Evaluating User Experiences early in a development process can save both time and money by pro-actively mapping out user needs and behavior patterns. However, since most well-known UX-evaluation methods applies during or after user interaction, due to the “second-order” design problem of experiences being a byproduct of interaction, there is a desire within HCI for more early-stage UX-evaluation methods that could be applied to concept stages as well. This paper investigates the experiential evaluation of a storyboard and narrative through the Anticipated eXperience Method (AxE) and discusses how it compares to a re-iterated high-fidelity prototype created in Figma. The process of this study is described out of the context it has been executed in, which is together with the company Scania AB at their cabin production facility in Oskarshamn, Sweden. The study explores what insights can be found from evaluating anticipated user experiences in early concept development and how these insights can apply towards further development of a touchpad user Interface. The underlying foundation of this study has followed the approach of a design-inclusive UX-research project, which heavily incorporates design activities into the process of conducting research. Thus, the storyboard, narrative and interactive Figma prototype have been created along the process and takes center stage in the investigation of experiential evaluation at early stages of interactive product development.

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Design thinking (DT) is a popular method and methodology for leveraging innovation. However, using DT in practical organisational settings is challenging because there is little acknowledgment of such research in academia. The few existing researches about the utilization of DT has been misinterpreted by organisations due to the phenomenon on wicked problems, leading to misuse of the method. This research investigates and enhances interdisciplinary approaches that can enhance the utilization of DT in product development for driving innovation. This qualitative case study was conducted by two full-time engineer students over a span of twenty weeks, starting in mid-January, as a thesis project for their industrial product realization studies at Jönköping University. The case study was carried out at a manufacturing company, Thule, in Sweden, specializing in outdoor recreational products. Using the IDEO method of DT, the study implements a systematic approach to develop a new, innovative solution. The project began with an extensive analysis of the market competition, users, and the company Thule, using innovative techniques such as brainstorming and various stages of sketching to address identified user challenges. Utilizing DT methods for innovation was successful as the insights were transformed into a tangible concept using computer-aided design and prototyping tools. As a result of implementing DT, a conceptualised approach was developed that ultimately lead to the innovative idea of creating a modular camping box mounted to the car's tow bar.

Non-communicable disease (NCD) rates, like diabetes, in Fiji are among the highest globally. Given that poor nutrition behaviours increase one’s risk for developing NCDs later in life, it is critical to address this early on.  However, there is limited evidence on drivers of nutrition behaviours among indigenous iTaukei university students in Fiji nor how to best engage them in nutrition programming.  The study, informed by the Behavioural Drivers Model and Human Centered Design, uses a qualitative approach to identify behavioural drivers relevant to nutrition among iTaukei university students attending two universities in Suva, Fiji’s capital city. The research also engages student participants to identify ideas for interventions that they would be interested in taking forward.   Findings of the study uncover the complexity of behaviour and highlight the psychological, sociological and environmental drivers that are critical behavioural determinants of students’ diets. Research participants propose innovative ideas to shape nutrition programming and ensure they are active participants in the process.

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As robots have become more pervasive in our everyday life, social aspects of robots have attracted researchers' attention. Because emotions play a key role in social interactions, research has been conducted on conveying emotions via speech, whereas little research has focused on the effects of non-speech sounds on users' robot perception. We conducted a within-subjects exploratory study with 40 young adults to investigate the effects of non-speech sounds (regular voice, characterized voice, musical sound, and no sound) and basic emotions (anger, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) on user perception. While listening to the fairytale with the participant, a humanoid robot (Pepper) responded to the story with a recorded emotional sound with a gesture. Participants showed significantly higher emotion recognition accuracy from the regular voice than from other sounds. The confusion matrix showed that happiness and sadness had the highest emotion recognition accuracy, which aligns with the previous research. Regular voice also induced higher trust, naturalness, and preference compared to other sounds. Interestingly, musical sound mostly showed lower perceptions than no sound. A further exploratory study was conducted with an additional 49 young people to investigate the effect of regular non-verbal voices (female voices and male voices) and basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, and relief) on user perception. We also further explored the impact of participants' gender on emotion and social perception toward robot Pepper. While listening to a fairy tale with the participants, a humanoid robot (Pepper) responded to the story with gestures and emotional voices. Participants showed significantly higher emotion recognition accuracy and social perception from the voice + Gesture condition than Gesture only conditions. The confusion matrix showed that happiness and sadness had the highest emotion recognition accuracy, which aligns with the previous research. Interestingly, participants felt more discomfort and anthropomorphism in male voices compared to female voices. Male participants were more likely to feel uncomfortable when interacting with Pepper. In contrast, female participants were more likely to feel warm. However, the gender of the robot voice or the gender of the participant did not affect the accuracy of emotion recognition. Results are discussed with social robot design guidelines for emotional cues and future research directions. / Master of Science / As robots increasingly appear in people's lives as functional assistants or for entertainment, there are more and more scenarios in which people interact with robots. More research on human-robot interaction is being proposed to help develop more natural ways of interaction. Our study focuses on the effects of emotions conveyed by a humanoid robot's non-speech sounds on people's perception about the robot and its emotions. The results of our experiments show that the accuracy of emotion recognition of regular voices is significantly higher than that of music and robot-like voices and elicits higher trust, naturalness, and preference. The gender of the robot's voice or the gender of the participant did not affect the accuracy of emotion recognition. People are now not inclined to traditional stereotypes of robotic voices (e.g., like old movies), and expressing emotions with music and gestures mostly shows a lower perception. Happiness and sadness were identified with the highest accuracy among the emotions we studied. Participants felt more discomfort and human-likeness in the male voices than in female voices. Male participants were more likely to feel uncomfortable when interacting with the humanoid robot, while female participants were more likely to feel warm. Our study discusses design guidelines and future research directions for emotional cues in social robots.

