Inom organisationer och företag har IT-stöd blivit allt viktigare för organisationens konkurrenskraftighet och för att upprätthålla effektiva processer. En viktig aspekt i utvecklingen av IT-system är användbarhet. Denna studie utgick från frågeställningen “Hur väl fungerar managementsystem på nöjesparker utifrån säsongsanställdas perspektiv?”. Tidigare studier utförda på nöjesparker har inte analyserat managementsystem utan istället fokuserat på hur arbetsgivare kan motivera de anställda att arbeta vidare inom nöjesparken och vilka aspekter som är viktiga för att uppnå detta. Denna studie belyser användbarheten och förbättringsåtgärderna av de managementsystem som används av de säsongsanställda inom Parks and Resorts Scandinavia, som driver nöjesparkerna Furuvik, Gröna Lund, Kolmårdens Djurpark och Skara Sommarland. Koncernen använder sig idag av två olika managementsystem som är inköpta av två olika företag. I denna studie analyserades de olika systemen separat utifrån användbarhet och förbättringsåtgärder för respektive system. Till denna studie valdes en kvantitativ metod och en enkät skickades ut till personer som varit säsongsanställda under 2022 inom koncernen. Enkäten skickades ut till 5173 personer som varit säsongsanställda inom koncernen 2022 och för att mäta användbarheten användes System Usability Scale (SUS) av Brook (1996). Resultatet av studien visade att systemen fick ett SUS betyg på 73,34 respektive 72,77, vilket ansågs som ett relativt bra resultat för användbarheten. Resultatet visade även en trend att de yngre säsongsanställda jämfört med de äldre säsongsanställda, gav systemen ett högre betyg för användbarheten och att de båda systemen hade högre användbarhet på mobiltelefoner med operativsystemet iOS än andra plattformar. Beträffande förbättringsåtgärderna av systemen fanns det förslag från de säsongsanställda att schemat ska vara mer lättåtkomligt, att systemen ska vara lättare att navigera i och att informationen ska vara mer relevant för säsongsanställda. Resultatet av denna studie ger ny kunskap kring användbarhet av managementsystem som används inom nöjesparker och hur de kan anpassas utifrån de säsongsanställdas behov. / Within organizations and companies, IT support has become increasingly important for the organization's competitiveness and for maintaining efficient processes. An important aspect in the development of IT systems is usability. This study was based on the question "How well do management systems work at amusement parks from the perspective of seasonal employees?". Previous studies carried out on amusement parks have not analyzed management systems but instead focused on how employers can motivate employees to continue working within the theme park and which aspects are important to achieve this. This study highlights the usability and improvement measures of the management systems used by the seasonal employees within Parks and Resorts Scandinavia, which operates the amusement parks Furuvik, Gröna Lund, Kolmårdens Djurpark and Skara Sommarland. The group currently uses two different management systems that are purchased from two different companies. In this study, the different systems were analyzed separately based on usability and improvement measures for each system. A quantitative method was chosen for this study and a questionnaire was sent out to people who were seasonally employed during 2022 within the group. The questionnaire was sent out to 5173 people who had been seasonally employed within the group in 2022 and to measure usability the System Usability Scale (SUS) by Brook (1996) was used. The results of the study showed that the systems received a SUS rating of 73.34 and 72.77, respectively, which was considered a relatively good result for usability. The result also showed a trend that the younger seasonal employees, compared to the older seasonal employees, gave the systems a higher rating for usability and that both systems had higher usability on mobile phones with the iOS operating system than other platforms. Regarding the measures to improve the systems, there were suggestions from the seasonal employees that the schedule should be more easily accessible, that the systems should be easier to navigate, and that the information should be more relevant for seasonal employees. The results of this study provide new knowledge about the usability of management systems used in amusement parks and how they can be adapted based on the needs of the seasonal employees.

No description available.

