A VR car-driving simulator for evaluating the user experience of new drivers by helping them to learn driving rules and regulations. The Classic VR Driver helps new drivers to learn driving rules and regulations using various audio and visual feedback. The simulator helps them to get acquainted with the risks and mistakes associated with real life driving. In addition, the users have to play the game in an immersive environment using a Virtual Reality system. This project attempts to fulfill two important goals. The major goal is to evaluate whether the user can learn driving rules and regulations of the road. The game allows the users to take a road test. The road test determines the type of mistakes the user makes and it also determines if they passed or failed in it. I have conducted A/B testing and let the testers participate in user-interviews and user-survey. The testing procedure allowed me to analyze the effectiveness of learning driving rules from the simulator as compared to learning rules from the RMV (Registry of Motor Vehicles) manual. Secondly, the user experience was evaluated by allowing users to participate in user-interviews and user-surveys. It helped me to understand the positives and drawbacks of the game. These feedback are taken into consideration for future improvement. All these factors were considered to make the game as enjoyable and useful in terms of skill training.

<p>This thesis investigates how to reach and recruit cutting-edge users to user experience studies. The recruitment of cutting-edge users is difficult since these users usually are not registered in recruitment databases. Cutting-edge users are advanced, early-adopters of technology and sometimes referred to as opinion leaders. Telecom research projects performed at Ericsson Research involve products and services 2-3 years ahead of the market; early-adopters and cutting edge users are therefore an important user group.</p><p> </p><p>To test recruitment methods a user experience study was performed of Ericsson Labs developer portal. Ericsson Labs offers Application Programming Interfaces for mobile and web applications development. Internet marketing theories were used to form a recruitment method. Respondents were recruited from the Ericsson Labs user database and they were contacted individually via email. The users were invited to share their thoughts and ideas about the portal to help improve and possibly influence the direction of the site.</p><p> </p><p>This thesis also assessed different online qualitative research methods applied for user experience research. Online focus groups such as bulletin boards were used to interact with users in addition to individual chat and voice interviews. Performing user experience research on the Internet is a cost-efficient way to interact with users in geographically dispersed areas.</p><p> </p><p>The findings from the study show that recruitment is hard; it is especially difficult to recruit active and conversational respondents from a user database. Providing incentives and using personal communication were shown to be successful strategies to convince users to participate in a study.</p>

This thesis investigates how to reach and recruit cutting-edge users to user experience studies. The recruitment of cutting-edge users is difficult since these users usually are not registered in recruitment databases. Cutting-edge users are advanced, early-adopters of technology and sometimes referred to as opinion leaders. Telecom research projects performed at Ericsson Research involve products and services 2-3 years ahead of the market; early-adopters and cutting edge users are therefore an important user group.   To test recruitment methods a user experience study was performed of Ericsson Labs developer portal. Ericsson Labs offers Application Programming Interfaces for mobile and web applications development. Internet marketing theories were used to form a recruitment method. Respondents were recruited from the Ericsson Labs user database and they were contacted individually via email. The users were invited to share their thoughts and ideas about the portal to help improve and possibly influence the direction of the site.   This thesis also assessed different online qualitative research methods applied for user experience research. Online focus groups such as bulletin boards were used to interact with users in addition to individual chat and voice interviews. Performing user experience research on the Internet is a cost-efficient way to interact with users in geographically dispersed areas.   The findings from the study show that recruitment is hard; it is especially difficult to recruit active and conversational respondents from a user database. Providing incentives and using personal communication were shown to be successful strategies to convince users to participate in a study.

This thesis discusses the practice of involving children in the production of kids’ apps in order to gain an understanding of how notions of children and childhood are being shaped by and shape this practice. This is achieved through a narrative analysis of interviews with five design and research professionals from the kids’ apps industry. The informants express a strong moral obligation to create quality experiences for the child user. Children are portrayed as with agency and competence in shaping and sharing their views on the world, but also as dependent of adults’ good intentions when it comes to the design of consumer products. A common belief is that when creating quality products for children, adults need to consult children to gain insight into their different physical and cognitive capabilities as well as their culture and ways of making meaning of the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced user experience (UX) designers to make their research comply with social distant roles, because of this many have turned to using computer mediated communication (CMC) tools. Even though research has shown that interviewing in person is marginally superior to video call interviews, user experience research is often conducted using more than one method. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate how user experience professionals are using video call as the main communication method for their user centered data gathering. Eleven UX professionals from one company were interviewed about ten different projects, focusing on the project execution and the methods used. The results show different ways of using video calls to interview, workaround methods to replace in person observation and, drawbacks and benefits from using CMC tools to gather data. Indicating that some projects are better suited to the use of video calls then others and suggest possible benefits from using both CMC tools and well as in person methods to gather data. / COVID-19-pandemin har tvingat UX-designers (User Experience) att anpassa sin forskning till sociala distansieringsregler, och därför har många börjat använda verktyg för datormedierad kommunikation (CMC). Även om forskning har visat att intervjuer där designers träffarpersonen är marginellt överlägsna intervjuer med videosamtal, utförs forskning om användarupplevelser ofta med hjälp av mer än en metod. Denna avhandling syftar därför till att undersöka hur yrkesverksamma inom user experience använder videosamtal som den huvudsakliga kommunikationsmetoden för sin användarcentrerade datainsamling. Elva UX-proffs från ett designföretag intervjuades om tio olika kundprojekt, med fokus på projektgenomförandet och de metoder som användes. Resultaten visar olika sätt att använda videosamtal för intervjuer, alternativa metoder för att ersätta personliga observationer samt nackdelar och fördelar med att använda CMC-verktyg för att samla in data. Det framgår att vissa projekt lämpar sig bättre för videosamtal än andra och att det finns möjliga fördelar med att använda både CMC-verktyg och personliga metoder för att samla in uppgifter.

