Personas, fictional user profiles based on research data, have gained popularity in the design field over recent years. These profiles include names, personalities, behaviors, and goals that are representative of a unique group of individuals. This paper examines the creation and utilization of personas as a tool for understanding others, specifically within the context of product design. A review of current literature revealed published methods for creating and using personas, along with the challenges and benefits associated with this tool. Current design industry practices were investigated through 15 semi-structured interviews with design professionals. Topics included persona creation and implementation, the tools use, and perceived outcomes from the inclusion of personas in the design process. Participatory research examined persona creation methods including user data collection and the selection of topics to be included in these profiles. Additionally, persona utilization was investigated through the tools integration into a 12-week Industrial Design student project. Observations and interviews with 8 student groups and instructors revealed the tools impact on the design process and potential within the educational environment, with specific attention being paid to universal design applications.

Many people that would like to contribute at some level towards creating art in public spaces. However little is currently being done to make use of this untapped potential. The difficulties involved with collecting and coordinating dispersed talent often prevents it from being utilized. But now the Internet offers new opportunities to make harnessing latent talent much easier. Successful online platforms (such as Wikipedia and YouTube) demonstrate the potential value that can be derived from volunteers when appropriate systems are in place to utilize their contributions. Jeff Howe refers to this idea of harnessing distributed volunteered effort via the web as ‘crowdsourcing’. Which he explains as “the process by which the power of many can be leveraged to accomplish feats that were once the province of a specialized few” (2008). This thesis aims to investigate how an online platform might harness voluntary contributions in order to produce public art. The design objective for this project is to develop an online platform that allows people to contribute towards creating art in public spaces. My research explores the needs and motivations of potential contributors as well as techniques for harnessing voluntary contribution and coordinating group effort. As understanding human behaviour and user interaction is central to this project I have adopted a user-centered approach to research and development. To better understand the requirements of the proposed online platform user research was initially conducted in the form of focus groups with potential users and then via an in depth case study. In order to tackle the challenge of designing an entire platform the process was divided into distinct elements that could be addressed individually. These elements included the core functionality, the brand identity, the structural design, the interface design, and the visual design. For each element I consider what techniques might help to better harness voluntary contribution. The final result provides an online environment for people to get involved with specific art projects around their city. Projects are presented as separate challenges and users can contribute at many different levels such as sharing designs online, attending events, or simply providing feedback

Ο σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η αξιολόγηση των παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών και η μελέτη του βαθμού ικανοποίησης των ακαδημαϊκών βιβλιοθηκών όλων των ελληνικών ΑΕΙ. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι έχουν υλοποιηθεί πληθώρα ερευνών σχετικές με την αξιολόγηση των υπηρεσιών των ακαδημαϊκών βιβλιοθηκών στην Ελλάδα. Οι μελέτες που έχουν γίνει όμως, αφορούν σε κάθε βιβλιοθήκη ξεχωριστά. Δεν έχει γίνει κάποια συνολική προσπάθεια μέτρησης αξιολόγησης υπηρεσιών των ακαδημαϊκών βιβλιοθηκών και ικανοποίησης των χρηστών τους. Στην παρούσα έρευνα όπου συμμετέχουν εγγεγραμμένοι χρήστες των ελληνικών ακαδημαϊκών βιβλιοθηκών όλων των ΑΕΙ της χώρας, γίνεται προσπάθεια να αποτυπωθούν αξιόπιστα οι αντιλήψεις, οι προσδοκίες και η πραγματική κατάσταση διάφορων θεμάτων των βιβλιοθηκών αυτών. Ο καθορισμός του ερευνητικού προβλήματος και επομένως του σκοπού της παρούσας διπλωματικής εργασίας, ορίζεται από: Γνώση και χρήση παραδοσιακών και ηλεκτρονικών υπηρεσιών των ακαδημαϊκών βιβλιοθηκών, καθώς και μέτρηση αξιολόγησης και σημαντικότητας των υπηρεσιών αυτών από την μεριά των χρηστών. Εντοπισμός προσδοκιών των χρηστών και πραγματικής κατάστασης σχετικά με τη συλλογή, το προσωπικό και τις εγκαταστάσεις των ακαδημαϊκών βιβλιοθηκών της χώρας. Δηλαδή των τριών διαστάσεων του μοντέλου LibQual, σχετικά με την ποιότητα στις βιβλιοθήκες. Καθορισμός παραγόντων ικανοποίησης χρηστών, καθώς και επιβεβαίωση του μοντέλου που χρησιμοποιήθηκε στην παρούσα εργασία. Ένας τελευταίος στόχος είναι η διαμόρφωση του προφίλ των χρηστών που χρησιμοποιούν τις ακαδημαϊκές βιβλιοθήκες. Το ερωτηματολόγιο διαρθρώνεται σε τέσσερις βασικές ενότητες. Η κάθε ενότητα περιλαμβάνει ερωτήσεις του κάθε στόχου. Τα πρωτογενή στοιχεία αντλήθηκαν με χορήγηση ερωτηματολογίου σε 950 χρήστες Στη συνέχεια κωδικοποιήθηκαν και ακολούθησε η επεξεργασία τους με το στατιστικό πακέτο SPSS 19.0. Επίσης πραγματοποιήθηκε έλεγχος των υποθέσεων που είχαν τεθεί, μέσω της ανάλυσης παραγόντων που ανέδειξαν νέες μεταβλητές οι οποίες μετά από την υψηλή αξιοπιστία και συνοχή τους ( α-Crombach > 0,9 ). Από τα ευρήματα της έρευνας προκύπτουν σημαντικά στοιχεία κατάλληλα για την διοίκηση της κάθε ακαδημαϊκής βιβλιοθήκης, προς βελτίωση των παρεχόμενων υπηρεσιών και κατ’ επέκταση παροχή ποιοτικότερων υπηρεσιών και τελικά ικανοποίηση των χρηστών τους. Είναι σημαντικό να πραγματοποιούνται παρόμοιες έρευνες κατά τακτά χρονικά διαστήματα, ώστε να εντοπίζονται και να αντιμετωπίζονται έγκαιρα τυχών αδυναμίες και προβλήματ / The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the services and the satisfaction of the users of all Greek academic libraries. A lot of users surveys have been made , however, relate in each library separately. There has been no attempt to measure overall assessment services for academic libraries and satisfaction of users. In the present investigation involving registered users of Greek academic libraries of all universities in the country, trying to reliably reflected the perceptions, expectations and the actual situation of different issues of these libraries. Defining the research problem and therefore the aim of this thesis is defined by: Knowledge and use of traditional and electronic services of academic libraries and measurement evaluation and significance of such services on the part of users. Locating user expectations and the actual situation on the collection, staff and facilities of the academic libraries in the country. Ie three dimensional model LibQual, on quality in libraries. Defining user satisfaction factors and confirmation of the model used in this work. A final goal is to develop a user profile using academic libraries. The questionnaire is divided into four main sections. Each section includes questions for each objective. The primary data are obtained by administering a questionnaire to 950 users Then coded and followed by treatment with the statistical package SPSS 19.0. Also took control of matters raised by analyzing factors revealed new variables after the high reliability and consistency. The survey findings show significant data appropriate for the administration of the academic library to improve services and thus provide better quality services and ultimately satisfaction of their users. It is important to undertake similar surveys at regular intervals in order to identify and address weaknesses early fortunes and problematic