Tesis por compendio / [ES] La investigación desarrollada en esta tesis representa un marco novedoso para capturar requisitos de usabilidad durante el desarrollo de un sistema software. Estos requisitos, están representados como alternativas de diseños de Interfaces de Usuario (IU). El objetivo es desarrollar un proceso de captura de requisitos de usabilidad basado en entrevistas estructuradas con el apoyo de una herramienta que ayude a resolver problemas como: (1) la omisión de la usabilidad desde las primeras etapas de desarrollo, en general, las características de usabilidad solo se tienen en cuenta al diseñar las interfaces en las últimas etapas de desarrollo; (2) resulta tedioso la captura de requisitos para analistas que no son expertos en usabilidad; (3) los métodos y herramientas que se utilizan para desarrollar software no admiten la elicitación de requisitos de usabilidad. A partir de estos problemas encontrados en la literatura se definen las preguntas de investigación: ¿Es posible capturar requisitos de usabilidad en etapas iniciales de desarrollo al mismo tiempo que los requisitos funcionales? Para responder a esta pregunta, la tesis ha definido un método de elicitación de requisitos de usabilidad llamado UREM (por sus siglas en inglés, Usability Requirements Elicitation Method) y ha propuesto un método para tratarlo dentro de entornos MDD. El desarrollo de este trabajo de investigación se ha llevado a cabo siguiendo la metodología Design Science. Esta metodología considera dos ciclos: el primer ciclo es un ciclo de ingeniería en el que se diseña un método para incluir requisitos de usabilidad durante el proceso de elicitación de requisitos. El segundo ciclo corresponde a la validación del método propuesto mediante una evaluación empírica dentro de un contexto académico. La propuesta de captura de requisitos de usabilidad mediante UREM consiste en la definición de una estructura de un árbol donde las guías de usabilidad y las guías de diseño de IU están almacenadas. El árbol se define como un grafo conectado sin ciclos y una raíz; compuesto de 4 elementos: pregunta, respuesta, grupo de preguntas y diseño. Las preguntas y las alternativas de diseño (respuestas) son extraídas de las guías de usabilidad y de diseño, y marcan el camino por el cual el analista navega hasta llegar a los nodos hoja que son los diseños de la interfaz de usuario que se han alcanzado durante el proceso de captura de requisitos de usabilidad. Son los usuarios finales quienes eligen la alternativa más adecuada dependiendo de sus requisitos y/o siguiendo las recomendaciones ya preestablecidas en la estructura del árbol. La construcción del árbol la lleva a cabo un experto en usabilidad y puede ser utilizado en reiteradas ocasiones, generando así diversas alternativas de diseño de interfaz de usuario. La tesis presenta el trabajo relacionado en tres áreas: elicitación de requisitos de usabilidad, uso de guías de usabilidad e ingeniería empírica de software. / [CA] La investigació desenvolupada en aquesta tesi representa un marc nou per a capturar requisits d'usabilitat durant el desenvolupament d'un sistema programari. Aquests requisits, estan representats com a alternatives de dissenys d'Interfícies d'Usuari (IU). L'objectiu és desenvolupar un procés de captura de requisits d'usabilitat basat en entrevistes estructurades amb el suport d'una eina que ajude a resoldre problemes com: (1) l'omissió de la usabilitat des de les primeres etapes de desenvolupament, en general, les característiques d'usabilitat només es tenen en compte en dissenyar les interfícies en les últimes etapes de desenvolupament; (2) resulta tediós la captura de requisits per a analistes que no són experts en usabilitat; (3) els mètodes i eines que s'utilitzen per a desenvolupar programari no admeten l'elicitació de requisits d'usabilitat. A partir d'aquests problemes trobats en la literatura es defineixen les preguntes d'investigació: És possible capturar requisits d'usabilitat en etapes inicials de desenvolupament al mateix temps que els requisits funcionals? Per a respondre a aquesta pregunta, la tesi ha definit un mètode d'elicitació de requisits d'usabilitat anomenat UREM (per les seues sigles en anglés, Usability Requirements Elicitation Method) i ha proposat un mètode per a tractar-lo dins d'entorns MDD. El desenvolupament d'aquest treball de recerca s'ha dut a terme seguint la metodologia Design Science. Aquesta metodologia considera dos cicles: el primer cicle és un cicle d'enginyeria en el qual es dissenya un mètode per a incloure requisits d'usabilitat durant el procés d' elicitació de requisits. El segon cicle correspon a la validació del mètode proposat mitjançant una avaluació empírica dins d'un context acadèmic. La proposta de captura de requisits d'usabilitat mitjançant UREM consisteix en la definició d'una estructura d'un arbre on les guies d'usabilitat i les guies de disseny d'IU estan emmagatzemades. L'arbre es defineix com un graf connectat sense cicles i una arrel; compost de 4 elements: pregunta, resposta, grup de preguntes i disseny. Les preguntes i les alternatives de disseny (respostes) són extretes de les guies d'usabilitat i de disseny, i marquen el camí pel qual l'analista navega fins a arribar als nodes fulla que són els dissenys de la interfície d'usuari que s'han aconseguit durant el procés de captura de requisits d'usabilitat. Són els usuaris finals els qui trien l'alternativa més adequada depenent dels seus requisits i/o seguint les recomanacions