Customer feedback is essential for improving a company's products or services and increasing customer satisfaction. Despite its value, user involvement faces many challenges, such as low user motivation and feedback with missing context information. To increase the chance of collecting user feedback, the process must be fast, easy, and well-integrated into the system or product.  In this thesis, a suitable way of designing a high-fidelity (Hi-Fi) prototype of a reactive feedback feature that improves the ease of submitting end-user feedback and enriching it with sufficient information to streamline the interpretation and handling process has been investigated. This was done by following the Design Thinking method and its five phases. In the first phase of the process, Empathize, information about the end-users' and the product teams' pain points, wants, and needs regarding the current feedback process were gathered through interviews. A literature study and research of existing feedback tools were also conducted to build a broader knowledge about the subject. The collected data was organized and analyzed during the second phase, Define, through affinity diagramming, a customer journey map, and defining user need statements. In the third phase, Ideate, a wide range of design solutions to the identified problems and user need statements were generated during a Crazy 8 workshop and initial sketching. The two final phases, Prototype and Test, consisted of three iterations of creating and evaluating prototypes through an expert review, a usability test, a heuristic evaluation, and a final usability test.  The two major identified pain points were the product team expressed that customer feedback is often difficult to interpret due to missing context information, and that end users have to go through a long and laborious procedure to provide feedback. End-users wanted an easy and fast way to submit a wide range of feedback to have some impact on the product's future improvement, and the product team wanted to collect as much sufficient information as possible to facilitate the interpretation and handling process. The study explores the challenges of including predefined feedback options and a prioritization feature to enhance the interpretation and management of feedback while maintaining ease of use. The prototype includes the possibility to attach annotated screenshots and screen recordings and automatically collects contextual data to address the lack of information and simplify and speed up the feedback process for end-users. The final usability test resulted in positive feedback and showed that the suggested feedback feature enables end-users to provide feedback quickly and easily while providing the product team with the most necessary information. The result also gives a first indication that the feedback feature will increase the end-user involvement in the product's future development.

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Tidigare studier har visat att träning av slutanvändare av affärssystem är viktigt. Samtidigt finns det faktorer som gör det viktigt för organisationer att ha en strategi för hur de kontinuerligt ska träna sina slutanvändare. Vår studie syftar därför till att tillhandahålla förslag för att organisationer bättre ska kunna hantera sin kontinuerliga träning av slutanvändare.Semistrukturerade intervjuer har gjorts med representanter från tre stora företag och tre affärssystemskonsulter i Skåneregionen. Studiens resultat visar att träning av slutanvändare överlag inte görs kontinuerligt i organisationer, detta trots att både företag och konsulter ser nyttan med det. Vidare har det även visat sig att det rådande träningskonceptet är att träna nyckelanvändare för att dessa sedan ska träna slutanvändare. Vi kritiserar detta träningskoncept, då nyckelanvändare oftast inte ges tillräckligt med tid till nyckelanvändaruppgifter från sin linjebefattning. Nyckelanvändare kan också sakna de individuella egenskaper som behövs för att träna slutanvändare i affärssystemet på ett lämpligt sätt. Vidare menar vi att organisationer behöver förbättra rådande tillvägagångsätt för att träna sina slutanvändare efter det att affärssystemet är implementerat.För att förbättra rådande tillvägagångssätt presenterar vi avslutningsvis nio förslag som syftar till att organisationer bättre ska kunna träna sina slutanvändare kontinuerligt. / Previous studies have shown that training of end users in the Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is crucial. Thus, factors point towards the importance of a continuous training strategy for the end users, inside organizations. Accordingly, the purpose of this study aims to provide suggestions for organizations to better manage their continuous training for end users.Semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives from three large enterprises and three ERP consultants in the region of Skåne, Sweden. The study results show that the training of end users is not generally made continuously in organizations. This despite the fact that both companies and consultants see the benefit of it. Instead, we found that the current method of training is to train key users, who then train end users. We criticize this concept of training key users as they are often not given enough time from their line manager to do their key user tasks. These individuals may also lack the proper characteristics needed to successfully train end users in the ERP system. Furthermore, we argue that organizations need to find ways to improve current approaches to train end users after the ERP system is implemented.As a result of our findings we outline nine suggestions aimed for organizations to improve their current methods of training end users continuously.

