iScale: Studying Long-Term Experiences through Memory - Modeling Users' Experiences with Interactive Systems - page 83

Chapter 5
iScale: Studying Long-Term Experiences
through Memory

Abstract. This chapter presents iScale, a survey tool for the retrospective elicita-
tion of longitudinal user experience data. iScale aims to minimize retrospection bias
and employs graphing to impose a process during the reconstruction of one's ex-
periences. Two versions, the constructive and the value-account iScale, were moti-
vated by two distinct theories on how people reconstruct emotional experiences from
memory. These two versions were tested in two separate studies. Study 1 aimed at
providing qualitative insight into the use of iScale and compared its performance
to that of free-hand graphing. Study 2 compared the two versions of iScale to free
recall, a control condition that does not impose structure on the reconstruction pro-
cess. Overall, iScale resulted in an increase in the amount, the richness, and the
test-retest consistency of recalled information as compared to free recall. These re-
sults provide support for the viability of retrospective techniques as a cost-effective
alternative to longitudinal studies.

5.1 Introduction

Understanding the use and acceptance of interactive products beyond initial use has
always been an interest of the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community (Er-
ickson, 1996; Prumper et al., 1992). However, two recent trends make the call for a
more longitudinal view more urgent (Karapanos et al., 2009c). First, legislation and
competition within the consumer electronics industry have led to prolonged product
warranties, resulting in an alarmingly increasing number of products being returned
on the basis of failing to satisfy their users' “true” needs (Den Ouden et al., 2006).
Second, products have become more embedded into services. Often, products are
being sold for low prices or even given away for free and revenues stem mainly
from the supported service and their prolonged use (Karapanos et al., 2009c). Thus,
the overall focus on product quality shifts from a focus on the classic phases of
pre-purchase and purchase to a more longitudinal perspective, trying to better un-
derstand use and liking over time. This is a shift increasingly taken up by the HCI