ja preestablides en l'estructura de l'arbre. La construcció de l'arbre la duu a terme un expert en usabilitat i pot ser utilitzat en reiterades ocasions, generant així diverses alternatives de disseny d'interfície d'usuari. La tesi presenta el treball relacionat en tres àrees: elicitació de requisits d'usabilitat, ús de guies d'usabilitat i enginyeria empírica de programari. / [EN] The research developed in this thesis represents a novel framework for capturing usability requirements during the development of a software system. These requirements are represented as alternative User Interface (UI) designs. The objective is to develop a usability requirements capture process based on structured interviews with the support of a tool that helps solve problems such as: (1) the omission of usability from the early stages of development, in general, the characteristics of Usability is only taken into account when designing interfaces in the later stages of development; (2) it is tedious to capture requirements for analysts who are not usability experts; (3) the methods and tools used to develop software do not support the elicitation of usability requirements. Based on these problems found in the literature, the research questions are defined: Is it possible to capture usability requirements in initial stages of development at the same time as functional requirements? To answer this question, the thesis has defined a usability requirements elicitation method called UREM (Usability Requirements Elicitation Method) and has proposed a method to treat it within MDD environments. The development of this research work has been carried out following the Design Science methodology. This methodology considers two cycles: the first cycle is an engineering cycle in which a method is designed to include usability requirements during the requirements elicitation process. The second cycle corresponds to the validation of the proposed method through an empirical evaluation within an academic context. The proposal to capture usability requirements through UREM consists of the definition of a tree structure where the usability guides and UI design guides are stored. The tree is defined as a connected graph without cycles and a root; composed of 4 elements: question, answer, group of questions and design. The questions and design alternatives (answers) are extracted from the usability and design guides, and mark the path along which the analyst navigates until reaching the leaf nodes, which are the user interface designs that have been achieved. during the usability requirements capture process. It is the end users who choose the most appropriate alternative depending on their requirements and/or following the recommendations already pre-established in the tree structure. The construction of the tree is carried out by a usability expert and can be used repeatedly, thus generating various user interface design alternatives. The thesis presents related work in three areas: usability requirements elicitation, use of usability guides, and empirical software engineering. / This work has been developed with the support of MICINN (PROS-Req TIN2010-19130-C02- 02), UV (UV-INV-PRECOMP13-115032), GVA (ORCA PROMETEO/2009/015), and cofinanced with ERDF. We also acknowledge the support of the Intra European Marie Curie Fellowship Grant 50911302 PIEF-2010. We acknowledge also the support from the National University of San Antonio Abad of Cusco under the program Yachayninchis Wiñarinanpaq CONCYTEC and FONDECYT, the support of Generalitat Valenciana with CoMoDID (CIPROM/2021/023) and GENI (CIAICO/2022/229), as well as the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation co-financed by FEDER in the project SREC (PID2021-123824OB-I00) / Ormeño Ayala, YI. (2023). Marco para la captura de requisitos de usabilidad en entornos de MDD [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/202630 / Compendio

UX-related issues is one type of issue that customer support is facing. This thesis project investigates the possibility to look at support cases as a source of insight to how users interact with an information system application at an ERP company. It is also investigated if it is possible to use this gathered information when further developing the product. Support case data are gone through in order to map what type of problems the users are encountering and a category structure is developed based on this information. The categorization framework is evaluated by letting employees test the structure by categorizing incidents in to different categories. Further data collection are gathered by a questionnaire and follow-up interviews with the classification participants. To evaluate the value in the support case information, employees with product responsibility are also interviewed to get insight from their perspective. The result from the evaluation of the category structure indicated that it wasn’t easy to make a categorization of incidents. The incidents were placed in different categories and in order to apply a category structure it would need further evaluation before applying in large scale. The information in support cases are concluded to be valuable. The collection of information related to where users are encountering problem and also how many are experiencing the same issue could serve as a basis when prioritizing the product backlog. A mapping of issues could justify resources spent on usability by showing business value based on the presumed impact.