OBJECTIVE: Immigrants to the United States represent a variety of ethnocultural backgrounds, experiences, and languages. They face stressors unique to migration that may exacerbate or cause mental health concerns. Despite this increased risk, immigrants access treatment at rates far below their native-borne counterparts. Structural and cultural barriers to mental health service utilization expound this disparity. The present thesis proposes a novel system to provide psychosocial support for US immigrants seeking treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).  METHODS: Recognizing the need for a new paradigm of care, an Immigrant Mental Health Center prototype was conceptualized using a Human-Centered Design approach. The foundations for this prototype align with the Patient-Centered Medical Home approach to integrated primary and mental healthcare. Narrative reviews informed the theoretical basis of the prototype. A brief review of the existing literature yielded five integrated care themes, forming the basis for prototype evaluation criteria. Communication materials for stakeholder meetings and expert advisory panels were prepared as the next step in the Human-Centered Design approach.  RESULTS: The prototype extended care to a diverse spectrum of US immigrants within the MGH healthcare network. It involved a multidisciplinary team of specialists, whole-patient orientation, a personal practitioner, increased accessibility, and viable internal (MGH) and external (community) linkages.  CONCLUSIONS: The next steps in the Human-Centered Design approach include iteratively designing solutions to co-optimize the prototype for implementation at the MGH Center for Immigrant Health. Recommendations for the iterative refinement stage include clarifying financial metrics and addressing structural barriers to treatment accessibility. A series of feasibility pilot trials and efficacy randomized-controlled trials precede implementation. Future directions include extending the target population to second or third-generation immigrants, attending to severe mental illnesses, and fostering inpatient mental healthcare linkages as a bridge to long-term care.

This master’s thesis aims to explore the potential of visual communication as a powerful tool for promoting change and impact in Namibia with a focus on sustainable agriculture and food security. The study analyzes how graphic design and visual communication may effectively explain best practices for sustainable farming and inspire young adults in rural communities to engage with agriculture through empirical research. The study employs a Research Through Design (RtD) methodology to answer the following question: How can design help vulnerable communities and promote long-term food security solutions in Namibia through subsistence farming or agriculture?  The study’s findings highlight the importance of design in promoting sustainable agriculture by raising awareness, empowering communities, and advocacy for policy changes. Through its innate ability to attract and captivate audiences, visual communication may successfully distribute information about sustainable farming techniques and highlight their benefits. This thesis demonstrates how appealing visual narratives may stimulate young people’s curiosity, build passion and inspire them to learn and embrace sustainable agricultural methods.  The conclusion of this thesis suggests key recommendations for improving disadvantaged group’s access to resources and training. Land reform policies that favor small-scale farmers and support their subsistence farming efforts which are critical for guaranteeing food security. Furthermore, resolving water scarcity and boosting access to irrigation systems are critical considerations for Namibia’s sustainable agricultural practices to empower disadvantaged groups and encourage positive change. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

