The process that consumers go through while buying something is called consumer buying process and has been studied for a long time. Three stages of the Five-Stage Model (Kotler, 2006) provide a starting point for analysis in this paper and the reason of using this model is to make collected data more structured and easier for understanding. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze costumer buying process online.The method for data collection applied in this study is called “think-aloud” that means participants are verbalizing their screen activity and thoughts during the process of observation. The results of this research show that consumer buying process online is a complex process that is influenced by the amount and intensity of information received during the process as well as consumer knowledge and experience on the area of problem. The sequence of the stages proposed by the research model can vary depending on the preferences of consumer and readiness to make a decision.

An effective health portal should be easy to use and understandable. A number of research studies have been taken in order to evaluate different health portals but there is no such study for ltblekeinge health portal. A multi-phased research approach is adopted to evaluate the usability of ltblekeinge health portal. Authors conducted a usability test of the system where citizens from the county of Blekinge are taken as subjects. They evaluated the health portal on the basis of usability test and a questionnaire is prepared to know the different perspectives of citizens. The authors validated the result with the help of interviews with a number of individual. The authors find it is very important that a health web portal should contain sufficient amount of relevant and useful health related contents. Moreover, there is need to improve ltblekeinge portal in terms of interface, contents and set of tools for accessing the ehealth services and health related information. / En effektiv hälso-portal bör vara lätt att använda och förstå. En antal forskningsstudier har vidtagits för att utvärdera olika hälsoportaler men det finns ingen sådan studie för ltblekeinge hälsoportal. En flera faser forskningsansats antas att utvärdera användbarheten av ltblekeinge hälsoportal. Författarna genomförde en användbarhet test av systemet där medborgare från Blekinge tas som subjekt. De utvärderas hälsoportalen på grundval av användbarhet test och Frågeformuläret är beredd att känna till olika perspektiv för medborgarna. Författarna validerade resultatet med hjälp av intervjuer med ett antal enskilda. Författarna tycker att det är mycket viktigt att en hälso webbportal ska innehålla tillräcklig mängd relevanta och användbara hälsorelaterade innehåll. Dessutom finns det behov av att förbättra ltblekeinge portalen i termer av gränssnitt, innehåll och uppsättning verktyg för åtkomst till e-hälsovård tjänster och hälsorelaterad information.

In this study, the usability of smart phone application store app is evaluated. The study was performed on different smart phone operating systems. Data about usability was gathered through surveys and think aloud based experiment. Anova analysis was also performed on data to identify significant issues. A lot of smartphone users reported issues with installing, locating and searching about apps. Many users had issues with uninstalling of apps and navigating the search results when looking for apps. The smartphone operating system and the app store does not provide seamless navigation and alot of content is not tailored for smart phone users.

Gamification, immersion and flow are well known within game design, and more frequently considered within the development of educational applications. The simplicity and comprehensibility of an educational game can result into improved learning and a more enjoyable experience, as the focus on the gameplay increases with less instructions and a more straightforward approach for playing and learning. The aim is to focus on the relevant areas in order to implement a pick-up-and-play gamification geography game for learnability, as well as understanding the considerations when developing an educational application of this kind. Moreover, the work mainly focuses on the implementation of relevant and central game design elements, including animations, correlated to the researched areas. Given the information and the implementation, evaluation and analyzation were performed using Think-Aloud protocol combined with two scripted tests. Additionally, two slightly modified questionnaires were used, the Game Experience Questionnaire and User Engagement Scale Short Form, as a completion for any uncertainties or missing information after the Think-Aloud protocol. The work has brought up the importance of understanding the correlation between the relevant areas and the game design elements, as well as discussed these in context of this work. Moreover, it describes the importance of the well-balanced usage of animations, which improves the dynamic and engaging experience, while also contributing to a clearer feedback. The Think-Aloud protocol have shown being very useful and effective for the evaluation and analyzation. However, the questionnaires were only useful to some extent, but overall ambiguous and confusing, mainly because of the short playtime by the participants, as well as the difficulties in interpreting the assumptions.