In an eLearning context, Adaptive Hypermedia Systems have been developed to improve learning success by increasing learner satisfaction, learning speed, and educational effectiveness. However, creating adaptive eLearning content and structures is still a time consuming and complicated task, in particular if individual lecturers are the intended authors. The way of thinking that is needed to create adaptive structures as well as the workflows is one that lecturers are unaccustomed to. The aim of this research project is to develop a concept that helps authors create adaptive eLearning content and structures, which focuses on its applicability for lecturers as intended authors. The research is targeted at the sequencing of content, which is one of the main aspects of adaptive eLearning. To achieve this aim the problem has been viewed from the author’s side. First, in terms of complexity of thoughts and threads, explanations about content structures have been found in storytelling theory. It also provides insights into how authors work, how story worlds are created, story lines intertwined, and how they are all merged together into one content. This helps us understand how non technical authors create content that is understandable and interesting for recipients. Second, the linear structure of learning content has been investigated to extract all the information that can be used for sequencing purposes. This investigation led to an approach that combines existing models to ease the authoring process for adaptive learning content by relating linear content from different authors and therefore defining interdependencies that delinearise the content structure. The technical feasibility of the authoring methods for adaptive learning content has been proven by the implementation of the essential parts in a research prototype and by authoring content from real life lectures with the prototype’s editor. The content and its adaptive structure obtained by using the concept of this research have been tested with the prototype’s player and monitor. Additionally, authoring aspects of the concept have been shown along with practical examples and workflows. Lastly, the interviewees who took part in expert interviews have agreed that the concept significantly reduces authoring complexity and potentially increases the amount of lecturers that are able to create adaptive content. The concept represents the common and traditional authoring process for linear content to a large extent. Compared to existing approaches the additional work needed is limited, and authors do not need to delve into adaptive structures or other authors’ content structures and didactic approaches.

Due to the availability of technology, there has been a shift from traditional assessment methods to e-assessment methods designed to support learning. With this development there is a need to address the suitability and effectiveness of the e-assessment interface. One development in the e-assessment interface has been the use of the multimodal metaphor. Unfortunately, the associated effectiveness of multimodality in terms of usability and its suitability in achieving assessment aims has not been fully addressed. Thus, there is a need to determine the impact of multimodality on the effectiveness of e-assessment and to reveal the benefits, primarily to the user. Moreover, those involved in the development and assessment should be aware of potential impacts and benefits. This thesis investigates the role and effectiveness of multimodal metaphors in e-assessment, specifically; the thesis assesses the effect of multimodal metaphors, alone or in combination, on usability in e-assessment. Usability includes efficiency, effectiveness and user satisfaction. The empirical research described in this study consisted of three experiments of 30 participants each to evaluate the effect of description text, avatars and images individually, avatars, description text and recorded speech in combination with images, and finally, the use of avatars with whole body gestures, earcons and auditory icons. The experimental stages were designed as a progression towards the main focus of the study, which was the effectiveness of full body gesture avatar, considered to be the latest development in multimodal metaphors. The experimentation also assessed the role that an avatar could play as a tutor in e-assessment interfaces. The results proved the positive effectiveness and applicability of metaphors to enhance e-assessment usability. This was achieved through a more effective interaction between the user and the assessment interface. A set of empirically derived guidelines for the design and use of these metaphors to enhance e-assessment is also used in order to generate more usable e-assessment interfaces.