The international communities of user interface, user experience and interaction designers are in an increasing need of considering Chinese users’ experiences when designing websites. China, along with other mandarin speaking populations, consists of a huge market. Almost one-fifth of global Internet users used Chinese as preferred language in 2020. Additionally, more and more companies worldwide are interested in doing business with the Chinese market.  Targeting the needs of internet users coming from a different cultural background requires a special approach as cultural characteristics may influence the users’ expectations. Even though there have been attempts to characterise user interface menus suitable for Chinese users, as of 2022, it is still challenging to access a study on explicitly navigation. The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate how local navigation can be adapted to the needs of Chinese users. This study also aims to examine the differences between Chinese and European users’ local navigation preferences. During the study, 2 Chinese subjects and 2 European subjects tested three versions of a web prototype that been developed according to the already established research on designing user interface (UI) for Chinese users. Each prototype alternative presented one of the three local navigation alternatives: inverted L, horizontal and embedded vertical. The data has been collected through conducting contextual inquiry in the form of semi-structured interviews and observations. The gathered information was then analysed through thematic analysis. The two themes: Accessibility of content and Interpreting functionality emerged from the coded data. This study acknowledged that differences between local navigation for Chinese and European users arise in cognitive traits. The Chinese users tend to categorise based on interdependence and relationship (thematic cognitive style) rather than to classify by functions, analyse components and infer common features (functional cognitive style). Furthermore, it has been recognised that Chinese population performs better with horizontal menu layouts with English interfaces. Results from this study show that the horizontal local navigation gained the biggest amount of positive feedback from Chinese interviewees, whereas vertical one the least. Even though, the findings illustrate that both Chinese and European subjects considered horizontal local navigation to be the most effective solution, interviewed Chinese users represented the least homogeneity in preferences. This study suggests that in order to develop guidelines for a fully functioning navigation system with English interfaces suitable for Chinese users, more studies on not solely local but also global and contextual navigation should be carried out. / Interaktionsdesigners samt UI/UX-designers över hela världen världen är i ett ökande behov av att ta hänsyn till kinesiska användares erfarenheter när de designar webbplatser. Kineserna, tillsammans med andra mandarintalande befolkningar, består av en enorm marknad. Nästan en femtedel av de globala internetanvändarna använde kinesiska som sitt föredragna språk i 2020. Dessutom, fler och fler företag globalt blir mer intresserade av att göra affärer med den kinesiska marknaden. För att se till att behoven hos internationella internetanvändare tillgodoses, krävs det ofta ett speciellt tillvägagångssätt. Detta eftersom kulturella egenskaper möjligtvis kan påverka användarnas förväntningar. Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att undersöka hur lokal navigering kan anpassas till kinesiska användarnas behov. Även om det redan finns några studier som satsar på att känneteckna användargränssnittsmenyer lämpliga för kinesiska användare, saknas det fortfarande studier som undersöker möjliga anpassningar av just navigering. Denna studie syftar vidare till att undersöka skillnaderna mellan kinesiska och europeiska användarnas lokala navigeringspreferenser. Under studien testade 2 kinesiska och 2 europeiska deltagare, tre versioner av en webbprototyp. Prototypen utvecklades enligt den redan etablerade forskningen kring design av användargränssnitt (UI) för kinesiska användare. Varje version av prototypen innehöll ett av de tre lokala navigeringsalternativen: inverted L, horizontal och embedded vertical. Data samlades in genom kontextuella undersökningar i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer och observationer. Den insamlade informationen analyserades sedan genom en tematisk analys. De två teman som framkom ur den kodade datan var: Tillgänglighet av innehåll och Tolkning av funktionalitet. Denna studie erkände att skillnader mellan lokal navigering för kinesiska och europeiska användare uppstår i kognitiva egenskaper. De kinesiska användarna tenderar att kategorisera baserat på ömsesidigt beroende och relation (tematisk kognitiv stil) snarare än att klassificera efter funktioner, analyskomponenter och härleda gemensamma drag (funktionell kognitiv stil). Dessutom har det insetts att den kinesiska befolkningen presterar bättre med horisontella menylayouter med engelska gränssnitt. Resultat från denna studie visar att den horisontella lokala navigeringen fick den största mängden positiv feedback från kinesiska intervjupersoner, medan den vertikala minst. Även om resultaten illustrerar att både kinesiska och europeiska ämnen ansåg horisontell lokal navigering vara den mest effektiva lösningen, representerade intervjuade kinesiska användare minst homogenitet i preferenser. Denna studie föreslår att för att utveckla riktlinjer för ett fullt fungerande navigationssystem med engelska gränssnitt lämpliga för kinesiska användare, bör fler studier om inte bara lokal utan även global och kontextuell navigering genomföras.

