<p>Scania InfoMate develops web applications that support truck distributors and workshops with the necessary tools for an effective maintenance process. However, the end-users of these applications are faced with as many different graphical interfaces as there are applications. As a consequence, important effects of recognition are lost, developers spend unnecessary time designing new solutions for each application and Scania InfoMate does not present a homogeneous brand image towards its customers.</p><p>Therefore the aim of this study is to give a suggestion of how a standardized graphical interface for web applications at Scania InfoMate should be designed. The given suggestion should come from thorough investigation of both end-user needs and recent research within the area of usability. In addition to a standardized interface this study also aims to deliver guidelines that support future web application development at Scania InfoMate.</p><p>Through a combination of methods, mainly heuristic evaluation and user interviews, an elaborate description of usability and consistency problems in a defined web application portfolio is produced. This served as a basis for developing an interface design suggestion and helped pinpoint crucial areas in need of usability and consistency guidelines.</p><p>The main findings are a graphical interface design suggestion that specify positioning and visualization of common interface elements and guidelines ensuring that future web application development at Scania InfoMate is kept at a high standard regarding usability and consistency. This study also points out areas for further development at Scania InfoMate and suggests that additional studies should take place to establish a common view on consistency issues.</p>

Scania InfoMate develops web applications that support truck distributors and workshops with the necessary tools for an effective maintenance process. However, the end-users of these applications are faced with as many different graphical interfaces as there are applications. As a consequence, important effects of recognition are lost, developers spend unnecessary time designing new solutions for each application and Scania InfoMate does not present a homogeneous brand image towards its customers. Therefore the aim of this study is to give a suggestion of how a standardized graphical interface for web applications at Scania InfoMate should be designed. The given suggestion should come from thorough investigation of both end-user needs and recent research within the area of usability. In addition to a standardized interface this study also aims to deliver guidelines that support future web application development at Scania InfoMate. Through a combination of methods, mainly heuristic evaluation and user interviews, an elaborate description of usability and consistency problems in a defined web application portfolio is produced. This served as a basis for developing an interface design suggestion and helped pinpoint crucial areas in need of usability and consistency guidelines. The main findings are a graphical interface design suggestion that specify positioning and visualization of common interface elements and guidelines ensuring that future web application development at Scania InfoMate is kept at a high standard regarding usability and consistency. This study also points out areas for further development at Scania InfoMate and suggests that additional studies should take place to establish a common view on consistency issues.

This thesis aims to improve a scheduling application’s usability and accessibility by redesigning its interface and implementing it using the Contentful App framework. The application is being used by employees at the company Aktiebolaget Trav Galopp. The existing application is described as difficult and time consuming to use. The Contentful App Framework enables developers to build custom applications and integrations on top of the Contentful content platform. It empowers them to extend content workflows, automate tasks, and enhance collaboration with features like UI extensions and Application Programming Interfaces (API). A heuristic evaluation identifies key areas for improvement, focusing on memorization of dates and times. Three design proposals are developed. Design 1 aims to create a centralized view of dates and times, but implementation limitations prevent its realization. Design 2 introduces a custom component within the Hero Container, providing a practical solution for viewing and editing dates and times. Design 3 represents recreating the existing application in the app framework. Evaluation of the implemented application reveals positive aspects, such as clear presentation of relevant information. Limitations are identified, including the inability to restrict referenced component types and inflexibility in rearranging item order. An automatic unlinking mechanism is implemented to mitigate errors in component linking. Significant improvements are achieved in usability and accessibility. Valuable insights are gained through the heuristic evaluation, emphasizing the benefits of the Contentful App framework. The importance of designing with flexibility in mind and addressing limitations during design and implementation is highlighted. Future work recommendations include exploring alternative designs within Contentful SDK limitations, addressing restrictions on referenced component types, and introducing flexibility in rearranging item order. User testing and feedback collection will further refine usability and address remaining issues. This thesis contributes to improving scheduling application usability, providing insights for future research and development efforts. / Syftet med denna avhandling var att förbättra en schemaläggningsapplikations användbarhet och tillgänglighet genom att förbättra dess gränssnitt och implementera det med Contentfuls App-ramverket. Tre designförslag utvecklades med fokus på att minska mängden datum och tider som en användare behöver memorera. Den implementerade applikationen visade många positiva aspekter, såsom tydlig presentation av information. Begränsningar identifierades även, såsom oförmågan att ändra ordning schemat. Rekommendationer för framtida arbete inkluderar att utforska alternativa designlösningar, hantera begränsningar och genomföra användartester för ytterligare förbättringar. Denna avhandling bidrar till att förbättra användbarheten hos schemaläggningsapplikationer och ger insikter för framtida forskning och utveckling.

