User Motives for Tagging Video Content

User tagging of video content provides many possibilities for indexing and personalization. To exploit these possibilities, users must be willing to tag the video content they watch. In this paper we present the first results of our ongoing research, by constructing an overview of user motives to tag video content. We present the results of a study in which we elicited possible user motives to tag movies on the internet. The identified motives include the categories ‘indexing’, ‘socializing’ and ‘communicating’. Finally, user barriers to tag video content are discussed

User-centered design for personalization

In chapter 1, I introduced the concept of personalization and showed how tailored electronic communication is the product of centuries of evolution. Personalization involves gearing communication towards an individual’s characteristics, preferences and context. User-Centered Design (UCD) was proposed as a means to achieve a good fit between personalized communication and the individual user. This means that design of personalization should include an initial focus on users and their tasks, studies should be conducted that focus on actual user behavior and perceptions, and finally, an iterative design approach should be applied. In this way, problematic issues related to specific, personalized usability issues, such as privacy or a need for control, can be prevented.\ud Chapter 2 addressed an early stage in the UCD process of personalization to determine the role of trust in the organization providing personalization, trust in the technology, and perceived controllability in relation to the intention of potential users to use online content personalization. Using an online questionnaire, 1,141 participants were demonstrated four common approaches to online content personalization and a non-personalized baseline condition with respect to a fictive municipality. We assessed participant perceptions of the aforementioned factors and determined their influence on the intention to use the different approaches to online content personalization. Trust in the organization appeared to play no role in the decision to use online content personalization. Trust in the technology had a moderate effect on the intention to use, while perceived controllability was overall the most important antecedent. When designing online content personalization, it is therefore most important to provide users with the option to control personalization. Next, users should be assured that they are interacting with an organization in a secure electronic environment.\ud The requirements engineering phase was focus of chapter 3. In that chapter, we proposed a user-centered approach to requirements engineering for personalized e-Government services and demonstrated its value by means of a case study. The approach utilized interviews and formulated requirements by focusing on concrete and measurable criteria, low-fidelity prototyping, and evaluating by means of a citizen walkthrough. The case study reaffirmed the importance of applying an iterative approach to design, as the translation of user input into system design may not align with the original characteristics, preferences and contexts of the user. Furthermore, using a citizen walkthrough, the proposed approach succeeded in making personalization understandable to participants, which is an important objective for evaluating personalization. Finally, the case study demonstrated that a multidisciplinary design team is a crucial aspect of creating personalized e-Government services.\ud In chapter 4, we reviewed literature that focused on user-centered evaluation of personalization (i.e., evaluations that include an assessment of subjective criteria or the identification of usability problems). The findings indicate that current user-centered evaluations, as reported in the scientific literature, are not well-aligned with the principles of UCD. Questionnaires appeared to be exceedingly popular, while methods that have been found to identify usability problems well, such as thinking-aloud techniques, are only used sparingly. Specific usability issues for personalization are only rarely a topic of investigation. In the last few years, however, an increasing number of publications have reported on evaluations that focus on acceptance, iterative design or system trust. This trend suggests that personalization researchers are becoming aware of the added value of user-centered evaluations and are starting to make it part of their common research practice.\ud Chapter 5 reported a comparison of the usefulness of three methods (i.e., interviews, questionnaires with open-ended questions and concurrent thinking-aloud techniques) for identifying usability issues in personalized systems. Thinking-aloud was the only method that uncovered all critical and serious problems related to personalization as well as usability problems not related to personalization. Furthermore, it was also the method that best elicited participant feedback on the perceived quality of personalized output. Comments on the specific usability issues for personalization were elicited best by the questionnaire. Therefore, when evaluating a personalized system in order to obtain input for redesign purposes, we recommend a combination of thinking-aloud techniques and questionnaires with open-ended questions that address specific usability issues in personalization

Assessing the Effectiveness and Usability of Personalized Internet Search through a Longitudinal Evaluation

This paper discusses a longitudinal user evaluation of Prospector, a personalized Internet meta-search engine capable of personalized re-ranking of search results. Twenty-one participants used Prospector as their primary search engine for 12 days, agreed to have their interaction with the system logged, and completed three questionnaires. The data logs show that the personalization provided by Prospector is successful: participants preferred re-ranked results that appeared higher up. However, the questionnaire results indicated that people would prefer to use Google instead (their search engine of choice). Users would, nevertheless, consider employing a personalized search engine to perform searches with terms that require disambiguation and/or contextualization. We conclude the paper with a discussion on the merit of combining system- and user-centered evaluation for the case of personalized systems

