As mobile devices become a larger part of modern society, understanding how they differ from desktop devices and how to design for them is becoming more relevant. Apple and Google have themselves published guidelines for how applications should be designed on iOS and Android, the two major operating systems on mobile devices today. But the opinions on how important guidelines are for providing users with the best experience possible differ, both in scientific writing and among industry professionals. This study focuses on platform guidelines for navigation, researching the question: What effect does platform guidelines for navigation have on the usability of a smartphone application? To investigate this a usability experiment is conducted. The independent variable manipulated is type of navigation, which adheres or does not adhere to platform guidelines, and the dependent variable measured is usability in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction. The results from this experiment indicate no significant differences between the navigation types in terms of effectiveness nor efficiency. Differences found in user satisfaction cannot be linked to guidelines for navigation. Although familiarity can be identified as a major factor in why users were satisfied with navigation, what users considered familiar differed. Thus the results of this study bring into question whether the platform guidelines function as conventions and cannot confirm any major effects of platform navigation guidelines on the usability of a smartphone application. / Mobila enheter blir en allt större del av det moderna samhället, i och med detta blir det även allt mer relevant att förstå hur de skiljer sig från mer traditionella enheter och hur man bör designa för dem. Apple och Google har själva publicerat riktlinjer för hur mobilapplikationer kan utformas på iOS och Android, de två största operativsystemen på mobila enheter idag. Men åsikterna om hur viktiga dessa riktlinjerna är att följa för att ge användarna den bästa möjliga upplevelsen varierar, både i vetenskapligt skrivande och bland branschfolk. Denna studie fokuserar på plattformsriktlinjer för navigation och undersöker frågan: Vilken effekt har plattformsriktlinjer för navigation på användbarheten hos en mobilapplikation? För att undersöka detta utförs ett användbarhetsexperiment. Den oberoende variabel som manipuleras är typ av navigation, som följer eller inte följer plattformsriktlinjerna, och den beroende variabeln som mäts är användbarhet när det gäller effektivitet och användarnöjdhet. Resultaten från detta experiment visar inga signifikanta skillnader mellan navigationstyperna vad gäller effektivitet. Skillnader observerade i användarnöjdhet kan inte kopplas till plattformsriktlinjerna för navigation. Även om vana kan identifieras som en viktig faktor i varför användarna var nöjda med viss navigation så varierade vad användarna var vana vid på ett sätt som inte var kopplat till platformsriktlinjerna. Resultatet av denna studie ifrågasätter huruvida plattformsriktlinjerna fungerar som konventioner och kan inte bekräfta några större effekter av plattformsnavigationsriktlinjer på användbarheten hos en mobilapplikation.

Livsmedelsverkets undersökningar visar att koldioxidutsläppen relaterade till livsmedelskonsumtion utgör ungefär 25 % av genomsnittssvenskens totala miljöpåverkan vilken gör den till viktig spelpjäs i att nå upp de framtida klimatmålen. För en hållbar miljöpåverkan beräknas det genomsnittliga utsläppet per person och år ligga på ett till två ton. År 2014 låg det genomsnittliga utsläppet per person i Sverige 5 gånger över den gränsen. Syftet med projektet var att besvara “Hur påverkas svenska kunders val av maträtt på en restaurang om koldioxidavtryck i form av färgkodning och km färd i bil presenteras på menyn, samt hur påverkas försäljning av markerade rätter jämfört med icke-markerade rätter?” Undersökningen genomfördes under 16 dagar i april 2017 på restaurangen Open Café i Stockholm där rätterna på menyn satts i förhållande till varandra utifrån koldioxidavtryck. Koldioxidavtrycket beräknades med eget framtagen mjukvara, mjukvaran är kopplad till en mat-klimatdatabas som utvecklats inom ramen för forskningsprojektet ”Förbättrad energirådgivning och förbättrade energivanor genom quantified self assisted advisory”. Markeringen som implementerades följde ett trafikljus system med grön markering för rätter med minst koldioxidutsläpp följt av gul och röd. Trafikljussystemet är en vanlig typ av nudging vilket är ett sätt att påverka konsumentens val vid köptillfället. Resultatet av undersökningen jämfördes med restaurangens tidigare data för att avgöra huruvida koldioxidavtrycksmärkningen haft någon påverkan på konsumentens val. Resultatet visade en statistisk signifikant ökning i försäljning av markerade rätter överlag, samt en statistisk signifikant ökad försäljning av rätter markerad med grönt för en av maträtt-kategorierna som undersöktes. Vidare visade resultatet av undersökningen på en minskning i koldioxidavtryck per servering på 2 % dock med en låg statistisk signifikans. På grund av den låga statistiska signifikansen går resultatet inte att generaliseras.