This study examines the technology and appointment scheduling habits of older adults over the age of 55 through an exploratory sequential three phase mixed methods study. Phase One of this study examined features of ten existing mHealth applications through a qualitative content analysis, then a mHealth wireframe was developed from the app to replicate in addition to a redesigned version. Phase Two of the study was a thirty-four questions survey with 40 participants that inquired about their background with appointment scheduling, prior experience with technology, and demographics. After that, the mHealth applications were revised into two mHealth application prototypes. Lastly, Phase Three conducted a user test with the two mHealth prototypes through A/B testing with 15 participants. Findings from the survey showed the preferred method of scheduling an appointment among participants was primarily in-person or by phone. The user test revealed that some participants were willing to use a mHealth application to schedule an appointment if it was deemed easy to use. Recommendations for future research suggests that the iterative design process of a prototype with an underserved population would garner feedback inclusive of those older adults who are less tech savvy. The major contribution of this research was the development of the mHapps Framework which will be tested in a future study.

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With the increasing demand for usability, it is crucial for organizations to understand their users’ needs and align their products to a more user-centered approach. However, due to increasing demands for usability, many companies may find it difficult to hire new UX personnel to quickly fix their issues. This thesis aims to develop a methodology for organizations to conduct user research and analysis on their existing products. The goal is to assist teams with limited UX-personnel to understand their users, product state, and team structure, enabling a more user-centered approach. During this project, the Double Diamond Model of Design was used. The model consists of four phases: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver, which was used to build an understanding of the problem, design a solution, and validate the methodology’s effectiveness.  In the initial stage, Discover, research was conducted to gather insights into the current situation of UX in the form of a general field study and product orientation. The research involved gathering information about product-specific and organizational aspects related to UX. Additionally, various UX methods were explored through a literature study. The findings were synthesized and used for the second stage, Define, where the methods were selected based on the previous findings. In the Develop stage, the methodology was created using well-established UX methods and provided a workflow regarding four key areas: Users, System, Team, and Prototype. During the last stage, Deliver, the methodology was tested by performing a selection of methods on Nasdaq’s product NRP. The methodology was later evaluated by testing it on primarily developers, where the aim was to investigate whether they understood how to utilize the methodology based on a given scenario. The evaluation of the methodology resulted in an over-all positive experience, with participants recognizing its purpose and potential usefulness in encouraging a user-centered approach. Participants proposed including more specific guidelines and actual examples to facilitate the process and increase understanding. The evaluation showed that further information, such as clarifying comments on artifact utilization and method purpose, would enhance the methodology’s effectiveness.  The reliability and validity of the methodology were considered in relation to its use of established UX methods. While these methods are widely taught and recognized, the restricted testing and limited participants prevented a conclusive determination of the methodology’s overall effectiveness. Further testing, refinement, and evaluation with broader participant groups are recommended to further establish its reliability and validity. / I takt med att efterfrågan på användbarhet ökar hos digitala produkter är det viktigt för organisationer att förstå sina användares behov och anpassa sina produkter till ett mer användarcentrerat tillvägagångssätt. På grund av den ökande efterfrågan på användbarhet kan det dock vara svårt för många företag att snabbt anställa ny UX-personal för att lösa sina problem. Denna avhandling syftar till att utveckla en metodik för organisationer för att utföra användarstudier och analys av sina befintliga produkter. Målet är att förstå användarna, produktens nuvarande tillstånd och teamets struktur för att kunna hjälpa team med begränsad UX-personal att anpassa produkterna till ett mer användarcentrerat tillvägagångssätt. Under detta projekt användes Double Diamond-modellen för design. Modellen består av fyra faser: Discover, Define, Develop, och Deliver, som användes för att skapa en förståelse kring problemet, utforma en lösning och validera metodikens effektivitet.  I den inledande fasen, Discover, undersöktes nuläget för UX i form av en allmän fältstudie och produktorientering. Fältstudien innefattade insamlande av information om produktspecifika och organisatoriska aspekter relaterade till UX på företaget. Dessutom utforskades olika UX-metoder genom en litteraturstudie. Resultaten sammanställdes och användes i det andra steget, Define, där metoderna valdes ut baserat på de tidigare resultaten. I Develop-stadiet skapades metoden med hjälp av väletablerade UX-metoder och gav ett arbetsflöde för fyra nyckelområden: Användare, System, Team, och Prototyp. Under det sista steget, Deliver, testades metodiken genom att utföra ett urval av metoder på Nasdaqs produkt NRP. Metodiken utvärderades senare genom att den testades på främst utvecklare, där syftet var att undersöka om de förstod hur de skulle använda metodiken utifrån ett givet scenario. Responsen från deltagarna var positiv, där de uttryckte den att de såg potentialen metodiken hade för att uppmuntra ett användar-centrerad tillvägagångssätt. Deltagarna föreslog att man skulle inkludera mer specifika riktlinjer och faktiska exempel för att un- derlätta processen och öka förståelsen. Utvärderingen visade att ytterligare information, till exempel förtydligande kommentarer om artefakter och metodens syfte, skulle förbättra metodens effektivitet.  Metodikens tillförlitlighet och validitet övervägdes i förhållande till etablerade UX-metoder. Med begränsad testning och deltagaran- tal förhindrades en slutsats om metodikens effektivitet. Rekommendationen är att ytterligare testning, förfining och utvärdering med bredare deltagargrupper krävs för att fastställa tillförlitlighet och validitet.