Within society Information Technology (IT) is becoming pervasive. This is no more pronounced than in Higher Education where IT is almost ubiquitously used. Current developments have also seen Web 2.0 tools such as wikis being used in pedagogical contexts. Research in computer anxiety has identified that quality of initial experience may be important in the onset of anxiety towards IT. However the concept of computer anxiety is too vague to reflect likely reactions to specific IT scenarios especially in interactions with social technology such as wikis. Although wikis are growing in popularity little is known about users‟ emotional reaction towards contributing to them, how their experiences shape these emotions as well as the users‟ view of usability above that mentioned in qualitative research. Due to the interface, social and flexible nature of wikis users may be anxious towards editing. This research aims to offer causal insight into the influence of wiki site design characteristics on anxiety towards wiki editing and users usability evaluation of wiki editing experiences. Three experiment-based studies are presented addressing the effects of site characteristics such as in-built training spaces (i.e. tutorials and sandboxes commonly used on wikis), user editing identity as well as aspects inherent to wiki sites such as content flexibility, on anxiety felt by users in editing scenarios and users usability rating of their editing experiences. The research also aimed to identify whether initial experiences affected anxiety about further editing, as suggested by computer anxiety research, or whether emotions are only affected during editing experience. The findings of the initial study on in-built training spaces suggest that the concept of wiki anxiety measured in this research more accurately reflects anxiety experienced during interaction than computer anxiety. Additionally the in-built training spaces using tutorials were seen to lead to better first experiences for novice users in using the wiki markup interface than those without (such as when experiencing sandbox training spaces and no training). Similarly the presence of a tutorial reduced wiki anxiety during interaction but did not affect anxiety towards future editing. From these findings the work advanced to study the effect of identity salience on wiki anxiety during editing and wiki usability focusing on contributing content using a user group with experience editing wikis. This was so as to explore the effect of wiki characteristics on user experience variables above that from first exposure anxiety likely in novice users. The research found that participants were less anxious when editing the wiki anonymously than when editing using a pseudonym and full name identity. There was however no effect of identity salience on usability rating. Additionally the type of edit conducted by participants, in terms of addition or deletion and replacement of content, did not have a significant effect on either anxiety during editing or usability evaluation. Further research exploring the effect of flexibility and other user behaviour on user anxiety and usability evaluation when contributing subsequently found that there was no significant effect of flexibility on the wiki user experience variables. The work demonstrates successful empirical evaluation of the wiki user editing experience can be achieved and can lead to important causal insight into the effects of wiki site design on the users‟ experience. It also identifies aspects of the site that can lead to the reduction of anxiety towards editing during interaction and influence usability rating towards the system.

With the rising cost of health care, the debate about where each dollar is spent is putting increasing pressure on decision makers. Consequently, one of the biggest challenges of providing health care to rural populations, specifically, is determining which communities should receive funding to address access to services. Defining rurality in the context of health care is a challenge that governments and health care providers have struggled with for years. Each stakeholder in Canada’s health care system has developed different criteria for defining rurality to inform policy. Currently there is a gap in academic research exploring the benefits of applying Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in rural health care policy and program decision support. GIS can provide insight into rural health care accessibility by modeling and measuring the way patients seek medical treatment. This thesis seeks to explore usability mapping issues and identify how policy makers perceive rurality when presented with information displayed on a map. Usability in this study influenced the perceived usefulness of the mapping tool. Overall study participants felt that mapping tools should be used as a form of decision support in rural health policy issues. Mapping was seen as tool to obtain quicker consensus among decision makers, to provide more context to rural issues in the study scenario, and used as a platform which could potentially assist in the identification of new criteria used to define rural health policy. In terms of usability, system usability design principles play a key role in the success and adoption of mapping tools among rural health policy makers. The study found that Google Earth’s software design violated Nielsen’s usability design principles in the following categories: Help and Documentation, User Control and Freedom, and Navigation. Despite these usability issues, participants found the mapping tool to have three main advantages over the paper-based decision support, the tool allowed them to: 1) gain a more complete picture of the surrounding communities; 2) understand the proximity of health services; and 3) gain greater awareness of the geography of the area. / Graduate