Natural user interfaces, including verbal vocal interactions like speech processing, are ubiquitous and commonly used in both industry and academic settings. However, this field is limited by the speech and language components. Non-verbal vocal interaction (NVVI) provides further opportunities for people to use their vocals as an input modality. Despite the many possibilities of NVVI input modalities, such as whistling, humming, and tongue clicking, the field is niche and literature is few and far between. This work attempts to address these gaps, as well as the small sample sizes of performed studies of prior work. The problem definition is defined as to perform a large-scale study exploring a pitch-based NVVI modality that uses a relative pitch interaction technique to offer a continuous mode of one-dimensional interaction. A user study is outlined and performed via an ecosystem comprising of Amazon Mechanical Turk for recruitment and study access, a modularized study website, and a secure server that stores the study results, tasks users with controlling a slider with the NVVI technique by humming and whistling, in addition to using the computer mouse to perform these tasks as a baseline. In total, 72 participants' results are considered for analysis. Results show that the pitch based NVVI technique used in this study does not follow Fitts' Law, is not as performant as the computer mouse, humming is a more performant modality with the NVVI technique than whistling, and that participants experienced a significantly higher task workload using the NVVI technique than the computer mouse. Using the results of this study and from reviewed literature, an NVVI framework is developed and implemented as a contribution of this work. / Master of Science

As the growth of rapid prototyping techniques shortens the development life cycle of software and electronic products, usability inquiry methods can play a more significant role during the development life cycle, diagnosing usability problems and providing metrics for making comparative decisions. A need has been realized for questionnaires tailored to the evaluation of electronic mobile products, wherein usability is dependent on both hardware and software as well as the emotional appeal and aesthetic integrity of the design. This research followed a systematic approach to develop a new questionnaire tailored to measure the usability of electronic mobile products. The Mobile Phone Usability Questionnaire (MPUQ) developed throughout this series of studies evaluates the usability of mobile phones for the purpose of making decisions among competing variations in the end-user market, alternatives of prototypes during the development process, and evolving versions during an iterative design process. In addition, the questionnaire can serve as a tool for identifying diagnostic information to improve specific usability dimensions and related interface elements. Employing the refined MPUQ, decision making models were developed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and linear regression analysis. Next, a new group of representative mobile users was employed to develop a hierarchical model representing the usability dimensions incorporated in the questionnaire and to assign priorities to each node in the hierarchy. Employing the AHP and regression models, important usability dimensions and questionnaire items for mobile products were identified. Finally, a case study of comparative usability evaluations was performed to validate the MPUQ and models. A computerized support tool was developed to perform redundancy and relevancy analyses for the selection of appropriate questionnaire items. The weighted geometric mean was used to combine multiple numbers of matrices from pairwise comparison based on decision makers' consistency ratio values for AHP. The AHP and regression models provided important usability dimensions so that mobile device usability practitioners can simply focus on the interface elements related to the decisive usability dimensions in order to improve the usability of mobile products. The AHP model could predict the users' decision based on a descriptive model of purchasing the best product slightly but not significantly better than other evaluation methods. Except for memorability, the MPUQ embraced the dimensions included in the other well-known usability definitions and almost all criteria covered by the existing usability questionnaires. In addition, MPUQ incorporated new criteria, such as pleasurability and specific tasks performance. / Ph. D.

In my experience, novel ideas for 3D interaction techniques greatly outpace developers' ability to implement them, despite the potential benefit of these ideas. I believe this is due to the inherent implementation complexity of 3D interfaces, without sufficient support from methods and tools. Believing a developer-centric representation could overcome this problem, I investigated developer practices, artifacts and language. This resulted in the theory of Concept-Oriented Design and Chasm, a prototype realization of the theory. The key feature of Concept-Oriented Design is its use of developer-centric representations to create a multi-tiered implementation, ranging from an envisioned behavior expressed in conversational language to low-level code. Evaluation of Chasm by domain experts and its use in multiple case studies by volunteer developers has demonstrated that Concept-Oriented Design in Chasm addresses many of the problems of 3D design and development. / Ph. D.

