Software tools to be used by employees of large organizations rarely satisfy the end-user. They might be complex, difficult to use, not feasible in the actual work context or even worse adding to the workload of the users. This is however not that surprising, since designing for such complex organizational contexts can be challenging. Typically, such projects involve a large number of stakeholders and a diverse group of users, all with their own roles, backgrounds, wishes, needs and preferences. For large enterprises is is a challenge to create internal tools that fulfill their supporting role for the employees and at the same time take away few as possible resources from the core business. This paper reports on a research under the umbrella of the larger areas of CSCW and HCI. The project aimed at getting more insights into using a user-centered approach to the design and development of internal-tools within a large multinational corporation. Field observations from within the department were combined with design explorations in which new tools were prototyped. A model for thinking about the work setting is presented and recommendations for interaction designers aiming at applying a user-centered approach to design of internal tools are given.

Allt fler svenska vårdgivare ger patienter direktåtkomst till sina patientjournaler via internet. För att göra sådana tjänster så lättanvända som möjligt är det viktigt att förstå vad användarna har för bild av vad en patientjournal är och hur den är strukturerad. I den här rapporten presenteras en undersökning av hur användare uppfattar patientjournaler. Undersökningen har omfattat intervjuer, öppen kortsortering (med inledande free-listing) och användningstest – metoder som kompletterat varandra bra. Frågor som ställts rör patientjournalens syfte, vilka som hanterar den och vad den kan innehålla. Resultaten indikerar att användarna har en gemensam kärna i sina uppfattningar av patientjournaler. Analysen begränsas av att antalet försökspersoner har varit relativt litet, men med ett större antal användare kan denna kombination av metoder vara värdefull i praktiskt utvecklingsarbete. / An increasing number of Swedish care givers are providing patients with direct access to their medical health records via the Internet. In order to make such services as easy as possible to use, it is important to understand what image the users have of what a medical health record is and how it is structured. In this thesis, an investigation of how users perceive medical health records is presented. The investigation has included interviews, card sorting (preceded by a free-listing exercise) and user testing – methods that have worked well together. Among the questions that were asked are ones about the purpose of a medical health record, who handles it and what may be in it. The results indicate that users have a common core in their perception of medical health records. The analysis is limited by the relatively low number of participants in the investigation, but with a larger number of participants, this combination of methods may be of value in practical development work.

The purpose of this report was to study how the design of a web application can induce trust and navigability. To study this, a web application was created where the private consumer can buy a part of an emission allowance, tailored to the consumers’ specific needs. Since environmental companies are subject to hard audits, not only by authorities but also by the consumers, it was concluded that this type of web application is well suitable to test how design can induce trust. This web application was tested by different test groups in three iterations. The user tests made use of the Critical thinking-aloud protocol, System Usability Scale, and Smith’s Lostness formula, and consisted of two assignments followed by various questions regarding how the test subject experienced the assignments. After each iteration, the web application was altered in alignment with the feedback received from the test subjects. Each iteration had a completely different test group to ensure that the alterations were effective on a larger scale than only to address the last test group's concerns. The results from the user test improved with each iteration and after the final iteration, all test subjects were unanimous in that they experienced the web application as secure and trustworthy enough to make a payment using their debit card on the site. It was concluded that implementing a website according to existing theories and websites is important to create trust and navigability. Design, information pages, typography, colors, and shape, have an impact on trustworthiness while placement of functionality as well as popups for completed tasks improve navigability. This study can hopefully be viewed as a foundation for future research in the field of design and its impact on trustworthiness and navigability.

The thesis aimed to investigate whether an interactive application could aid novice users’ early usage with the OmniCore FlexPendant. The method followed the Double Diamond design model. An initial literature research was made including a competitive analysis, followed by a design sprint that started the concept making of the application. Thereafter several iterations of user research and prototyping were made. Final user tests were conducted on a hi-fiprototype. The result showed that a functional application based on the hi-fiprototype would aid novice users early experience of the OmniCore FlexPendant. However, the result also showed that some of the functionality shouldnot be limited for a specific application but should be available in the wholeFlexPendant. Further should the functionality overall become more interactivein order to compose the best user experience for the novice users.

Studies show that gamification leads to increased enjoyment when using a service. Anincreased enjoyment leads in turn to increased customer loyalty. The aim of this report isto examine how gamification can be applied in order to motivate customers to return to aweb application in the conext of a booking service for padel courts. Two web applicationswere developed, one with gamification elements and one without, and were tested bytwo different groups in order to measure the percieved enjoyment. The results showedthat there was no statistically significant difference between the two web applications.The test subjects noticed gamification elements but the elements did not solely havea positive effect. Elements regarding social communication gave a positive impressionon the test subjects, while elements regarding statistics and leaderboards gave a partlynegative impression.

Around 2.5% of the world population are affected by allergies. Children and their families are part of that affected group. However, there seems to be lack of research and tools that would help and provide valuable designs for these families. This thesis explored if and how interaction design might contribute to make the everyday life easier for families with allergic children.  A design process was conducted based upon both theoretical and qualitative research. With the help of methods from interaction design, this thesis has analyzed and brainstormed possible concepts. The final result is a wearable called All-gen that helps children to scan and get feedback if their food is safe or not.

