Dark Patterns är designmönster som används av företag i syfte att manipulera användare till att fatta beslut som de möjligtvis inte hade gjort annars och som inte gynnar deras egna intressen. Den här studien undersöker användarens upplevelse och perspektiv på dark patterns på en onlineresebyrås hemsida där dark patterns används flitigt. Dark patterns använder sig ofta av kognitiva biaser som utnyttjas hos användaren för att styra användaren till att fatta beslut som användaren inte hade avsikt att fatta, och som till följd kan påverka individens välfärd negativt. Dessa designmönster blir allt mer förekommande inom e-handeln, vilket väcker frågan hur etiskt användningen av dark patterns är. I dagsläget finns inga regelverk i Sverige som specifikt gäller användningen av dark patterns, däremot finns det regelverk som berör dark patterns, exempelvis de riktlinjer som den Europeiska dataskyddsstyrelsen har tagit fram gällande användandet av deceptive patterns samt Europaparlamentets direktiv om otillbörliga affärsmetoder. Forskningsfrågorna som ligger till grund för denna studie är: “Hur upplever internetanvändare dark patterns på onlineresebyråers hemsidor?” och “Hur påverkas användarens attityd gentemot onlineresebyråer som applicerar dark patterns?”. För att försöka svara på frågeställningarna har en kvalitativ kartläggning genomförts med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien undersöker hur fyra internetanvändare med stor resvana upplever dark patterns på en onlineresebyrås hemsida med hjälp av simulerade bokningsprocesser i form av förinspelade videor. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att deltagarna hade en förståelse att man som användare bör vara försiktig vid bokning av resor för att inte bli lurad. Denna urvalsgrupp betonar att de har vant sig vid ett flertal dark patterns och inte längre reagerar på dem. Däremot upplevdes dark patterns som både något som förhindrar en smidig bokning och som störande moment under bokningen. Studien tyder på att när deltagarna är medvetna om dark patterns upplever de dem också som störande och även oetiska. En överdriven användning av dark patterns verkar även skapa en negativ uppfattning om företag som använder dem. Studien visar även att ett överanvändande av dark patterns kan ha motsatt effekt på vad företagen som implementerar dem hoppas på; att användare snarare upplever negativa känslor som påverkar deras köpbenägenhet negativt. / Dark Patterns are design patterns used by companies to trick users to make decisions that they might otherwise not have done and may not be in the user’s best interest. This study investigates users' experience and perspective on dark patterns on an online travel agency’s website that frequently uses dark patterns. Dark patterns often exploit cognitive biases in the user to steer the user to make decisions that the user might not have intended to make, which could have a negative effect on the user’s welfare. These types of design patterns are becoming more and more common within e-commerce which has sparked the question of ethicality in the use of dark patterns. There are currently no regulations in Sweden that specifically cover dark patterns, but there are regulations that affect dark patterns, such as the guidelines The European Data Protection Board have established on the use of deceptive patterns as well as the European Parliament’s “Unfair Commercial Practices Directive”. The underlying research questions for this study are: “How do internet users experience dark patterns on online travel agencies’ websites?” and “How is the users’ attitude towards online travel agencies that apply dark patterns affected?”. In an effort to answer the research questions a qualitative survey has been done with the help of semi-structured interviews. This study investigates how four internet users perceive dark patterns on an online travel agency’s website with the help of simulated booking processes through pre-recorded videos. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that the participants had an understanding of the need to be cautious during online travel booking to avoid being tricked or scammed. This selection group emphasizes that they’ve become used to a number of dark patterns and no longer react to them. Dark patterns that hinders a smooth booking are however seen as disruptive elements. This study indicates that the users perceive dark patterns as disruptive and unethical when they’re aware of the dark patterns being used. Excessive use of dark patterns also seems to create a negative perception on the company that uses them. This study also shows that an excessive use of dark patterns could have the opposite effect than desired by the company that implements them; that the user is inflicted by negative feelings that affect the users propensity to purchase negatively.