Under 2000-talet har de primära konsumtionskanalerna för musik gått från den traditionella radion och CD-skivan till Internet och dess tjänster så som Spotify och Deezer. Trots den nya tekniken och de nya möjligheterna så har både Spotify och Deezer implementerat en funktion som benämns som radio. Studien undersöker ur ett MDI-perspektiv vilken av musikstreamingtjänsterna Spotify och Deezer som har bäst användarupplevelse, när en användare aktivt vill upptäcka ny musik med hjälp av radiofunktionen. Detta undersöks med hjälp av en grupp studenter från KTH. Denna grupp besvarade en enkät om streamingvanor och deras relation till musik.  De utförde också ett “Think Aloud”-test under interaktion med radiofunktionerna. Deltagarna besvarade sedan en uppföljande enkät om vad de upplevt under testet. Både “Think Aloud”-testet och enkätstudien studerades utifrån hur användbar tjänsten var och hur musikrekommendationen presterade. På så sätt kunde vi se vilken tjänst som gav den bästa användarupplevelsen. Är användaren ute efter en musikupplevelse som främst spelar musik som användaren hört förut och troligtvis också uppskattar bör användaren använda sig av Spotifys radiofunktion som är mer träffsäker på att hitta låtar du gillar. Studien visar även att Spotifys radiofunktion kommer spela många låtar användaren redan hört. Vill användaren däremot aktivt hitta ny musik som användaren inte hört tidigare visar studiens resultat att Deezers radiofunktion är att föredra framför Spotifys radiofunktion. / In the 21st century the primary media consumption has evolved from traditional radio and CD listening to the Internet and software services like Spotify and Deezer. Despite the new technology, both Spotify and Deezer have implemented a so-called Radio function. This study investigates the music streaming services through a Human- Computer Interaction point of view. Furthermore it determines which one of the two has the better user experience when the user wants to discover new music with help from the Radio function. The studied group consists of 15 Engineering (Media technology) Students who answered a survey about streaming habits and their relation to music. Subsequently, they preformed a Think Aloud test during their interaction with the radio function. Following this, the participants answered a survey about their experiences during the test. Both the Think Aloud test and the surveys are observed through a usability point of view, by evaluating the usefulness of the services’ music recommendation. This way we could find which service had the best user experience. The radio function in Spotify provides music the users like in a higher rate than Deezer, however these songs are more likely to have been heard before by the user in comparison to Deezer. Therefore, if the user wants to actively find new music they like, Deezer’s radio function is preferable.

Microservice architecture is an emerging approach to application development. While the decentralized nature of microservices comes with advantages it also introduces new challenges to monitoring as the graph of interactions between services can be complex. We explore how a dashboard for microservice monitoring can support first-line operators with limited experience in software development and microservice architecture. We apply a participatory design approach and create a prototype in an iterative fashion together with developers, operators and stakeholders. The final prototype is evaluated through a think-aloud protocol and a system usability scale survey. A thematic analysis of the think-aloud renders three prevalent design lessons: (1) automation and context-switches; (2) consistency across views and states; and (3) language differences between developers and operators. / Mikrotjänstarkitektur används alltmer inom applikationsutveckling. Även om dess decentraliserade natur kommer med vissa fördelar, introducerar den också nya utmaningar inom övervakning, då den samtidigt kan medföra komplexa beroenden mellan tjänster. Vi utforskar hur en dashboard för mikrotjänstövervakning kan stödja first-line operatörer med begränsad erfarenhet av mjukvaruutveckling och mikrotjänstarkitektur. Vi närmar oss problemet med hjälp av participatory design och skapar en prototyp på ett iterativt sätt tillsammans med utvecklare, operatörer och intressenter. Den slutliga prototypen utvärderas genom ett think-aloud-protokoll och en System Usability Scale-enkät. En tematisk analys av think-aloud sessionerna resulterade i tre teman: (1) automatisering och kontextväxling; (2) att vara konsekvent mellan vyer och tillstånd; och (3) språkskillnader mellan utvecklare och operatörer.

Digitalization in work environment has been a trend in recent years and has profound impact on the way people work. We see the application of digital technologies in workplace greatly benefits people’s daily work, but we also notice health problems such as stress and pressure caused by poorly designed software systems. Two methods, to be used in software development, were proposed to improve the user experience of the software systems. The methods, Contextual Persona method and Contextual Think-Aloud method are supposed to extend IT professionals’ understanding of contextual factors when developing software systems. In this paper, we study students’ perception on the usage of the contextual methods through questionnaire-based survey. We identified the positive and negative aspects of using the contextual methods, and suggestions for improvement. Moreover, we conclude that using the contextual methods is helpful to deliver software systems that are well suited in users’ work environment, and therefore provide a better user experience for the users.

