into the design of UI would increase their acceptance of the technology. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 135 users responded to an online survey about their acceptance of a culturally designed mHealth. Findings: The findings showed that culturally based language, colours, layout and images had a significant relationship with users’ behavioural intention to use the culturally based mHealth UI. Research limitations/implications: First, the sample and the data collected of this study were restricted to Arab users and Arab culture; therefore, the results cannot be generalized to other cultures and users. Second, the adapted unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model was used in this study instead of the new version, which may expose new perceptions. Third, the cultural aspects of UI design in this study were limited to the images, colours, language and layout. Practical implications: It encourages UI designers to implement the relevant cultural aspects while developing mobile applications. Originality/value: Embedding Arab cultural aspects in designing UI for mobile applications to satisfy Arab users and enhance their acceptance toward using mobile applications, which will reflect positively on their lives.</p