The task for this work was assigned by Erik Nyberg, a researcher at LTU (Luleå University of Technology). The task is to solve the problem for doctoral students in finding interdisciplinary research projects due to their limited network. Erik Nyberg has personal experience with this issue from his own time as a doctor- al student. The purpose of the work can be summarized as solving this task, and the goal is to meet the needs of potential clients by creating an interface. The work has been conducted using an established design process and has utilized relevant methods such as personas, brainstorming, and various detailed prototypes to create a solution that addresses the prob- lem. Relevant literature has also been examined to gain insight into the requirements for creating a user interface and the aspects that need to be considered during the design phase. Areas explored during the literature review include usability, user experience, emotional design, and accessibility. The result of the work is a user interface in the form of a job bank for doctoral students, researchers, and other potential users. The job bank facilitates easy networking between users and promotes continued interdisciplinary research. The final result has been based on a previous prototype that has been evaluated through user testing. In the user testing, the prototype has been evaluated based on the theory that was investigated. / Uppgiften för detta arbete tilldelades av Erik Nyberg, en forskare vid LTU (Luleå tekniska universitet). Up- pgiften är att lösa problemet för doktorander att hitta tvärvetenskapliga forskningsprojekt på grund av deras begränsade nätverk. Erik Nyberg har personlig erfarenhet av denna problematik från sin egen tid som doktorand. Syftet med arbetet kan sammanfattas som att lösa denna uppgift, och målet är att tillfredsställa behovet hos potentiella uppdragsgivare genom att skapa ett gränssnitt. Arbetet har genomförts med hjälp av en etablerad designprocess och har använt sig av relevanta metoder som tex personas, brainstorming och olika detaljerade prototyper för att skapa en lösning som adresser- ar problemet. Relevant litteratur har också undersökts för att få insikt i vad som krävs för att skapa ett användargränssnitt och vilka aspekter som behöver beaktas under utformningen. Områden som har un- dersökts under litteraturundersökningen är användbarhet, användarupplevelse, emotionell design och tillgänglighet. Resultatet av arbetet är ett användargränssnitt i form av en platsbank för doktorander, forskare och andra potentiella användare. Platsbanken underlättar enkelt kontaktskapande mellan användare och främjar fortsatt tvärvetenskaplig forskning. Det slutgiltiga resultatet har baserats på en tidigare prototyp som har utvärderats med hjälp av ett användartest. I användartestet har prototypen utvärderats utifrån den teori som undersökts.

Despite software being commonplace in the recording industry today, preconceptions exist regarding the digital equivalents of yesteryears hardware. Whilst studies within the field of cognitive psychology shows that prejudice can influence sense-experience, or how different senses can have influence one another, most studies regarding interface design seem to focus on usability. Since quality of sound arguably is a considerable factor in regards to the success of this type of software, this study intends to investigate whether graphical user interfaces can affect how sound is perceived. An experiment was conducted where participants with the help of a survey had to evaluate the same sounds in relation to two graphical user interfaces designed according to two common designs, in order to see whether any differences could be found. Based on the results, neither the research question could be answered, nor could the null hypothesis be rejected, mostly because of a lack of participants. Despite the many problems, potential and real, as well as the amount of research fields that the study transcends, the study could do well as groundwork for a larger study.

Implementing new technology into a complex software developing environment comes with many challenges in terms of code, user interface design, and developer experience. It is well-established that the pressing demand for security and regulations within financial technology makes it even more essential to implement new technologies with care and minimised risks. This work aims to determine the effectiveness of such implementations. Specifically, it evaluates the effectiveness of implementing a UI library in a FinTech application to find the most suitable approach. In this context, a UI library defines as a robust set of user interface components available in one place and a FinTech application as an application in financial technology with complex developing infrastructure. In order to successfully evaluate the effectiveness of implementing a UI library in a FinTech application, a thorough literature survey was performed to identify decisive factors relating to code quality, user interface, and developer experience. In a case study in which a FinTech company served as an example, a solution consisting of their product and UI library was developed. The solution was tested by collecting data from code evaluation, questionnaires, and interviews. The result shows that the solution has higher code quality, fulfils the FinTech UI requirements, and perceived as an improvement of the development infrastructure.  On this basis, the utilised methodology and the recognised factors in this work should be taken into account to identify the most suitable approach when implementing a UI library in a FinTech application.

