User Experience Evaluation in Intelligent Environments: A Comprehensive Framework

Stavroula Ntoa,Constantine Stephanidis,Margherita Antona,George Margetis

doi:10.3390/technologies9020041

Stavroula Ntoa, Constantine Stephanidis + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies9020041

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Abstract

‘User Experience’ (UX) is a term that has been established in HCI research and practice, subsuming the term ‘usability’. UX denotes that interaction with a contemporary technological system goes far beyond usability, extending to one’s emotions before, during, and after using the system and cannot be defined only by studying the fundamental usability attributes of effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction. Measuring UX becomes a substantially more complicated endeavor when the interaction target is not just a technological system or application, but an entire intelligent environment and the systems contained therein. Motivated by the imminent need to assess, measure and quantify user experience in intelligent environments, this paper presents a methodological and conceptual framework that provides concrete guidance for UX research, design and evaluation, explaining which UX parameter should be measured, how, and when. An evaluation of the framework indicated that it can be valuable for researchers and practitioners, assisting them in planning, carrying out, and analyzing UX studies in a comprehensive and thorough manner, thus enhancing their understanding and improving the experiences they design for intelligent environments.

Highlights

Motivated by the need to define how user experience should be assessed in intelligent environments, as well as by the general lack of approaches with practical value in the field of evaluation frameworks, this paper proposes a novel comprehensive framework, named UXIE, for the evaluation of User Experience in intelligent environments (IEs), aiming to assess a wide range of characteristics and qualities of such environments, taking into account traditional and modern models and evaluation approaches
This paper presented UXIE, a framework for evaluating User Experience in Intelligent
Taking into account best practices in the literature, and approaches for the evaluation of adaptive systems, UbiComp systems, as well as for UX and usability evaluation and technology acceptance, the proposed framework introduces a holistic approach that can be applied in any context of use

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Intelligent environments are an emerging field of research and development, constituting a new technological paradigm. Current technologies are already equipped with intelligence, aiming to support personalization and adaptation to user needs, acting as a stepping stone toward a near future when technology will be omnipresent, machines will predict and anticipate human needs, and robotic systems will be used for various daily activities [2]. The objective of intelligent environments is to support and empower users; as such, a main thrust of research should emphasize whether and how this goal is achieved, while in this context it is important to consider the implications of user evaluation [3]

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