<p>Sammanfattning: Det är minst lika många människor som besöker arrangemang och gudstjänster i kyrkor som besöker idrottsevenemang. Det behövs studiogudstjänster dock sänds det allt färre Tv-gudstjänster direkt från kyrkor och medlen för att göra detta är också på väg att minskas. Många som ser dessa gudstjänster har av olika orsaker inte möjlighet att besöka en kyrka. Detta kan t ex bero på funktionshinder och sjukdom men också att många äldre har svårt att förflytta sig och se gudstjänster live. Ett sätt för kyrkorna att nå ut på bredare front skulle kunna vara att använda sig av Internet som media.</p><p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att genom intervjuer, användningstestning och slutligen prototyptestning, ta fram en lösning för digital överföring av ljud och bild från ett ställe till ett annat via ett IP-nätverk och finna en avvägning mellan det tekniska och användbarheten då användaren har begränsad teknisk kunskap.</p><p>Vid datainsamlingen användes en kvalitativ forskningsprocess med intervjuer och observation som insamlingstekniker. Vid användningstesterna användes observation som metod och testpersonerna uppmanades att tänka högt. Analysen av testerna visade vikten av att minimera inblandning av för mycket teknik i lösningarna då områdeskunskapen hos användare varierar kraftigt.</p>

<p>Problem</p><p>Funktioner i tunga fordon går allt mer från att vara mekaniska till att styras med hjälp av elektroniska signaler. För att förstå hur komponenter och system fungerar och ska repareras har mekanikerna Verkstadshandboken till sin hjälp. Från tryckt media har Verkstadshandboken övergått till digital publicering i visningsprodukten Scania Multi.</p><p> </p><p>Scania Multi var inledningsvis ett program för reservdelsinformation och har en navigeringsstruktur som är anpassad efter komponenternas placering på fordonet. Det är inte logiskt att hitta information om hur system och komponenter fungerar och ska lagas när man följer en navigeringsstruktur som från början är avsedd för reservdelar, det märks. Mekanikerna som använder Verkstadshandboken i Scania Multi har klagat över att information för reparationer och funktionsbeskrivningar inte finns. Ofta visar det sig att informationen faktiskt finns där men har varit svår att hitta.</p><p>Metod</p><p>Vilka risker och hinder finns det som påverkar om man vill eller orkar ta del av information? Olika signaler från vår omgivning påverkar våra val och beteenden och avgör om ett budskap når fram eller inte. Signalerna inverkar alltså på de val vi gör när vi ställs inför en ny situation.</p><p> </p><p>För att budskapet ska nå ända fram måste signalen vara rätt, ren och stark. Inom området informationsarkitektur pratar man om hur olika sorters design påverkar våra val och handlingar när vi ska interagera med ett digitalt informationsmaterial. Här pratar man om grafisk, informations- och interaktionsdesign. Jag har kopplat de olika typerna av design med de tre olika signalerna.</p><p> </p><p>Utifrån resonemanget om att rätt, ren och stark signal kan jämställas med informationsarkitekturens olika sorters design, gjorde jag en prototyp. Prototypens informationsdesign bygger på att jag har använt och strukturerat informationen med hjälp av den del i ISO standarden STEP som kallas Product Life Cycle Support. När jag sorterade informationen inom de olika avdelningarna använde jag mig av Information Mapping metoden.</p><p> </p><p>Prototypen har en fysisk och en funktionell vy som ska stödja mekanikernas behov när de använder Verkstadshandboken. För att ta reda på hur signalerna i prototypen fungerade testade jag den på sju yrkesverksamma mekaniker. Användningstestet byggde på två scenarion med tillhörande uppgifter där syftet var att få återkoppling på prototypens design och hitta förbättringspunkter.</p><p>Slutsats</p><p>Användningstesterna fokuserade framförallt på prototypens informationsdesign men berörde även prototypens grafiska design och gav vägledning om interaktionsdesignen var på rätt väg. Med hjälp av användningstesterna kunde jag analysera resultatet för att se vad som borde förbättras.</p><p> </p><p>Eftersom mekaniker inte har fått vara med och kravställa designen fick de interagera med en produkt som inte var optimal för deras behov. Mekanikerna är vana vid strukturen i nuvarande Verkstadshandboken i Scania Multi. Den nya strukturen tar hänsyn till fordonets funktionalitet på ett sätt som inte presenteras i dagens system.</p><p> </p><p>Det var fyra avsnitt där mekanikernas återkoppling på prototypens design var extra tydlig:</p><p>-       Det var svårt att se knappar och klickbara länkar.</p><p>-       Designen uppfattades som rörig.</p><p>-       När man väl hade förstått informationsdesignen var det lätt att se att den skulle kunna vara till stor hjälp vid exempelvis felsökning.</p><p>-       Uppdelningen av informationen upplevdes positivt när man hade vant sig vid de olika vyerna.</p>