This research addressed how older adults experience their mobile phones in their everyday lives and how mobile phones could be designed to best meet their needs. Two studies were conducted using a mixed-research method to identify representative user clusters and to understand user experiences. In Study 1, 154 older adult mobile phone users completed a questionnaire to investigate 1) functional usage, 2) perception about mobile phone quality, and 3) other aspects of user experiences (e.g., motivations of acquisition and learning method). Results showed that older adults are generally conservative mobile phone users who use a few functions of mobile phones and perceive their phone to be difficult to use. Understanding error messages, menu navigation, and text input were found to be most difficult for them. Female users perceived their phones to be more difficult to use than male users. Three user clusters (explorers, basicians, and minimalists) were identified based on mobile phone usage behavior, and their characteristics were described. User satisfaction was effected by three attributes of mobile phones: usefulness, ease of use, and pleasure of use, indicating that developers need to focus on improving all factors when designing a mobile phone for older adults. Study 2 used a more holistic approach to describe older adults' user experiences. The aims of Study 2 were 1) to capture stories that reflected user experiences, 2) to identify barriers that older adults faced through the course of user experience and 3) to provide recommendations to improve user experiences. Qualitative data was collected in the form of existential phenomenology-based interviews. Twelve older adult mobile phone users (over age 56), representing the three clusters found from Study 1, participated in this study. The domestication of technology theory was adopted as a framework to describe instances and themes represented in users' utterances and behaviors. Results showed that, regardless of their abilities to operate technology, older adults used a limited number of mobile phone functions because of their parsimonious cost-benefit analyses when integrating technologies into their lives. A theoretical explanation for this phenomenon was provided using socio-emotional selectivity theory. Barriers (perceptual, cognitive, attitudinal, knowledge, and information barriers) were found to hinder older adults' utilization of mobile phone technology over the four dimensions of the domestication process (appropriation, objectification, incorporation, and conversion). Recommendations to resolve those barriers were provided and related to published literature. This study proved that the domestication of technology theory can be a useful analytical tool for describing and understanding user experiences and capturing users' needs. Detailed discussion about its applicability to user needs analysis process was provided. A set of user requirements along with diverse user profiles were developed as outcomes of this research. / Ph. D.

The growing popularity of smartphones in recent years has led to an increase in mobile application development and use. However, a large number of mobile applications are only used once before being removed. For companies and organizations to spend time and money on application development only to achieve low user retention rates is unsustainable. During their first interaction with a mobile application it is crucial that users find functionality and value quickly to avoid discontinuation of use. User onboarding is often implemented in mobile applications to aid in first time interaction, making onboarding processes subject of investigation for effect on user attitude towards continued use of mobile applications. The study examined mobile onboarding processes and their effect on user attitude towards continued use of applications as well as the difference between onboarding processes effect on user attitude towards continued use of applications. The study was conducted within-subjects through a survey consisting of interaction with two prototypes with different onboarding processes and a questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model in order to investigate the variables of interest. The results of the survey were analyzed to measure the effects of the onboarding processes on the factors of the technology acceptance model and to investigate the differences between the onboarding processes. The results showed that user onboarding has a positive influence on perceived usefulness, attitude towards use and intention to use. There was no significant difference between the different types of onboarding patterns effect on attitude towards continued use. The positive effects on attitude and intention to use confirmed that implementing onboarding processes in mobile applications could be beneficial for value proposition and user retention. The perceived usefulness proved to be the determining factor on attitude and intention to use.

