User experience evaluation (UXE) or user experience assessment (UXA) refers to a collection of methods, skills and tools utilized to uncover how a person perceives a system (product, service, non-commercial item, or a combination of them) before, during and after interacting with it. It is non-trivial to assess user experience since user experience is subjective, context-dependent and dynamic over time.Law, E., Roto, V., Hassenzahl, M., Vermeeren, A., Kort, J.: Understanding, Scoping and Defining User Experience: A Survey Approach. In Proceedings of Human Factors in Computing Systems conference, CHI'09. 4–9 April 2009, Boston, MA, USA (2009) For a UXA study to be successful, the researcher has to select the right dimensions, constructs, and methods and target the research for the specific area of interest such as game, transportation, mobile, etc.
Dimensions There are many different dimensions to consider when choosing the best assessment approach:
Goal: Summative (on the final product) or formative (during the process) Approach: Objective or subjective Data: Quantitative or qualitative Granularity: Momentary, episodic, or overall UX Setup: Lab or field
Laboratory experiments may work well for studying a specific aspect of user experience, but holistic user experience is optimally studied over a longer period of time with real users in a natural environment.
Constructs In all cases, however, there are certain aspects of user experience that researchers are interested in (measures), and certain procedures and techniques used for collecting the data (methods). There are many measures and some high-level constructs of user experience that can be used as the basis for defining the user experience measures, for example:
Utility: Does the user perceive the functions in the system as useful and fit for the purpose? Usability: Does the user feel that it is easy and efficient to get things done with the system? Aesthetics:Moshagen, M. & Thielsch, M. T. (2010). Facets of visual aesthetics. In: International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 68 (10), 689–709. Does the user see the system as visually attractive? Does it feel pleasurable in hand? Identification: Can I identify myself with the product? Do I look good when using it? Stimulation: Does the system give me inspiration? Or wow experiences? Value: Is the system important to me? What is its value for me?
To properly evaluate user experience, metrics and other factors surrounding a study need to be taken into account, for example:
Data (metrics): The time taken to complete a task. Scale (metrics): Indicators that show effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. Other Factors: Conditions of use, the surrounding environment and other human factors.
Methods An individual method can collect data about a set of specific constructs of user experience. For instance, usability testing is used to collect data about usability construct. Methods also differ if they are to measure a momentary or episodic experience (i.e., assessing how a person feels about a specific interaction episode or after executing a task) or an experience over time, also known as an longitudinal experience. UXA methods can be classified in three categories: implicit, explicit and creative methods.
Implicit methods Implicit methods of UX research focus not just only on what the users say, but also on what the user cannot express verbally. Many available tools can assist in the implicit evaluation, in particular to gather implicit or objective data. When available, UX researchers utilize state of the art equipment to uncover all aspects of the experience.
Examples of implicit evaluation methods and tools: Eye tracking Attention tracking User tracking Task and reaction measurement, galvanic skin response or skin conductance Electroencephalography (EEG) Observation studies: participant observation where observers monitor the participant's reactions such as facial and other gestures, the tone of voice or other body language cues
Explicit methods Explicit methods of UX research explore what the user is consciously aware of getting them to reflect on their own feelings or thoughts, and gather their views and opinions. An important aspect of explicit methods includes usability testing and emotion evaluation.
Emotion assessment When investigating momentary user experiences, we can evaluate the level of positive affect, negative affect, joy, surprise, frustration, etc. The measures for emotions are bound to the methods used for emotion assessment, but typical emotion measures are e.g. valence and arousal. Objective emotion data can be collected by psychophysiological measurements or by observing expressed emotions. Subjective emotional data can be collected by using self-report methods, which can be verbal or non-verbal.