This thesis explores Virtual Reality (VR) as a digital medium for teaching in a professional context. In collaboration with ABB, a pioneering technology leader, the thesis questions whether VR could be the future medium for training ABB service personnel.  The research discusses how you can design for VR, by drawing parallels to traditional mediums; Moreover, the research covers insights into the ABB education and VR explorations.  Three experience prototypes were designed as the final concept. These experience prototypes aim to highlight educational use cases through VR, covering collaborative work, safety guidelines and various utilities. The goal of the final experience prototypes is to engage potential users and designers in a dialog concerning VR as an educational medium of the future.

When people are stressed, they are likely to walk faster. Research indicates that walking speed is an indicator of pace of life, with a faster walking speed in urban areas. Based on empirical data, I designed and developed a prototype of an interactive carpet for encouraging users on the carpet to slow down and thus to relax more. I evaluated the interactive carpet with user interviews, and two different experiments, where one of the experiments was conducted in an exhibition environment. My findings indicate users feel more relaxed in the interaction when they are informed about how to operate the prototype, as opposed to users who are not informed before they use the prototype and thus have a learning phase in which they have to figure out how the prototype works. Like earlier research, my finding assures that the usability problem should be prioritized over improving the system for user experience (UX). In addition, I discuss applicability of the Activity theory framework to my studies and propose an extension of the activity checklist, namely to take user intention into account for a more holistic analysis. / När människor är stressade,så går de ofta snabbare.Forskning pekar på gånghastighet som en indikator på livstempot i övrigt, med en högre gånghastighet i stadsmiljöer.Baserat på empirisk data så har jag designat och utvecklat en prototyp för en interaktiv matta som ska uppmuntra användare till att sakta ner när de går över mattan, och därmed bli mer avkopplande.Jag utvärderade den interaktiva mattan med användarintervjuer och två olika experiment, där ett av experimenten utfördes i en utställningsmiljö.Mina resultat indikerar att användare känner sig mer avkopplade i interaktionen när de är informerade om hur de ska använda prototypen, i kontrast till användare som inte har blivit informerade innan de får använda prototypen och som därmed har en inlärningsfas där de måste räkna ut hur prototypen fungerar.I enlighet med tidigare forskning så visar mina studier att användbarhetproblem bör prioriteras över att förbättra systemet med avseende på användarupplevelse (UX).Utöver detta så diskuterar jag applicerbarheten hos aktivitetsteori på mina studier och föreslår en utökning av aktivitetschecklistan, nämligen att ta hänsyn till användarens avsikt för en mer holistisk analys.