The past decade has endorsed an extensive adjustment in social media marketing characterized by a fluctuation toward influencer marketing. Despite the many beneficial outcomes of influencer marketing, the operation of the phenomenon has received criticism from organizations, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as well as the Swedish equivalent Konsumentverket, regarding how sponsorships are being disclosed on social media platforms. The purpose of this study is to examine how consumers’ advertising recognition is affected by the way influencers design their sponsorship disclosures in Instagram stories using the tools provided by Instagram’s own UI. The study used a mixed-methods approach, with a survey used to gather empirical data which was then analyzed using descriptive and thematic analysis. In the survey, participants were presented with five different fictive Instagram stories featuring sponsorship disclosures created by influencers using Instagram's own UI, with each scenario examining how different disclosure approaches affect consumer advertising recognition. The findings revealed that varied sponsorship disclosure practices generated different levels of advertising recognition depending on three factors: position, language, and visual prominence, with visual prominence being the most influential factor on advertising recognition. The study also looked into the efficacy of Instagram’s built-in disclosure tool and whether it was successful in generating advertising recognition. Although opinions were mixed, several participants believed that the tool did not produce enough advertising recognition and that it should be improved. Further, there is a need to achieve a better level of standardization regarding sponsorship disclosures on social media platforms.

Web accessibility guidelines have textual representation and provide little support in systematic analysis and usage. The study hypothesizes that the guidelines can be reorganized and represented using the goal oriented technique and design patterns which will allow their usage in a more systematic manner and accommodate detailed analysis of the guidelines with other competing goals. For this study, knowledge from web designers’ experiences in using the guidelines, researchers’ findings, and the actual guidelines have been amalgamated. Six web designers have been consulted on a one-on-one basis and difficulties in using the guidelines for (1) specific scenarios, (2) systematic application, and (3) detailed systems analysis have been reported. Goal oriented modeling and design patterns have been introduced for (1) graphical representation of the guidelines using goal graphs, and (2) keeping the technical details separate from the goal graphs. The proposed representation allows for the accessibility guidelines to be systematically applied into interface design, and systems design using the goal oriented modeling technique.

Web accessibility guidelines have textual representation and provide little support in systematic analysis and usage. The study hypothesizes that the guidelines can be reorganized and represented using the goal oriented technique and design patterns which will allow their usage in a more systematic manner and accommodate detailed analysis of the guidelines with other competing goals. For this study, knowledge from web designers’ experiences in using the guidelines, researchers’ findings, and the actual guidelines have been amalgamated. Six web designers have been consulted on a one-on-one basis and difficulties in using the guidelines for (1) specific scenarios, (2) systematic application, and (3) detailed systems analysis have been reported. Goal oriented modeling and design patterns have been introduced for (1) graphical representation of the guidelines using goal graphs, and (2) keeping the technical details separate from the goal graphs. The proposed representation allows for the accessibility guidelines to be systematically applied into interface design, and systems design using the goal oriented modeling technique.