Technical coding interviews are a core part of the evaluation process of software engineering (SWE) applicants. This process requires SWE job seekers to typically complete either one or multiple rounds of such interviews which are designed to measure their technical understanding of software engineering topics such as Data Structures and Algorithms. However, there are additional considerations made during the evaluation process, such as the applicants behavioral skills. Skills such as communication, problem solving, and stress tolerance, are just some of the skills that may be used in addition to the general technical skills. Both of these skill areas, in addition to the cognitive and social complexities associated with the various types of interviewing environments, result in a challenging event in which to properly prepare for. Our research aims to better understand how SWE job seekers prepare for such interviews through survey usage which analysis their used services, study habits, and educational background, thus providing useful insight and understanding into the complexities associated with the preparation process as a whole. By understanding the challenges and practices associated with the preparation phase of technical interviews, our research aims to help SWE job seekers, hiring companies, and future research creation. / Master of Science / A Technical coding interview is a form of interviewing which requires the applicant to solve a given problem by coding the solution. Technical coding interviews are a core part of the evaluation process of software engineering(SWE) applicants. This process requires SWE job seekers to typically complete either one or multiple rounds of such interviews which are designed to measure their technical understanding of software engineering topics. However, there are additional considerations made during the evaluation process such as the applicants behavioral skills. Skills such as communication, problem solving, and stress tolerance, are just some of the skills that may be used in addition to the general technical skills. Both of these skill areas, in addition to the cognitive and social complexities associated with the various types of interviewing environments, results in a challenging event in which to properly prepare for. Our research aims to better understand how SWE job seekers prepare for such interviews through the analysis of their used services, study habits, and educational background, thus providing useful insight and understanding into the complexities associated with the preparation process as a whole. Future resources, hiring companies, and SWE job seekers themselves are some of the parties our research aims to help.

In recent years, interactive systems developers have increasingly included usability engineering and interaction design as an integral part of software development. With recognition of the importance of usability come attempts to structure this new aspect of system design, leading to a variety of processes and methodologies. Unfortunately, these processes have often lacked flexibility, completeness and breadth of coverage, customizability, and tool support. This thesis shows the development of a process model, that we call LUCID/Star*, which addresses and overcomes the characteristics lacking in existing methodologies and an evaluation of its application in a real-world development environment. To demonstrate the goal of this thesis, we have used a combination of empirical and analytical evidence. The (LUCID/Star)* process model for usability engineering grew out of the examination, adaptation, and extension of several existing usability and software methodologies. The methods that most greatly impacted the creation of (LUCID/Star)*were the LUCID Framework of interaction design, the Star Life Cycle of usability engineering, and the Waterfall and Spiral models of Software engineering. Unlike most of these, we have found that a sequence of cycles (each of which produces a product evolution) is a more effective analogy for the interaction development process. A sequence of cycles is more modular and makes it easier to focus on each cycle separately. Working with Optim Systems, Inc. in Falls Church, VA we instantiated the process model and introduced it as a process to develop a web-based device management system. (LUCID/Star)* performed remarkably in the Optim case, overcoming the tight constraints of budget and schedule cuts to produce an excellent prototype of the system. / Master of Science

Designing global interfaces for users has always been a challenge. This challenge is even greater today with the current trend of globalization, which leads to highly diverse users of the same product. The global audiences for the software and information technology products belong to different countries, different religions, speak different languages, have different life styles, belong to different cultures and have different perceptions and expectations of the same product. A truly global product must inherently accommodate this diversity in order to be effective and successful. A major impediment is that there is very inadequate understanding of the role of culture in user interfaces and how they are built. This lack of understanding is further compounded by the fact that very little empirical work exists regarding the role of culture in usability testing. The objectives of this research are to study and empirically establish the effects of culture on the usability assessment technique of structured interviews. A study was conducted to determine the effects of culture on Indian participants when structured interviews are used in usability testing. The experiment consisted of usability testing of two independent groups of Indian participants by two interviewers; one belonging to the Indian culture and the other to the Anglo-American culture. The findings from the study clearly demonstrate the effects of culture on structured interviews during international user testing. Participants found more usability problems and made more suggestions to the interviewer from their own culture than to the interviewer from a foreign culture. The results of the study prove that culture affects the efficacy of structured interviews during international user testing. / Master of Science