Examples of emotion assessment methods:
Psychophysiological emotion measurements aim to identify emotions from physiological changes in muscles (e.g. face), pupils, skin, heart, brains, etc. Expression Think aloud protocol can be used for reporting emotions (real-time verbal self-report) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (retrospective verbal self-report) Geneva emotion wheelBaenziger, T., Tran, V. and Scherer, K.R. (2005) The EmotionWheel. A Tool for the Verbal Report of Emotional Reactions, poster presented at the conference of the International Society of Research on Emotion, Bari, Italy. (retrospective verbal self-report) Photographic Affect Meter (PAM)J. P., Adams, P., & Gay, G. (2011). PAM: a photographic affect meter for frequent, in situ measurement of affect. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 725–734). ACM. Emotion sliderLaurans, G., Desmet, P.M.A., & Hekkert, P.P.M. (2009). The emotion slider: a self-report device for the continuous measurement of emotion. Proceedings of the 2009 International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction. Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (continuous non-verbal self-report) Sensual evaluation instrument (SEI)Isbister, K., Höök, K., Sharp, M., and Laaksolahti, J. 2006. The sensual evaluation instrument: developing an affective evaluation tool. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (Montréal, Québec, Canada, 22–27 April 2006). CHI '06. ACM, New York, NY, 1163–1172 (snapshot non-verbal self-report) PrEmo, a new version of EmoCards for assessing emotionDesmet, P.M.A., Overbeeke, C.J., Tax, S.J.E.T. (2001). Designing products with added emotional value: development and application of an approach for research through design. The Design Journal, 4(1), 32–47. (snapshot non-verbal self-report)
Creative methods Equally important to implicit and explicit methods are the creative methods that the user researcher can utilize in order to bring together the design team's view, as well as the target market's dreams, aspirations and ideas of optimal design. These activities are more open and allow people to either co-create with the engineers/designers, or to use their imagination to express their ideal system.
Examples of creative assessment methods Co-design activities Creativity workshops Paper prototyping, wireframing, mind mapping Card sorting Personas
Longitudinal In contrast to identifying a momentary emotion, longitudinal UXA investigates how a person feels about a system as a whole, after using it for a while.
Examples of longitudinal UXA methods (excluding traditional usability methods): Diary methodsBolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 579–616. for self-reporting experiences during field studies Experience sampling method (ESM)Csikszentmihalyi M, Larson R. (1987). Validity and reliability of the Experience-Sampling Method. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Sep 1987;175(9):526–536. for self-reporting during field studies Day reconstruction method (DRM)Kahneman, D., Krueger, A., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., and Stone, A. (2004). A Survey Method for Characterizing Daily Life Experience: The Day Reconstruction Method. Science. 306:5702, pp. 1776–780. – story-telling to reveal the meaningful experiences during field studies AttrakDiffHassenzahl, M., Burmester, M., & Koller, F. (2003). AttrakDiff: Ein Fragebogen zur Messung wahrgenommener hedonischer und pragmatischer Qualität. In J.Ziegler & G. Szwillus (Eds.), Mensch & Computer 2003. Interaktion in Bewegung (pp. 187–196). Stuttgart, Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. questionnaire for overall UX evaluation User experience questionnaire (UEQ) (available in several language versions)Laugwitz, B., Schrepp, M. & Held, T. (2008). Construction and evaluation of a user experience questionnaire. In: Holzinger, A. (Ed.): USAB 2008, LNCS 5298, S. 63-76. Ladder interviews – e.g. to find out attitudes or values behind behaviour or experience Holistic user experience (HUX)Toussaint, C., Ulrich, S., Toussaint, M. (2012). HUX - Measuring Holistic User Experience. In German UPA e.V., Usability Professionals 2012 - Tagungsband (pp. 90-94). identifying the relevant product factors for holistic user experience
Areas of UXA research
Transportation Automobiles have come a long way since their beginning in the late 19th century. One of the major things that have helped automobiles to provide more safety and convenience is electronics. With the advances in technology and electronics, car manufacturers have been able to offer a wide variety of services and conveniences. From the creation of the electronic fuel injection to the popular global positioning system found standard in many cars today, the auto industry has revolutionized the way people travel from place to place. Understanding how people interact with vehicles today, what contributes to a great driving experience, what is their current relationship with the car, what placement does it have in their lives, is key to the development of these technologies. This information ensures user-centered design practices to generate cohesive, predictive and desirable designs.