Minna Isomursu

Experimental evaluation of five methods for collecting emotions in field settings with mobile applications

This paper presents experiences on using five different self-report methods, two adopted from literature and three self-created, for collecting information about emotional responses to mobile applications. These methods were used in nine separate field experiments done in naturalistic settings. Based on our experiments, we can argue that all of these methods can be successfully used for collecting emotional responses to evaluate mobile applications in mobile settings. However, differences can be identified in the suitability of the methods for different research setups. Even though the self-report instruments provide a feasible alternative for evaluating emotions evoked by mobile applications, several challenges were identified, for example, in capturing the dynamic nature of mobile interaction usage situations and contexts. To summarise our results, we propose a framework for selecting and comparing these methods for different usage purposes.

Experience clip: method for user participation and evaluation of mobile concepts

This paper describes experiences from using a field testing technique for collecting user experience information for evaluating mobile applications used in everyday life. Our technique is based on the usage of mobile camera phones that are used for capturing video and audio during the use of the mobile application. The users helped researchers in collecting user experience material by shooting the video clips themselves. To our surprise they also started to participate actively by presenting miniplays in the clips to make their point clear. Our results show that with this technique we can get richer emotional material and more versatile usage situations than with traditional observation methods, and additionally there is clearly a yet unexplored potential to develop a more systematic design method around participation.

Touch-based user interface for elderly users

This paper reports the results of a field experiment where a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled mobile phone was used as a user interface element so as to enable home-dwelling elderly people to choose their meals to be delivered by means of a home care service. The primary research focus was on examining the suitability of a touch-based user interface in the everyday life activities of elderly users. The eight-week experiment took place in the autumn of 2006. The results show that the touch-based user interface was easy to learn and adopt and the users were able to successfully use it regardless of their physical or cognitive weaknesses.

Tracking Outdoor Sports --- User Experience Perspective

In this paper, the potential role of a sport tracking application is examined in the context of supporting tracking outdoor sporting activities. A user study with 28 participants was conducted to study the usage habits and user experiences evoked. The application consists of a mobile tracking tool and a related web service. It collects and stores workout data such as the route, speed and time, and compiles a training diary that can be viewed in many ways during the exercise and afterwards. Data can be uploaded into a web service for further analysis or for sharing it with others. The results show high interest in tracking outdoor sports with a mobile phone application --- the participants used the application during almost all exercise sessions and stated that they would continue using the application after the study. Sharing data was not perceived as valuable, although some usage scenarios for social sharing arose.

Designing social features for mobile and ubiquitous wellness applications

This paper presents research findings on designing social features for mobile wellness applications. The focus is on opportunities to support and motivate wellness by utilizing and enhancing social interaction between users. New knowledge is created using a Research through Design process. The process combines findings of the user studies performed in India during the year 2008, existing research knowledge on mobile communication technology that provides social features to support wellness activities, and technological possibilities provided by the mobile devices available in the market at the time of the research. New design knowledge is presented in the format of design findings and concept descriptions, as well as concept evaluations. These can then be used by practitioners as inspirational material for product design, and by researchers for exploring the domain of wellness applications.

Understanding human values in adopting new technology-A case study and methodological discussion

This paper proposes a method for understanding and modelling human values in the evaluation of new technology in social settings, and analyses the validity of the proposed method in a specific use case. The method, which is based on the Schwartz universal model of human values adopted from social psychology research, is used in the context of value analysis of the adoption of a technology-supported attendance control system in a primary school. The results are based on an evaluation of a 14-week trial where two classes of elementary school children used an attendance control system that was implemented using networked technology components, including smart cards, NFC-enabled mobile phones and card readers, a web portal, and SMS messaging. The findings from the trial are analysed from the viewpoint of three end-user groups, namely children, parents, and teachers.

My Phone is a Part of My Soul How People Bond with Their Mobile Phones

In this paper, we present the results of research that examined how young and active mobile phone users describe their relationship and attachment with their phone, and what features and processes have played an active role in building the attachment. The results are based on street interviews of 40 mobile phone users that were conducted in India and Europe. Our analysis revealed that the following factors contribute towards building the relationship between the mobile phone and its user: 1) habit, 2) memories, 3) personalization, 4) adaptation, 5) process from use to presence, 6) buying the phone, and 7) phone content.

Experiences from NFC Supported School Attendance Supervision for Children

Our paper presents a field study arranged at a Finnish primary school where two classes and a total of 23 pupils between the ages of 6 and 8 trialed an attendance supervision system supported by Near Field Communication technology in 2008. In the trial the pupils marked their arrival at and departure from the school by touching a reader device or NFC-enabled mobile phone with a smart contactless card. The system simplified attendance monitoring by replacing manual roll calls leaving thus more time for teaching. Parents were able to receive real-time information on children’s attendance, which reduced their concerns about whether their child had arrived at school safely. Information about user experience was obtained by using a variety of data collection methods. Children, as well as their teachers, became fast familiar with the touch-based interaction, and the attendance supervision was soon integrated into their everyday school routines. Our analysis shows that a technology-supported attendance supervision system can bring value for all end-user groups but it seems that the system will serve primarily the teachers and the parents.

Design of mobile wellness applications: identifying cross-cultural factors

This paper explores the design of mobile applications for supporting wellness activities. A cross-cultural user study was conducted in India and Finland. 16 participants used a technology probe (a mobile application called Wellness Diary) for the duration of two weeks. The focus of the study was to identify design factors that need to be considered when designing culturally sensitive mobile wellness applications. The findings are based on the subjective user experience reported by the participants, data collected with the technology probe, and ideas and needs of the participants that surfaced during the study. Results show that both cultural and environmental factors affect the needs towards the wellness application and usage of it. Differences were identified, for example, in how users defined wellness, what wellness concerns they had, attitudes towards setting goals, and how built and natural environments affected wellness activities.

Evaluating the Calmness of Ubiquitous Applications

Evaluating the characteristics of ubiquitous applications is still in its infancy although this area is rapidly gaining importance as such applications are becoming common. We present a framework for evaluating the degree of calmness in ubiquitous applications. Calmness is a characteristic of the system that is experienced by the user in the usage situation, hence our evaluation framework is targeted at evaluating the technology in real usage context. We first identify the characteristics of calmness from the user’s perspective and then use them to define the dimensions for our evaluation framework. As the framework is subjective in nature, calmness is not presented as numerical values but as graphics. The suggested presentation gives an overall understanding of the application characteristics at a glance. Further, it facilitates understanding the effects of different design and implementation choices and comparing different applications. We illustrate the framework by evaluating an application being currently constructed. This application will be evaluated in real usage context at the beginning of year 2004. We also compare related work with ours.