Improving usability benchmarking for the eHealth domain:The development of the eHealth UsaBility Benchmarking instrument (HUBBI)

BACKGROUND: Currently, most usability benchmarking tools used within the eHealth domain are based on re-classifications of old usability frameworks or generic usability surveys. This makes them outdated and not well suited for the eHealth domain. Recently, a new ontology of usability factors was developed for the eHealth domain. It consists of eight categories: Basic System Performance (BSP), Task-Technology Fit (TTF), Accessibility (ACC), Interface Design (ID), Navigation & Structure (NS), Information & Terminology (IT), Guidance & Support (GS) and Satisfaction (SAT). OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to develop a new usability benchmarking tool for eHealth, the eHealth UsaBility Benchmarking Instrument (HUBBI), that is based on a new ontology of usability factors for eHealth. METHODS: First, a large item pool was generated containing 66 items. Then, an online usability test was conducted, using the case study of a Dutch website for general health advice. Participants had to perform three tasks on the website, after which they completed the HUBBI. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), we identified the items that assess each factor best and that, together, make up the HUBBI. RESULTS: A total of 148 persons participated. Our selection of items resulted in a shortened version of the HUBBI, containing 18 items. The category Accessibility is not included in the final version, due to the wide range of eHealth services and their heterogeneous populations. This creates a constantly different role of Accessibility, which is a problem for a uniform benchmarking tool., CONCLUSIONS: The HUBBI is a new and comprehensive usability benchmarking tool for the eHealth domain. It assesses usability on seven domains (BSP, TTF, ID, NS, IT, GS, SAT) in which a score per domain is generated. This can help eHealth developers to quickly determine which areas of the eHealth system’s usability need to be optimized

Using thematic ontologies for user- and group- based adaptive personalization in web searching

This paper presents Prospector, an adaptive meta-search layer, which performs personalized re-ordering of search results. Prospector combines elements from two approaches to adaptive search support: (a) collaborative web searching; and, (b) personalized searching using semantic metadata. The paper focuses on the way semantic metadata and the users’ search behavior are utilized for user- and group- modeling, as well as on how these models are used to re-rank results returned for individual queries. The paper also outlines past evaluation activities related to Prospector, and discusses potential applications of the approach for the adaptive retrieval of multimedia documents

User-Centered Evaluation of Adaptive and Adaptable Systems

Adaptive and adaptable systems provide tailored output to various users in various contexts. While adaptive systems base their output on implicit inferences, adaptable systems use explicitly provided information. Since the presentation or output of these systems is adapted, standard user-centered evaluation methods do not produce results that can be easily generalized. This calls for a reflection on the appropriateness of standard evaluation methods for user-centered evaluations of these systems. We have conducted a literature review to create an overview of the methods that have been used. When reviewing the empirical evaluation studies we have, among other things, focused on the variables measured and the implementation of results in the (re)design process. The goal of our review has been to compose a framework for user-centered evaluation. In the next phase of the project, we intend to test some of the most valid and feasible methods with an adaptive or adaptable system

Evaluation of User Support: Factors That Affect User Satisfaction With Helpdesks and Helplines

In addition to technical documentation, face-to-face helpdesks and telephonic helplines are a powerful means for supporting users of technical products and services. This study investigates the factors that determine user satisfaction with helpdesks and helplines. A survey, based on the SERVQUAL framework and questionnaire, shows that the SERVQUAL dimensions of customer satisfaction are not applicable in these contexts. Three quality dimensions were found instead: solution quality, the experience of the consultation, and, in the case of a physical environment, the so-called tangibles. Helpdesk customers base their overall quality perceptions mainly on their experiences during a consultation, while helpline customers focus strongly on the quality of the solution offered.\ud The study also found a connection between the perceived helpline quality and the appreciation of the primary service

Acceptatie van het B-dossier door uitvoerende medewerkers : raamwerk van acceptatiefactoren

Dit document introduceert een analytisch model voor de acceptatie van\ud het B-dossier door uitvoerende medewerkers. Verschillende theorieën\ud passeren de revue, waarbij uiteindelijk een raamwerk ontstaat van\ud diverse factoren die van invloed kunnen zijn bij het wel of niet\ud accepteren van het B-dossier door uitvoerende medewerkers. Het\ud voorgestelde analytische model toont belangrijke acceptatiefactoren en\ud hun onderlinge relaties