This master’s thesis investigates the usability challenges in current booking systems and proposes a new design framework to address these challenges. The research encompasses an in-depth analysis of the usability issues associated with booking systems used to create the design guidelines for the framework. The framework is evaluated using a heuristic evaluation approach for evaluation. 25 individual booking systems were individually assessed by a single evaluator, with a focus on finding usability issues using the framework. The heuristic evaluation process took approximately 30 minutes to an hour per system evaluation, following the heuristic evaluation methodology. Identified issues and corresponding recommendations were compiled in a diagram, while the comprehensive testing document is included in the appendix of this paper. The heuristic evaluation revealed a total of 438 identified issues across the 25 booking systems, with the identified issues per system ranging from 3 to 9. The average number of issues identified using the new framework stood at 6.08.  The research answers the first research question: ”What are the key usability challenges in current booking systems?” by conducting an extensive literature review and creating a comprehensive list of 13 distinct usability challenges in booking systems. The amount of identified challenges demonstrates the necessity for a dedicated framework. The challenges encompass a wide spectrum, spanning from user adoption of the interface to practical aspects like booking cancellation and customer service.  Addressing the second research question, which describes the utilization of the new design framework to tackle usability challenges, the study employs the heuristic evaluation results to determine the efficacy of the framework. An average of 6.08 identified usability issues per system validates the framework’s usefulness for evaluators of booking systems. The discussion also underscores the potential for increased effectiveness with the recommended three to five evaluators.  Despite certain limitations, including the lack of detailed evaluation results due to confidentiality agreements, and the inability to complete booking procedures due to resource constraints, the framework’s effectiveness is established. The framework proves to be a valuable addition to existing design guidelines, serving as a comprehensive tool for evaluating booking systems. In conclusion, this master’s thesis completely addresses the research questions, underscoring the need for dedicated design guidelines for booking systems and demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed framework in enhancing usability. The study also identifies areas for future work and recommends enhancements for a more holistic evaluation of booking systems. / Denna masteruppsats undersöker användbarhetsutmaningarna i nuvarande bokningssystem och föreslår ett nytt designramverk för att bemöta dessa utmaningar. Forskningen omfattar en djupgående analys av nuvarande användbarhetsutmaningar hos bokningssystem vilka sedan används för att skapa designriktlinjer för ett nytt designramverk. Det nya designramverket för bokningssystem utvärderas sedan med hjälp av en heuristisk utvärderingsmetod. 25 individuella bokningssystem utvärderades individuellt av en utvärderare, med fokus på att hitta användbarhetsproblem med hjälp av ramverket. Den heuristiska utvärderingsprocessen tog cirka 30 minuter till en timme per systemutvärdering, utförda enligt den heuristiska utvärderingsmetoden. Identifierade problem och motsvarande rekommendationer sammanställdes i ett diagram, medan det omfattande testdokumentet finns med i bilagan till detta dokument. Den heuristiska utvärderingen resulterade i totalt 438 identifierade problem hos de 25 bokningssystemen, där identifierade problem per system varierade från 3 till 9. Det genomsnittliga antalet identifierade problem med hjäp av det nya ramverket var 6,08.  Den första forskningsfrågan: ”Vilka är de viktigaste användbarhetsutmaningarna i nuvarande bokningssystem?” besvarades genom en omfattande litteraturundersökning som resulterade i en lista innehållande 13 distinkta användarvänlighetsutmaningar hos bokningssystem. Mängden identifierade utmaningar visade på noödvändigheten av ett dedikerat ramverk för bokningssystem. Utmaningarna täcker ett brett spektrum, från att användaren använder gränssnittet till praktiska aspekter som avbokning och kundservice.  För att besvara den andra forskningsfrågan, som handlar om det nya designramverkets möjlighet att tackla användbarhetsutmaningar, användes en heuristisk utvärdering vars resultat fastställde ramverkets effektivitet. Det resulterade i genomsnitt av 6,08 identifierade användbarhetsproblem per system, vilket validerar ramverkets användbarhet för utvärderare av bokningssystem. Diskussionen understryker också potentialen för ökad effektivitet med de rekommenderade tre till fem utvärderarna istället för en.  Trots vissa begränsningar, såsom bristen på detaljerade utvärderingsresultat på grund av sekretessavtal och oförmågan att slutföra bokningsprocedurer på grund av resursbegränsningar, har ramverkets effektivitet fastställts. Ramverket visade sig vara en värdefull ersättning till befintliga designriktlinjer och fungerar som ett omfattande verktyg för att utvärdera bokningssystem. Sammanfattningsvis adresserar denna masteruppsats forskningsfrågorna och understryker behovet av dedikerade designriktlinjer för bokningssystem samt visar effektiviteten hos det föreslagna ramverket för att förbättra användbarheten. Studien identifierar också områden för framtida arbete och rekommenderar förbättringar för en mer holistisk utvärdering av bokningssystem.