Feedback är ett av de mest effektiva sätten att förbättra akademiska prestationer. I den här studien undersöks tio elevers tankeprocess när de arbetar med en problemlösningsuppgift i matematik. Fem elever får feedback på uppgiftsnivå och fem elever får feedback på processnivå. Dataunderlaget av tankeprocesserna samlas in med en think-aloud-metod och analyseras. Tankeprocessen bedöms, utifrån ett think-aloud protokoll, som underlättande händelser eller icke-underlättande händelser. Underlättande händelser är kommentarer som kan leda till en lösning av ett matematiskt problem och är således mer framgångsrikt än icke- underlättande händelser. Den här studien belyser att elevers tankeprocess förbättras om de får feedback på processnivå snarare än feedback på uppgiftsnivå eftersom elevers underlättande händelser är mer frekvent när de får feedback på processnivå.

The purpose of my study was to describe the manner in which Grade 9 technology learners typically accessed and used information sources during the early phases of their design processes. I did this by using an Extended Cognition framework to study the internal and external information sources that learners typically accessed and used in a technology learning environment. Theoretically, my study aimed to develop the application of the Extended Cognition Theory in an educational context. In this manner, my study adds to the scarce literature on design cognition in technology education. The methodological purpose of this study was to adapt conventional Think Aloud Protocol methods (TAPS) to investigate groups of learners in their natural technology learning environment. This methodology enabled me to understand the link between theoretical and empirical approaches of design cognition. As such, I was able to conceptualise practical guidelines that could be used by technology lecturers and teachers for the effective facilitation of the early phases of design processes. The conceptual framework of my study was adapted from empirical studies of expert designers, and is underpinned by the Information Processing and Embodiment theories. I followed a concurrent mixed methods approach and employed a case study design applying pragmatic assumptions. The target population for this study comprised Grade 9 learners based in a low socio-economic region. Eight female participants were purposefully selected and conveniently clustered into three groups: two groups of three participants, and one group of two participants. Data collection therefore consisted of three separately video recorded protocol studies. I was able to elicit the information access and usage activities of the participants by providing them with a design task that I adapted from a prescribed textbook, as suggested for technology by the Department of Basic Education. During the video recordings of the participants’ design processes, I was able to collect concurrent verbal, visual and temporal data types. I analysed the data according to a five-level framework, also adapted from the empirical investigations of expert designers. During my quantitative data analysis, I identified the occurrences of each group of participants’ cognitive phases, as well as the occurrences of their information access and use activities during each cognitive phase. On the one hand, problem structuring did not occur regularly. However, during their problem structuring activities, the participants mainly accessed and used instructions contained in the design task and pictures. On the other hand, the participants predominantly exhibited problem solving cognitive phases in which they mainly accessed and used external information sources including pictures and sketches. During my qualitative data analysis, I traced how the participants transformed their understanding of the design problem and possible design solutions. During problem structuring, the participants accessed information about the users’ needs, the design context and design objectives by perceiving and recognising useful information in their design task instructions and pictures. Information use during problem structuring was evidenced when the participants transformed information that they accessed to propose design objectives, constraints and requirements. Accessed information was typically transformed when the participants: (1) Read/evaluated information from the design task; (2) Evaluated the problem/context; (3) Evaluated/Elaborated information about the design objective; (4) Justified a design requirement; (5) Proposed/justified a design constraint; (6) Evaluated/Elaborated available resources in the environment; (7) Elaborated on the design context. During problem solving, the participants accessed information about the function, behaviour and structure of possible design solutions by perceiving and recognising useful information, primarily in their sketches, 3D models and pictures. Information use during problem solving was evidenced when the participants transformed accessed information to propose design specifications and limitations. Accessed information was typically transformed when the participants: (1) Evaluated existing solutions; (2) Proposed design limitations; (3) Modified existing solutions; (4) Proposed/evaluated a design idea; (5) Elaborated on a design idea; (6) Justified ideas; (7) Qualified ideas; (8) Modified previous design ideas. From the findings of my study, I could develop practical guidelines for current and future technology teachers. These guidelines should help technology teachers to effectively facilitate information rich design thinking during the early phases of learners’ design processes. I conclude this study by reiterating that the participants’ design cognition was enhanced by the availability of various information sources. This implies that technology teachers play a central role as information providers and mediators. Failure to provide adequate information sources during design tasks might inhibit learners’ development of the proficient design skills intended by the technology Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

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