Piia Nurkka

Capturing users’ perceptions of valuable experience and meaning

Abstract In this article, we argue that more ‘fit-to-user’ products can be designed by understanding the underlying influential factors of user experience. Those factors go beyond the functional needs of the user, and thus, more ‘fit-to-user’ products can be designed. This is especially important as technology becomes more and more ubiquitous and its usage is only task- and work-related. Usability-related goals of design for devices to be used in leisure and fun activities are not enough to evoke positive emotions and satisfaction. The relevant literature is reviewed to gather an understanding of the notion of the users impractical needs and aspirations, such as social, hedonistic, and emotional values and the meanings users attach to a product in a certain context. In addition, existing methods with similar aims are reviewed. This article reports a case study of the development of a tool to elicit user values and meanings. The tool is based on a projective psychological technique and it is recommended for use at the beginning of the design process to gather user data. Empirical experience of the usage of the tool is reported with implications for the design process.

Cultural differences in smartphone user experience evaluation

Through globalization it has become increasingly important to understand how culture affects the user experience (UX) of mobile devices and services. Despite the importance of cultural factors in product design, not much research has been done to study them. Our aim was to discover cultural differences in the UX of a Smartphone with remote online sentence completion method. This paper presents the results of a remote online UX evaluation survey of a Smartphone with altogether 72 respondents from India, China, USA, UK and Denmark. The results indicate that there are cultural differences in how people experience the product and also in the way people respond to UX evaluation survey and share their experiences with the product. The results show that a remote online sentence completion survey is a relatively fast and easy way of gathering international user data, although the analysis can be challenging. The use of Hofstedes cultural dimensions in the analysis of the data gave us better understanding of the impact of specific culture on the results.

Supporting Worth Mapping with Sentence Completion

Expectations for design and evaluation approaches are set by the development practices within which they are used. Worth-Centred Development (WCD) seeks to both shape and fit such practices. We report a study that combined two WCD approaches. Sentence completion gathered credible quantitative data on user values, which were used to identify relevant values and aversions of two player groups for an on-line gambling site. These values provided human value elements for a complementary WCD approach of worth mapping. Initial worth maps were extended in three workshops, which focused on outcomes and user experiences that could be better addressed in the current product and associated marketing materials. We describe how worth maps were prepared for, and presented in, workshops, and how product owners and associated business roles evaluated the combination of WCD approaches. Based on our experiences, we offer practical advice on this combinination.

Collecting cross-cultural user data with internationalized storyboard survey

Globalization and the search for experiential aspects of technology products and services have increased the demand for cross-cultural user feedback. Remote methods would suit agile global data collection, but only few common practices yet exist. Thus, the goal of the present study was to determine ways in which common visual stimulus material (internationalized storyboards) are perceived similarly and differently by cross-cultural respondents. An internationalized remote online storyboard survey was designed to collect cross-cultural user data of 252 respondents, from the USA, Brazil, India, Italy and Finland -- around the topic of mobile content sharing concepts. It was found that, for the majority of situations and details, storyboards supported a similar interpretation by users from different cultural backgrounds; and internationalized pictures assisted respondents in providing rich answers to a long survey because of a sound understanding of the intended situations and ease of imagining themselves in different usage situations.

Axe UX: Exploring long-term user experience with iScale and AttrakDiff

Positive user experience (UX) is an important goal in product design. Positive long-term UX is believed to improve customer loyalty, therefore being vital for continuous commercial success. Most UX research investigates momentary or short-term UX although the relationship between the user and the product evolves over time. There is a need to develop methods for measuring long-term UX and evaluate their feasibility in different product contexts. In this explorative study, 18 customers reported their experiences during the first three months of use of a non-interactive design tool, an axe. UX was evaluated with retrospective iScale tool and monthly repeated AttrakDiff questionnaire. iScale demonstrated the long-term trend of the attractiveness of the product well and provided information about the causes of the change in the experience. The AttrakDiff questionnaire was a good indicator of attractiveness during a longer period of time and is also well suited to remote studies.

Approaches to cross-cultural design: two case studies with UX web-surveys

Cross-cultural design has become an area in HCI that needs more research in order to be able to respond to the demands of globalization and emerging markets. Agile ways of gathering local user data are needed to help designers to create better products and services and minimize the risk of failing in the target market areas. The aim of this paper is to introduce approaches related to cross-cultural design focusing on the advantages and challenges of web-surveys in international UX evaluation. Web-surveys allow quickly reaching remotely a vast amount of users in different corners of the world. We looked at two case studies where web-surveys were used to collect UX data about online services in different countries. We found that UX web-surveys were fast to implement and very suitable for a cross-cultural user sample that has access to Internet. We argue that UX web-surveys have potential to gather user data even from larger areas than now, as ubiquitous technology products and services are getting accessible for wider user groups.

“Nobody Other Than Me Knows What I Want”: Customizing a Sports Watch

In order for companies to effectively use customization as a design strategy, there should be understanding on what users would like to customize and why. This study explores the use of customization features of sports watch in order to assess the extent of customization, and to identify reasons for customization in this context. Survey data from 100 users of a sports watch were analyzed to understand how they use the different customization features: general preferences, functionality and appearance. The findings show that although the users vary in the use of customization, they state similar reasons for customization: control, ease-of-use, increased effectiveness, and better fit to personal preferences. The motivation to customize in this context is for the most part related to autonomy: to the sense of control the user has by having the tool to adapt the product according to own preferences, wants and needs.

The role of community in exercise: cross-cultural study of online exercise diary users

This study investigates users of a newly launched website aimed at tracking exercise activities. The data was collected through an online questionnaire with 282 respondents. Three nationalities, Spanish, Germans and Americans, were compared, and the results show that their relation to community aspects of the service was significantly different. The Spanish showed most interest in collaboration and creation of new contacts, whereas Germans were the least interested in these activities. The finding may be explained by the differences of these national cultures along the individualism-collectivism dimension of Hofstedes cultural theory. Across the nationalities, the users were foremost motivated by using the website for promoting their individual goals in exercise.

Customization in long-term use: the case of the sports watch

A longitudinal study in the real context of use of a wearable device, a sports watch, was conducted to understand how customization is used. For it, 103 users reported their device use in an online survey once a month for six months. Customization activity was found to be at its highest during the first months of usage. After six months of usage, 72% of the participants still used the customization options at least monthly, and of those, 23% customized weekly. Customization appears to be an important feature, as only 20% of the participants customized very little, and for some it was one of the reasons for their purchase decision. Overall, the majority (68%) were satisfied with the customization options on their sports watch.