Detta projekt har haft som syfte att producera och grafiskt formge det kommande numret av tidskriftsapplikationen Scandinavian Architectural Review för förlaget It Is Media Svenska AB i Stockholm. Skapandet har utgått från applikationens tidigare grafiska profil och har ämnat att följa tidigare utseende och funktioner utan nya tillägg. Hela produktionen har skapats genom Adobe InDesigns tilläggstjänst Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. Efter att produktionen färdigställts har en analys gjorts av den färdiga applikationen enligt en heuristisk utvärdering ur ett människa-datorinteraktionsperspektiv, till vilken David Benyons tolv designprinciper har  tillämpats. Till stöd i analysarbetet har ett aktivitetsdiagram skapats för att ge en god överblick över hela tidskriftens disposition. Analysen har slutligen resulterat i en åtgärdslista med förslag på förbättringar av applikationen för att öka dess användarvänlighet, vilket framför allt har lyft fram behovet av tydligare grafisk design av interaktiva element, ett förbättrat system för att ge användaren återkoppling samt ökad konsekvens och flexibilitet. / This project has aimed to produce and design the upcoming edition of the magazine application Scandinavian Architectural Review for the publisher It Is Media Svenska AB in Stockholm. The production has been based on the application’s prior graphic profile and has intended to follow previous appearance and functions without new additions. The entire production has been created using the Adobe InDesign plugin Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. After the production was finished an analysis of the completed application was performed according to a heuristic evaluation, which was based on the twelve design principles of David Benyon in a perspective of human-computer interaction. To support the analytical work an activity diagram was created to get a comprehensive view of the entire disposition of the application. The analysis has resulted in a list of actions and suggestions to improve the application and its usability, which particularly emphasize the need of a clearer design of the interactive elements, an improved system to give the user feedback as well as an increased consistency and flexibility.

Denna studie syftar till att utveckla tumregler för heuristisk utvärdering av typografi i responsiva gränssnitt. Genom att kombinera traditionella typografiska designprinciper med principer för responsiv webbdesign har tolv tumregler tagits fram. Dessa tumregler har i två heuristiska utvärderingar använts av grafiska designers och gränssnittsutvecklare. De båda grupperna har dessutom fått ge sin syn på upplevelsen av att använda tumreglerna. Tumreglernas förmåga att vägleda till hittade typografiska problem i två responsiva gränssnitt har analyserats och framförallt gränssnittsutvecklarnas resultat har varit i fokus, då målet varit att tumreglerna ska kunna fungera som ett verktyg för att skapa bättre design för gränssnittsutvecklare utan utbildning i ämnet. Resultatet har visat att trots att gränssnittsutvecklare inte hittade lika många problem som grafiska designers så hjälper tumreglerna ändå till att hitta problem. Detta indikerar att fler deltagare utan typografisk utbildning kan behövas för att komma upp i samma mängd hittade problem som en grupp med typografiskt utbildade deltagare. Resultatet visar också att utvärderingar av responsiva gränssnitt görs bäst genom att granska gränssnittet på flera enheter med varierande skärmstorlek. / This study aims to develop a set of heuristics for evaluating typography in responsive user interfaces. By combining traditional design principles for typography with principles for responsive web design, twelve heuristics has been created. This list of heuristics has been used by graphic designers and user interface developers in two heuristic evaluations. The heuristics ability to lead to finding typographic problems in two different responsive interfaces has been analyzed, and the results from the user interface developers has been in main focus, since the goal was to create a tool for developers with a lack of knowledge in typography to create interfaces with better design. The results has shown that even though developers struggle to find the samt amount of typography problems as graphic designers, the heuristics does help to find problem. Even so, this indicate that a heuristic evaluation with non-typographic experts may need a few more participants than an evaluation with only typographic experts. The results also shows that an evaluation of a responsive user interface is best made through evaluation of the same interface on different devices with different screen sizes.