This thesis is focused on analyzing the process of an online request for a consumer loan. It targets its weak points and creates a set of recommendations that should lead to more user - friendly environment. In the theoretical part, the thesis covers issues of consumer loans and explains topics from user testing and usability. It also describes methodology of the research. The practical part of this thesis is centered around a general simulation model, which was created based on the previous analysis. With this model and using selected methods the thesis identifies critical points common to most tested participants. Based on the results of the user testing, recommendations are made to resolve these issues. The general model was modified according to the validity of these recommendations and then subjected to re-testing. This thesis is unique for the use of an eye-tracking camera among other methods.

This thesis deals with the improving of website business performance through the optimization with a focus on user experience. Its concern is not how to accumulate more traffic to the website but rather how to motivate website users, persuade and help them achieve desired goals. The aim is to introduce the concept of User Experience (UX) and Conversion Optimization (CRO). Further on, to suggest a general process of the website optimization focused on user experience and to apply this procedure in a case study. The contribution of this thesis is to link the UX/CRO concepts that provide users with a positive brand experience and allow organizations a sustainable competitive advantage, differentiation and higher marketing ROI.

This study, done in collaboration with Storytel, aimed to investigate whether a shared audiobook live listening experience would add value to users of the Storytel app and how such a feature could be designed in terms of User Experience and User Interface. The purpose was to determine the minimal viable product (MVP) and if live listening with others is interesting in itself or else, what is the most basic interaction type required in connection to the listening. The aim was also to design the optimal solution, beyond technical, time and/or prioritization constraints. The method used was a combination of the IDEO design process with three phases (Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation), and Holtzblatt and Beyer’s (2016) five steps of Contextual Design (Gathering User Data, Compiling User Data, Ideation with User Data, Defining the Product and Making it Real). To investigate user opinions and requirements, surveys were sent out to Storytel users and authors on the four markets Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and India, resulting in a total of 448 responses. Based on this data, an extensive design work in three phases was carried out to achieve the result of a final design prototype of a live listening feature inside the Storytel app. In order to validate the design choices continuously in each phase, 15 user tests were achieved, whereof 4 initial tests, 10 interactive user tests and 1 focus group interview. The results show that there is certainly an interest for such a feature among some users, and the interest is bigger if an author participates. In general, users on the Indian market are more interested in the feature than users on the European markets. Authors are more interested than the average user in live listening and interacting with its listeners. An important finding was that the feature must include an element of interaction to make it relevant and interesting to users, which is why a prototype including emoji reactions was proposed as an MVP. In this version, the possibility to discuss is linked to an outsourced forum such as Google Meet. For the optimal design, a chat was included inside the application as this was concluded highly desired by users.

With an increasing population and decreasing housing supply, students in large cities get entangled in a societal crisis. Concurrently, the intermediary rental websites are scattered and insufficient. An emerging technology; PropTech is in the nascent phase, aiming to streamline the rental process by assisting target users. Through an exploratory approach, this study thoroughly investigated the sequences which prospective tenants encounter during the rental process. Simultaneously, their challenges and needs got examined. The data collection consisted of a landscape analysis, and semi-structured interviews combined with a focus group. The identified sequences which need to be incorporated into a rental PropTech platform are (1) Finding the listings, (2) Filtering the listings, (3) Contact with landlord, (4) Viewing the property, (5) Closing a deal, (6) Moving in, and (7) Post moving feedback. Throughout such a platform, it is essential to implement functions that support transparency, reliability, privacy, and feedback.

User Research ist eine wichtige und in vielen Ansätzen die erste Phase eines iterativen Designprozesses. Aber wie kann eine valide User Research für eine in die weite Zukunft gerichtete Produktgestaltung durchgeführt werden? User Research erfordert die Einbindung zukünftiger NutzerInnen oder potentieller KundInnen. Diese können aber überwiegend keine plausible Auskunft über die eigenen Bedürfnisse der (fernen) Zukunft geben. Auch können sie ausgehend vom individuellen Ist-Zustand nicht zwischen realisierbaren und utopischen Produktkonzepten unterscheiden. In diesem Beitrag diskutieren wir die Herausforderungen von User Research speziell für mittel- und langfristige Zielsetzungen und stellen einen Lösungsansatz vor: Wir empfehlen daher den Designprozess mit einem Szenarioverfahren zu initiieren, welcher eine Trendanalyse und eine Expertenbefragung beinhaltet. Aufbauend auf den Ergebnissen aus der Szenarioarbeit werden die NutzerInnen in einer späteren Phase des Designprozesses zur Evaluierung von Nutzungsszenarien eingebunden. Anhand von zwei aktuellen transdisziplinären Projekten „Elektrifizierung von landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben“ und „Sustainable Energy-Efficient Aviation“, in denen der angenommene Status zukünftiger sozialer, wirtschaftlicher und politischer Trends die Perspektive und das Konsumverhalten fiktiver NutzerInnen kontinuierlich prägen wird, zeigen wir, wie wir Nutzerforschung in strategischen Designprozessen mit hoher Vorhersagegüte einsetzen.