Mob programming is a collaborative software development method that has gained increasing attention in both industry and research. While the focus of mob programming is on the benefits of teams programming together, there are also potential benefits for other aspects of the software development process. However, there is a lack of research on the use of the method outside the domain of programming. This study explores user-centred design (UCD) in mob programming through a case study of three software development teams at Sveriges Television, a Swedish public broadcasting company. Results show that the teams use the method for a variety of tasks in their daily work, calling for a rebranding of the method to mob development to encompass the broader scope. The integration of UCD is analysed through the principles of user-centred agile software development. The results indicate that a revision of these principles is needed to include the cross-functional and social factors that mob development adds to the software development process.

Gambling has become ever more available and begun to employ more techniques, such as gamification, in order to engage their players. Today, Gambling with the use of your computer or smartphone is not deemed very different from playing any other kind of game. This shortens the availability cascade, or chain of events, that in the context of Gambling can ultimately lead to severe economical or social consequences for the players. This thesis seeks to find out how the increased availability can be counteracted by giving control back to the players through the use of personal informatics as well as if, and if so how, the social aspect of Gambling affects responsibility and the perceived experience. By conducting in-depth interviews with 20 participants I gained insights into what would assist them in maintaining control as well as their perception of Gambling. In order to evaluate these findings they were, in conjunction with related research, translated into a design concept. The results of the evaluations of this design suggest that many of the same techniques used to increase engagement with Gambling can also be utilized to counteract the increased availability. The prospects for future research are outlined.

A new hybrid Video Game Difficulty Balancing method which stands in between the two traditional methods (Static and Dynamic) has been suggested in this project aiming to discreetly estimate the player’s difficulty preference and make the respective in-game adjustment. This method has been based on the hypothesis that the user’s difficulty preferences can be to some extent predicted by some of their in-game actions. A casual mobile game containing a User Testing part has been developed for this purpose and played by 56 participants. The extracted results offer some insights on various gamers’ demographic groups behaviors and some indications that the intended prediction is feasible.

Mobile devices have become a massively prevalent part of everyday life, as their capabilities and functionality have expanded into new domains. One form factor that has attracted recent renewed interest is the smartwatch.  This paper looks at how devices can be used to track the time, and in particular how we can invent new visualisations for timekeeping. It draws on different psychological theories of time to sketch out six new time visualisations, drawing on both old and new timekeeping devices as inspiration. These visualisations address linear time visualisations and cyclical time visualisations. The designs are contrasted with each other, with a final design selected and prototyped on the Apple Watch. The prototype is briefly evaluated through a 48 hour user test with one user. The design is then reiterated upon based on the feedback from this user test. / Mobila enheter har blivit en allt större del av våra vardagliga liv i samma takt som deras kapacitet och funktionalitet har ökat och spridit sig till nya områden. Ett av dessa områden som nyligen fått ett nyfunnet intresse är smarta klockor. Den här uppsatsen tittar på hur mobila enheter och framför allt smarta klockor kan användas för att hålla reda på tiden. Den undersöker framför allt på hur vi kan ta fram nya sätt att visualisera tid. Arbetet bygger på olika psykologiska teorier om tid för att skissa sex stycken olika tidsvisualiseringar, de olika visualiseringarna använder också historiska tidmätningsinstrument som inspiration. Dessa visualiseringar bygger också på ett framtaget koncept om att tid kan ses som konstant eller cyklisk. Designförslagen jämförs sedan med varandra och en slutgiltig design väljs ut. En prototyp för Apple Watch skapas, baserat på den slutgiltiga designen. Prototypen utvärderas genom att en användare bär klockan under 48 timmar. Därefter förbättras och förändras designen baserat på återkopplingen från testet.

Despite the apparent benefits of IoT systems, designing them is challenging due to many technical aspects that need to be considered and their mutual interference. The aspects of latency, longevity, and interoperability influence the usability of the final product. Such design and implementation processes are even more challenging to those not experienced in the IoT field, such as beginning designers or product managers. Here, the author investigates a decision support tool – the IoT Solution Advisor, which aims to help IoT beginners to create a model of IoT system and help them to match its requirements with a compatible technology stack. This publication describes the IoT Solution Advisor’s design process by gathering insights via interviews and Research through Design approach. Except for the prototype, the outcome from the study is the list of features and characteristics necessary to make the tool utilitarian and learnable. The project was conducted in cooperation with Ericsson company. / Trots de uppenbara fördelarna med IoT-system (Internet of Things) är det svårt att utforma dem på grund av många tekniska aspekter som måste övervägas och deras ömsesidiga interferens. Aspekterna av latens, livslängd och interoperabilitet påverkar slutproduktens användbarhet. Sådana design- och implementeringsprocesser är ännu mer utmanande för dem som inte har erfarenhet av IoT-fältet, till exempel nybörjare eller produktchefer. Denna studie undersöker ett beslutsstödverktyg - IoT Solution Advisor, som syftar till att hjälpa IoT-nybörjare att skapa en modell av IoT-system och hjälpa dem att matcha dess krav med en kompatibel teknikstack. Denna publikation beskriver IoT-lösningsrådgivarens designprocess genom att samla insikter via intervjuer och forskning genom design. Resultatet från studien är en lista över funktioner och egenskaper som är nödvändiga för att göra verktyget nyttigt och lärbart.