<p>Användbarhet är en term som används för att bedöma kvaliteten hos ett gränssnitt. God användbarhet är viktig då den ger en ökad produktivitet och andra affärsfördelar i form av färre misstag och bättre kvalitet på slutprodukten. Användbarhet är en viktig designprincip men är en svår egenskap att uppfylla hos applikationer. </p><p>Studien behandlar användbarhet ur olika perspektiv, dels det teoretiska genom litteraturgenomgång, dels det praktiska genom intervjuer och observationer. Syftet var att förklara vad användbarhet är, hur det bedöms och vad man kan göra för att bygga in egenskapen i applikationer man utvecklar. För att exemplifiera och finna verklig förankring har jag valt att observera hur användare interagerar med ett existerande gränssnitt för bibliotek, Horizon. </p><p>Slutsatser kring studien är att Horizon inte används till allt den var tänkt att användas till, vilket i princip är ett dåligt betyg för en applikation. Samtidigt är detta inget större problem då den negativa verkan på verksamheten kan i det här fallet vara en definitionsfråga: är studenternas produktivitet när det gäller att söka och beställa litteratur kritisk? </p><p>När det gäller användbarhet i utvecklingsskedet kan man konstatera att även om intentionerna varit goda så har användbarhetsarbetet kring Horizon inte infriat förväntningarna. Vad som gått fel är varken sensationellt eller ovanligt; det har handlat om avsaknaden av slutanvändarens perspektiv, organisatoriska problem och möjligen också bristande kunskap om användbarhet i en eller annan form. En betydelsefull insikt som inte nämns i litteraturen men som togs upp är att beakta leverantörens marknadsställning när man ska köpa ett system. Trots bristerna, som ofta relaterar till brott mot designkonventioner, upplevs Horizon som ett bra och ändamålsenligt verktyg av sina användare. </p> / <p>Usability denotes the quality of a user interface. Even though usability is an important design principle, efforts to incorporate this quality in applications often fail. In this paper I study usability from a theoretical and a practical perspective. The goal is to explain usability and how to incorporate usability in applications. In order to exemplify, I study usability within the context of the library application Horizon. </p><p>This study shows that Horizon is only partially utilized by its users which in principle is a bad grade for an application. Partial use is however in this case, not a serious problem since the negative effects partial use imply could very well be a matter of definition: is the productivity of students, when it comes to searching and ordering library material, critical for the organization? </p><p>When it comes to usability in the development phases of a project, once again one can conclude that good intentions exist but efforts fail all the same and Horizon is no exception. This time we can attribute failure to the lack of the end users’ perspective, organizational problems and perhaps also unsufficient knowledge of usability in one form or another. An important conclusion, which has not been mentioned in the literature, is the importance of considering the market position of a presumptive vendor when buying a generic system. Despite the flaws (often related to violations of well established design principles) presented in this paper, Horizon is considered a good, effective and efficient application by its users.</p>

Capitalization table (cap table) is a public ledger that tracks the equity ownership of a company’s shareholders. For start-up and non-public companies this information is usually stored in a spreadsheet but even after just a couple of investment rounds the cap table can become highly complex. A factor that further increases the complexity is the need for entrepreneurs and investors to use the data for analysis and calculations for future decision making. The purpose of the thesis has been to create a design hypotheses of a usable graphical user interface that allows shareholders to more clearly understand the ownership situation of the company and future scenario. To answer the research question a user-centered design approach along with a case study was applied. The case study was chosen and performed on a start-up that already offers a web service for better management of corporation documents so that real users could be part of the design process and so that their needs could be analysed. After three iterations, an end result (implemented in AngularJS and TypeScript) was obtained, which can be split into two equal parts. Firstly, a view containing a timeline of the company and its current ownership. The view can also be used to get a snapshot of the company’s ownership in a specific point in time and to simulate how future investment rounds could dilute the current shareholder’s ownership. Secondly, a view where users can simulate future exit scenarios and how much each shareholder will earn in an exit.

Google Glass is a new personal computing device that employs an over-eyetransparent display together with voice-control in order to offer audiovisual informationto the device's users. Glass is also a new mediated-reality platform,fundamentally different from common computers and smartphones, and theavailable Glass application (Glassware) design guides do not fully cover human-computer interaction issues that are imposed by Glass' characteristics – issuessuch as optimum information density, use of colourization and positioningto separate information, optimum amount of discrete entities on display, and theuse of iconography. By combining existing guidelines for Glassware UI designwith past research on human-computer interaction and psychology, those issuescan be addressed and can lead to additional design principles. To evaluate theefficacy of such combinations within the technical and design limitations imposedby Google Glass, a set of UI mock-ups for fictional Glassware is createdand used in multiple surveys to acquire data on human response to those combinedfactors. During the study, it was determined that factors including colourization,element positioning and use of icons have a definite effect on user perceptionand preferences, whilst factors related to information density andamount of discrete entities on screen are less relevant. Additionally, supportingevidence was found in relation to the assumption that utility is more importantthan functionless aesthetics. As a result, a UI design guideline set was formulatedthat can be used to supplement existing UI design guidelines for GoogleGlass and similar over-eye transparent-screen devices.