Safety in the workplace is a major concern for industrial employers. Proper training, instructions, and routines are crucial for a hazard-free working environment. This thesis focuses on daily checks, a routine where operators inspect their vehicles to ensure that the machine is in good condition.The initial focus of the project was to explore solutions that could be used to educate new operators. After the research phase, involving experts in the area, the focus shifted towards a solution that would increase the ability and motivation for both new and experienced operators to perform the routine. A literature study, competitor analysis, field study, and interviews were conducted to gain further insight into the matter, and in an attempt to achieve the new objective, the area of persuasive technology and persuasive design, along with provided design guidelines, an application was created that would facilitate the execution of the daily check. These resulting prototypes were then evaluated and taken through usability testing. An evaluation of the theoretical framework is also presented. The results show that persuasive technology is a suitable approach to achieve the goal. While the prototype fulfils most of the goals and requirements, at least on a theoretical level, further development and testing should be done to attain a more quantifiable result.

The rise of e-commerce in combination with an increased interest in second-hand products have resulted in multiple marketplaces where buyers and sellers can meet. One area where marketplaces of this kind is used is course litterature, where students often buy and sell used books. The purpose of this report is to study how a web application for buying and selling second-hand course litterature can be designed to affect the perceived usability and trust mainly based on navigability. During the development stage, two user tests were conducted to study how the introduction of new functionality and design affected the usability and trust of the web application. The test results indicate that a website’s search functionality can affect its perceived navigability both negatively and positively depending on how well it meets the users’ expectations. Furhermore, the test results confirm the theory about the importance of link- and button-labels for website navigability. / Den växande e-handeln kombinerat med ett ökat intresse för begagnade varor har resulterat i flera marknadsplatser där köpare och säljare kan mötas. Ett område där marknadsplatser av detta slag används är kurslitteratur, där studenter ofta köper och säljer begagnade böcker. Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka hur en webbapplikation för handel med begagnad kurslitteratur kan utformas för att påverka den upplevda användbarheten och tilltron med utgångspunkt i navigerbarhet. Under projektets utvecklingsfas genomfördes två andvändartester för att undersöka hur webbapplikationens användbarhet och tilltro påverkades av införandet av nya funktioner och designförändringar. Resultaten från användartesterna indikerar att en hemsidas sökfunktion kan påverka en hemsidas upplevda navigationsförmåga både negativt och positivt beroende på hur väl den möter användarnas förväntningar. Vidare bekräftar användartesternas resultat teorin om att tydliga länk- och knapptexter är av stor vikt för en hemsidas navigerbarhet

This master thesis explores the realm of digital possessions – meaning the things that are possessed by an individual in a digital format on one or several digital devices. As material objects become increasingly digitized, the challenge lies in fostering meaningful interactions and assigning value to digital files before they accumulate as abstract items in the digital archive. Meaningful interactions with digital files go beyond superficial use, encompassing deliberate thought and contemplation on importance, usefulness, and personal value. The thesis sought to address the topic from a design perspective and investigated various ways how design artifacts could support these notions. The design process included different research methods consisting of field research, workshops, and interviews. The resulting design, named Mouse Box, is a device that combines the functionality of a computer mouse with the concept of a digital storage box where users can store valuable digital objects and experience them through various modes of interaction (e.g., casting, playing). Additionally, the device allows users to trigger random collections from their archives, prompting contemplation of neglected possessions. An evaluation of a refined prototype of the Mouse Box with seven participants showed that participants were intrigued by the object and felt that it could enhance the connection to their digital possessions. The results suggest that the elements of reflection and randomness were particularly important in creating meaningful interactions. Keywords: digital possessions, digital archives, research through design, interaction design; HCI

Recent years have seen an increase in the popularity of user experience (UX) perspectives and methods among all types of industries. However, despite this popularity there is still a large lack of knowledge when it comes to the value that UX perspectives and methods can provide in organizations. Introducing UX perspectives and methods to business development (BD) teams in organizations has shown an advantage for the practitioners involved when it comes to the quality of the products or services they produce. Current research within human-computer interaction has a knowledge gap when it comes to introducing business development teams to UX perspectives and methods in aim to later integrate them. This study aims to investigate the collaboration between a UX team and a BD team in a Swedish company to provide insights into how an introduction to UX perspectives and methods is received by a BD team. Sensitizing concepts have been previously used in role-playing and workshops to elicit sensitization in practitioners, which is central to this study. This study uses action research and case study as an approach, and utilizes qualitative data-gathering methods to understand the current collaboration of the groups. A workshop containing role-playing sensitizing scenarios was used to elicit sensitization in the practitioners of the value in an improved collaboration and the value in UX perspectives and methods for the BD team. The results of the study suggest that sensitizing scenarios are an effective method for introducing UX perspectives and methods to a BD team. Additionally, the results also propose what aspects of UX perspectives are of interest to BD teams and how a closer collaboration benefits both the UX and BD team in the case company. Despite the workshop being effective in sensitizing practitioners, there were limitations that influenced the practitioner’s perceptions of the other group. This study provides insights into how sensitizing concepts can be used to elicit sensitization in UX and BD practitioners to the value in an improved collaboration, and to introduce UX perspectives and methods to a BD team.