Navigating from one place to another is something we as humans do on an everyday basis, and modern technology has made it easier than ever by providing navigation tools in our mobile devices. In indoor spaces, augmented reality (AR) based navigation interfaces have shown a lot of potential, as it has been proven to increase efficiency and overall usability. However, there is a lack of research investigating how these types of interfaces should be designed to create a good user experience. This study aimed at providing more insight into this by exploring the usability of a mobile AR interface for indoor navigation through the Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE) method. In total, six participants tested the interface in three rounds of user testing and iteration, with two participants taking part in each round. The results showed that the usability increased with each iteration. Findings also reaffirmed the importance of minimizing the amount of information presented in the AR interface, by for example presenting information prior to the AR interface, as well as the value of adding support for occlusion. Moreover, confusion caused by how the virtual objects aligned with the real physical space showed the importance of testing on-site. / Att navigera från en plats till en annan är något vi människor gör varenda dag, och modern teknologi har gjort detta enklare än någonsin genom att erbjuda navigationsverktyg i våra mobila enheter. I inomhusmiljöer så har navigationsverktyg som använder förstärkt verklighet (AR) visat mycket potential, då det har visats ökat effektiviteten och den övergripliga användbarheten. Däremot finns det en brist på forskning som undersöker hur dessa typer av gränssnitt ska designas för att skapa en bra användarupplevelse. Denna studie syftade till att ge mer insikt i detta genom att utforska användbarheten av ett mobilt AR-gränssnitt för inomhusnavigering med hjälp av metoden Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE). en iterativ design och utvärderingsmetod. Totalt testade sex deltagare gränssnittet i tre omgångar av användartester, där två deltagare deltog i varje omgång. Resultaten visade att användbarheten ökade med varje iteration. Resultaten bekräftade även vikten av att minimera mängden information som presenteras i AR-gränssnittet, till exempel genom att presentera information innan AR-gränssnittet, samt värdet av att lägga till stöd för ocklusion. Vidare så visade även förvirringen kring hur de virtuella objekten relaterade till det riktiga fysiska utrymmet värdet av att testa på plats.