Nadine Schmidt-Mänz vom Institut für Entscheidungstheorie u. Unternehmensforschung, Universität Karlsruhe, berichtete über „Suchverhalten im Web: Empirische Ergebnisse“. Rund 6000 Benutzer von Suchmaschinen füllten den von ihr hergestellten Online-Fragebogen aus. Einige ihrer Erkenntnisse: Als Suchmaschine wurde mit 91,3 % Google benutzt. Die Monopolstellung von Google war den Suchenden nicht bewußt. Einer der Schlüsse der Referentin: Es mangelt nicht an Suchmaschinen, sondern an der „Weiterentwicklung“ der Suchenden.

This thesis investigates user entrepreneurship in companies’ communities in the music streaming industry. Speci!cally, the rules of open platform usage are de!ned by conducting a qualitative multi-case study of four different companies. The purpose of the research is to show how music streaming companies’ open platforms support entrepreneurship among user-developers. A signi!cant amount of different applications have been created, but user-developers’ possibilities to commercialize are very limited. A new notion, “community user entrepreneur”, is suggested as a contribution to the theoretical framework.

Die Humanzentrierung stellt den Menschen in den Mittelpunkt der (Weiter-)Entwicklung von (neuen) Produkten. Der Fokus liegt jedoch hierbei hauptsächlich auf den Menschen, die das betreffende Produkt besitzen oder nutzen. Nichtnutzung und Ablehnung wird im Kontext der NutzerInnenfreundlichkeit allerdings seltener betrachtet, kann jedoch wertvollen Input für eine Produktentwicklung bieten, indem mehr als nur das Negativfeedback von Nutzenden betrachtet wird. Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit dem Thema Nichtnutzung im Kontext der Produktentwicklung und wie der Aspekt Ablehnung zukünftig eingebunden werden kann. Im Rahmen einer Fallstudie werden NutzerInnen und NichtnutzerInnen von Kaffeeautomaten über ihre Nutzung bzw. Ablehnung des Produkts befragt, um die Ergebnisse anschließend für eine umfassende Produktentwicklung aufzubereiten. Es wird untersucht inwiefern sich die Ergebnisse unterscheiden und welche davon für eine Produktentwicklung wertvoller sind. Es werden Vorschläge gemacht, wie die Ergebnisse aufbereitet werden können, zum Beispiel mithilfe der sogenannten Non-Persona, die das Konzept der Persona auf Nichtnutzung übersetzt. Abschließend werden Empfehlungen für die zukünftige Einbindung von NichtnutzerInnen in der Produktentwicklung gegeben.

Companies are increasingly drawing on their user communities to generate promising ideas for new products, which are then marketed as "user-designed" products to the broader consumer market. We demonstrate that nonparticipating, observing consumers prefer to buy from user-rather than designer-driven firms because of an enhanced identification with the firm that has adopted this user-driven philosophy. Three experimental studies validate a newly proposed social identification account underlying this effect. Because consumers are also users, their social identities connect to the user-designers, and they feel empowerment by vicariously being involved in the design process. This formed connection leads to preference for the firm's products. Importantly, this social identification account also effectively predicts when the effect does not materialize. First, we find that if consumers feel dissimilar to participating users, the effects are attenuated. We demonstrate that this happens when the community differs from consumers along important demographics (i.e., gender) or when consumers are nonexperts in the focal domain (i.e., they feel that they do not belong to the social group of participating users). Second, the effects are attenuated if the user-driven firm is only selectively rather than fully open to participation from all users (observing consumers do not feel socially included). These findings advance the emerging theory on user involvement and offer practical implications for firms interested in pursuing a user-driven philosophy. Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1999. (authors' abstract)