Hearing impairments are a sensitive component of our society. Lots of people are affected by them and considering this aspect in imagining and designing how the future will sound like is important. In this research project, a suggestion on a soundscape design tool to be used and manipulated by people affected by hearing disabilities is proposed. Together with this, it will be described as well how to implement and define a user interface with the scope of managing and manipulating these soundscapes. This project also faces the task of creating a setup oriented towards a museum setting: this carries with itself several variables to be kept in account, such as an unpredictable and quite broad users' range, and a special consideration for the lower-age range users. These have been found to be the most attending the museum environment, as far as it concerns Tekniska Museet. A three-phase experiment was then carried out. It involved a class of hearing-impaired pre-teenagers, the visitors of Tekniska and other hearing-impaired testers. Both qualitative and quantitative data about the interaction with the interface and the perceptual experience with the soundscapes were collected. The final assessments are that a focus on a playful aspect and the simplicity of shapes was the key for a suitable interface design focused on children, and that the contribution of the hearing impaired is relevant, at least in the later stage of the soundscape design process. / Hörselskador är en känslig del av vårt samhälle. Många människor påverkas av dem och det är viktigt att tänka på den aspekten då man föreställer sig och designar hur framtiden ska låta. Inom det här forskningsprojektet ska ett förslag på ett ljudlandskapsdesign-vektyg, ämnat att användas och hanteras av människor påverkade av hörselskador, framföras. Tillsammans med detta så beskrivs också hur ett användargränssnitt, med omfattningen att hantera och manipulera dessa ljudlandskap, fastställdes och implementerades inom systemet. Det här projektet möter dessutom utmaningen av att skapa ett system byggt för en museiutställning. Med detta tillkommer några variabler som måste hållas i åtanke, som en oförutsägbar och ganska bred användarskara. Speciellt stor omtanke läggs dock på yngre användare, som visade sig vara majoriteten av besökarna hos museet i fråga, nämligen Tekniska Museet. Ett experiment bestående av tre faser utförs, bestående av en skolklass av hörselskadade elever i tidiga tonårsåldern, Tekniska Museets besökare samt andra hörselskadade användare. Efter en insamling av både kvalitativa och kvantitativa data på interaktionen med gränssnittet samt den perceptuella upplevelsen av ljudlandskapen, dras slutsatsen att ett fokus på lekfullt utseende och enkelhet inom formerna är nyckeln för en lämplig gränssnitsdesign som har i åtanke barnens deltagande. Dessutom dras även slutsatsen att bidraget av hörselskadade individer är relevant, åtminstone i senare skeden av ljudlandskapsdesign-processen.

Nonprofit organizations are faced with unprecedented challenges as they seek to accomplish their lofty missions in a complex environment, ripe with uncertainty. The global COVID-19 pandemic brought forth new problems for communities and workplaces. As a result, some old ways of working may no longer be useful. To make meaningful progress on their social missions while navigating an unfamiliar post-pandemic context, nonprofits need new tools to help them understand and respond to changing community needs. Evidence has shown design thinking to be an effective approach to developing innovative strategies tailored to real needs, however, it has not been widely practiced in the nonprofit sector. Therefore, the purpose of this action research study was to introduce design thinking to one nonprofit organization where new strategies were necessary to effectively support constituents’ evolving needs. Five action research cycles engaged staff and stakeholders in a design team to apply human-centered design to a real organizational challenge. Research questions sought to understand how design thinking practices were implemented, which attributes contributed to the development of a new strategy, and the ways in which design thinking influenced how the organization responds to evolving constituent needs. Qualitative data from participant interviews, observation, and focus groups found four themes addressed the research questions: Relevance, Leadership Expectations, Capacity, and Intentionality. By way of engaging in play and inquiry, participants saw design thinking as an opportunity to innovate and adapt, helping nonprofits become more relevant. Findings also revealed expectations for leaders to have the answers may hinder ideation and implementation, though data also suggest leadership communication may be a particularly powerful facilitator of design thinking implementation, providing clarity on organizational priorities and aligning leaders and team members. Capacity, including organizational resources and personal bandwidth, was also found to affect how the design team’s ongoing work was supported and implemented across the organization. Finally, intentionality was revealed through the application of empathy, collaboration, and testing assumptions to aid learning. Such attributes may have already been present, but following design thinking, became intentional practices. Taken together, this also suggests incorporating elements of design thinking may be beneficial for nonprofits, as well as easier to implement than a full design thinking process. Findings from this study provide insights into what helps and hinders the implementation of a human-centered design practice, based on real experiences of nonprofit practitioners attempting to innovate and adapt to better serve their communities. This study contributes to knowledge regarding how design thinking might impact nonprofit organizations and offers some actionable insights regarding team dynamics, leadership, and facilitation of design practices. Finally, these findings offer practical implications and recommendations for organizations seeking to address longstanding problems in new ways, which may be particularly important in complex times.