Modern facial feature tracking techniques can automatically extract and accurately track multiple facial landmark points from faces in video streams in real time. Facial landmark points are defined as points distributed on a face in regards to certain facial features, such as eye corners and face contour. This opens up for using facial feature movements as a handsfree human-computer interaction technique. These alternatives to traditional input devices can give a more interesting gaming experience. They also open up for more intuitive controls and can possibly give greater access to computers and video game consoles for certain disabled users with difficulties using their arms and/or fingers. This research explores using facial feature tracking to control a character's movements in a platform game. The aim is to interpret facial feature tracker data and convert facial feature movements to game input controls. The facial feature input is compared with other handsfree inputmethods, as well as traditional keyboard input. The other handsfree input methods that are explored are head pose estimation and a hybrid between the facial feature and head pose estimation input. Head pose estimation is a method where the application is extracting the angles in which the user's head is tilted. The hybrid input method utilises both head pose estimation and facial feature tracking. The input methods are evaluated by user performance and subjective ratings from voluntary participants playing a platform game using the input methods. Performance is measured by the time, the amount of jumps and the amount of turns it takes for a user to complete a platform level. Jumping is an essential part of platform games. To reach the goal, the player has to jump between platforms. An inefficient input method might make this a difficult task. Turning is the action of changing the direction of the player character from facing left to facing right or vice versa. This measurement is intended to pick up difficulties in controling the character's movements. If the player makes many turns, it is an indication that it is difficult to use the input method to control the character movements efficiently. The results suggest that keyboard input is the most effective input method, while it is also the least entertaining of the input methods. There is no significant difference in performance between facial feature input and head pose input. The hybrid input version has the best results overall of the alternative input methods. The hybrid input method got significantly better performance results than the head pose input and facial feature input methods, while it got results that were of no statistically significant difference from the keyboard input method. Keywords: Computer Vision, Facial Feature Tracking, Head Pose Tracking, Game Control / Moderna tekniker kan automatiskt extrahera och korrekt följa multipla landmärken från ansikten i videoströmmar. Landmärken från ansikten är definerat som punkter placerade på ansiktet utefter ansiktsdrag som till exempel ögat eller ansikts konturer. Detta öppnar upp för att använda ansiktsdragsrörelser som en teknik för handsfree människa-datorinteraktion. Dessa alternativ till traditionella tangentbord och spelkontroller kan användas för att göra datorer och spelkonsoler mer tillgängliga för vissa rörelsehindrade användare. Detta examensarbete utforskar användbarheten av ansiktsdragsföljning för att kontrollera en karaktär i ett plattformsspel. Målet är att tolka data från en appliktion som följer ansiktsdrag och översätta ansiktsdragens rörelser till handkontrollsinmatning. Ansiktsdragsinmatningen jämförs med inmatning med huvudposeuppskattning, en hybrid mellan ansikstdragsföljning och huvudposeuppskattning, samt traditionella tangentbordskontroller. Huvudposeuppskattning är en teknik där applikationen extraherar de vinklar användarens huvud lutar. Hybridmetoden använder både ansiktsdragsföljning och huvudposeuppskattning. Inmatningsmetoderna granskas genom att mäta effektivitet i form av tid, antal hopp och antal vändningar samt subjektiva värderingar av frivilliga testanvändare som spelar ett plattformspel med de olika inmatningsmetoderna. Att hoppa är viktigt i ett plattformsspel. För att nå målet, måste spelaren hoppa mellan plattformar. En inefektiv inmatningsmetod kan göra detta svårt. En vändning är när spelarkaraktären byter riktning från att rikta sig åt höger till att rikta sig åt vänster och vice versa. Ett högt antal vändningar kan tyda på att det är svårt att kontrollera spelarkaraktärens rörelser på ett effektivt sätt. Resultaten tyder på att tangentbordsinmatning är den mest effektiva metoden för att kontrollera plattformsspel. Samtidigt fick metoden lägst resultat gällande hur roligt användaren hade under spelets gång. Där var ingen statisktiskt signifikant skillnad mellan huvudposeinmatning och ansikstsdragsinmatning. Hybriden mellan ansiktsdragsinmatning och huvudposeinmatning fick bäst helhetsresultat av de alternativa inmatningsmetoderna. Nyckelord: Datorseende, Följning av Ansiktsdrag, Följning av Huvud, Spelinmatning

Digital assistants such as Google Assistant and Alexa are becoming more and more common in people's homes through smart speakers. Technologies that assist with stress management have increased as well, leading to an abundance of stress management applications for different devices. However, there is a limited amount of research regarding how advanced digital assistants could support stress management and be integrated into users' daily activities. Therefore, our study explores how people anticipate that they would relate to an advanced digital assistant in the future and how they would integrate it into their everyday activities for stress management. Our study shows that important aspects of digital assistants relate to their objectivity, personalization, and adaptability in terms of type of interaction in different contexts. The study also finds that privacy and control, such as a mute function or an on & off function, are desired in order to adjust the digital assistant and integrate it into everyday activities. Finally, stress management with digital assistants is highly personal and how users would relate to and integrate digital assistants into their everyday activities for stress management is unique to each user.

In the previous two decades, live streaming has become a popular trend in the music industry. From TV and radio broadcast to live streaming on social media, the relationship between audience and performers has been transforming over time. In 2019, due to the sudden spread of Covid-19, the popularity of watching live streaming events reached an unprecedently peak. According to some market studies, this trend will continue even when the pandemic will be over. This research aims to explore how live streaming has changed the interaction between audiences and performers as a consequence of this great event.  In order to understand the current music live-streaming culture, an online survey, interviews and field studies were conducted to obtain insights about potential problems and needs in live streaming. Through the project, a new design feature, the “Cheering” function, is suggested as an additional function to the existing live-streaming platforms, to enhance and enrich the interaction between audience and performers.

This research focuses on the connection between voice-based interactions and harassment in online games, from the point of interaction design. It points out severe faults in privacy afforded by voice-based communication and explores beyond this medium to design a communication system that relies only on non-verbal communication (NVC). Such system was co-created with the players supporting the idea that inclusion starts even in the early design stages. Through the playtesting of the NVC system the research shows the many ways in which the type of communication impacts the game and how players experience cooperation, cohabitation, and inclusion in online games. However, to achieve this, this research had to create a framework and mapping methods that focus on the players and their communicative intention. Hence, the “levels of multiplayer communication” is proposed as a tool to analyze and a method to design for communication in games, and it stands as a knowledge contribution along with the information acquired through its use.