This paper is a case study conducted at Malmo University with the purpose being to conceive ideas and innovative concepts in the future workplace using design fiction as a research strategy. Exploring current technological trends through empirical research and interviewing employees with different occupations, this paper sought out to find what employees wanted at their workplace and to then combine it with the technological findings in a way that makes sense through an HCI standpoint. While conducting this study many reworks of the methods were done in the sense that there were plans to conduct a workshop with employees attending and giving the paper more data, however due to scheduling issues it was scrapped. To mitigate this, more interviews were planned and they were set to be conducted through the use of a digital artifact made from the schematics at MAU. These were also scrapped due to the time constraint of this paper.  The findings this paper made are that the technological trends that are seen more and more in many workplaces are the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in various ways and the use of virtual reality and augmented reality to simulate the digital workplace. Hybrid work is also something this paper found that falls into this category but more so in the sense that a lot of the work is moved digitally instead of analogue. The results from the interviews imply that a lot of their problems stems from the COVID-19 pandemic and that a lot of the workforce returns to the office. Participants mention that the offices are cramped and that it is hard to book a meeting room since it houses more people than it can handle. The lack of social places around and a stable network is also something that a lot of the employees struggle with and want fixed. Based on these results a digital artifact was created and is the focal point of the discussion, talking about problems and how these could be solved by combining the digital and the analogue workplace.  As continued research this paper would delve deeper into employee experiences by conducting the workshop and the continued interviews.  In summary the purpose of this paper was to conduct a literature review and combine it with employee experiences to envisage possible futures using design fiction as a research strategy.

La réduction des dimensions des transistors a augmenté la sensibilité des circuits numériques aux variations PVT et, plus récemment, aux effets de vieillissement, notamment BTI et HCI. De larges marges de sécurité sont donc nécessaires pour assurer un fonctionnement correct du circuit, ce qui entraîne une perte d'énergie importante. Les solutions actuelles pour améliorer l'efficacité énergétique sont principalement basées sur des solutions de type «Adaptive Voltage and Frequency Scaling (AVFS)». Cependant, ce type de solution ne peut anticiper les variations avant qu'elles ne se produisent. Cette approche doit donc être amélioré pour traiter les problèmes de fiabilité liés au vieillissement. Cette thèse propose une nouvelle méthodologie pour générer des modèles simplifiés pour estimer la fréquence maximale du circuit Fmax. Un premier modèle est créé pour estimer le délai de propagation du (des) chemin(s) critique(s) en fonction des variations PVT. Les effets BTI et HCI sont ensuite modélisés via une modification des paramètres du premier modèle. Construit à partir des modèles au niveau transistor, le modèle de vieillissement obtenu prend en compte tous les facteurs qui influent sur le vieillissement, à savoir, la topologie des circuits, l'application, la tension et la température. La méthodologie proposée est validée sur deux architectures en technologie 28nm FD-SOI. Les modèles peuvent être alimentés par des moniteurs de température et de tension, ce qui permet une évaluation précise de l'évolution de Fmax. Toutefois, ces moniteurs sont sensibles au vieillissement. Aussi, une méthode de recalibrage pour compenser les effets du vieillissement a été développée pour un moniteur numérique de température et de tension. Des exemples d'applications en ligne sont donnés. Les modèles sont également utilisés pour simuler des circuits complexes sous des variations de vieillissement, par exemple un circuit multi-cœur et un système AVFS. Cela permet d'évaluer différentes stratégies concernant la performance, l'énergie et la fiabilité. / The continuous scaling of transistor dimensions has increased the sensitivity of digital circuits to PVT variations and, more recently, to aging effects such as BTI and HCI. Large voltage guard bands, corresponding to worst-case operation, are thus necessary and leads to a considerable energy loss. Current solutions to increase energy efficiency are mainly based on Adaptive Voltage and Frequency Scaling (AVFS). However, as a reactive solution, it cannot anticipate the variation before it occurs. It has, thus, to be improved for handling long-term reliability issues. This thesis proposes a new methodology to generate simplified but nevertheless accurate models to estimate the circuit maximum operating frequency Fmax. A first model is created for the modelling of the propagation delay of the critical path(s) as a function of PVT variations. Both BTI/HCI effects are then modelled as a shift in the parameters of the first model. Built on the top of device-level models, it takes into account all factors that impact global aging, namely, circuit topology, workload, voltage and temperature variations. The proposed modelling approach is evaluated on two architectures implemented in 28nm FD-SOI technology. The models can be fed by temperature and voltage monitors. This allows an accurate assessment of the circuit Fmax evolution during its operation. However, these monitors are prone to aging. Therefore, an aging-aware recalibration method has been developed for a particular V T monitor. Examples of on-line applications are given. Finally, the models are used to simulate complex circuits under aging variations such a multi-core circuit and an AVFS system. This allows the evaluation of different strategies regarding performance, energy and reliability.