Output details

Measuring the Unmeasurable? Eliciting Hard to Measure Information about the User Experience

This work contributes to an under represented area in the field of HCI-design, by foregrounding a design based philosophy, as distinct from an engineering based one. The authors look beyond the more easily measurable aspects of the user’s experience, instead present methods that enable access to ‘hard-to-get-at’ aspects, such as feelings, motivation and response. These methods and the associated findings indicate new opportunities to identify, manage and capitalize on user interaction during the design process, aspects of which are currently under recognized, and are often, therefore, poorly understood by user interface designers. The methods are equally applicable both during the design process and during end-user evaluation.

The novelty of this work derives from the detailed and insightful mapping of models based in psychology that have been re-applied and tested in an HCI-design context. The authors focus on the application of an art and design informed approach to developing user interfaces in order to address the deficiencies in the dominant engineering paradigm.

The work was originally published as a journal article (DOI:10.4018/jitwe.2009100101) and subsequently, at the editor’s request republished in ‘best of the year’ book chapter (DOI:10.4018/978-1-60566-896-3.ch015). Later, at the editor’s further request, it was republished as another book chapter (DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-523-0.ch015). An edited version was presented at an ACMSIGCHI workshop in Cyprus and included in its proceedings (pp.68–78. ISBN 978-2-917490-13-6.)

Justification for duplicate output: Saxon and Walker contributed data and findings describing two different methodological approaches to understanding the software user in the context of the design process. These were developed from prior independent investigations by Walker and Saxon with further theoretical development, interpretation and contextualization relating to processes of perception, cognition and emotion based on prior research by Prytherch, Walker and Saxon.

Walker, Prytherch and Saxon, extended and updated the literature review, and identified parallels and compatibilities in the two approaches in order that a unified model could be envisaged. The writing up and final editing for publication was carried out jointly by all three authors.