Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
such as beauty and stimulation, can take effect. Similarly to the field of psychology
where Maslow's theory was readily adopted while lacking empirical evidence, Jor-
dan's fixed hierarchy has become widely popular in the field of user experience, but,
to our knowledge, no empirical studies have attempted to confirm or disprove the
framework. Contrary to Jordan (2000), Hassenzahl (2006) assumes the importance
of these different qualities to vary with several contextual factors.
1.3.2
Four Sources of Diversity in User Experience
In the field of user experience, a wealth of empirical studies have tried to tackle how
the relative importance of different product qualities on users' overall evaluations
and preferences, is modulated by a number of contextual aspects. In figure 1.2 we
highlight four different sources of diversity that user experience research has been
concerned with.
First, individual differences (e.g. human values Schwartz, 1992) moderates the
importance individuals attach to different qualities of an interactive product (e.g.
Desmet et al., 2004; Karapanos and Martens, 2007); while some might prefer play-
ful and stimulating products, others might value simplicity and austerity. Second, the
type of the product matters (e.g. Jordan and Persson, 2007); while a playful interac-
tion might be crucial for the success of a computer game, the same quality might be
perceived as inadequate for professional software. Third, even for the same product,
the way individuals use it differs across situations and this impacts the importance
that they attach to different qualities (e.g. Mahlke and Lindgaard, 2007; Hassenzahl
and Ullrich, 2007; Hassenzahl et al., 2008); the same mobile phone could be used
for exploring the available ring tones or to make an emergency call.
A fourth aspect, which is mostly overlooked so far, is the systematic change of
experience over time. As individuals use a product, their perception of the qualities
of the product will change (e.g. von Wilamowitz Moellendorff et al., 2006; Kara-
panos et al., 2008a, 2009c; Fenko et al., 2009). For example, they get used to it,
which eventually changes their perception of its usability; at the same time it ex-
cites them much less than initially. Even more interestingly, at different phases of
use they will evidently attach different weights to different qualities. In their first
interactions with a product they may focus on its usability and stimulation. After
they use it for some time, they might become less concerned about its usability,
and other aspects of the product such as novel functionality or communication of a
desired identity towards others become more important.
All these factors, the individual, the product, the situation, and time modify the
importance of the qualities for a satisfying experience with an interactive product. In
this view, Jordan's (2000) hierarchy of consumer needs could be seen as a particular,
context-dependent prioritization of needs (Hassenzahl, 2006).
This section introduced the notion of diversity, which mostly concerns in the
user experience field the relative dominance of different product qualities while
forming overall judgments about interactive products. The next section introduces
the methodological debate in accounting for diversity between the two dominant
Search WWH ::




Custom Search