This study explores if augmented reality can be used to get a better feedback for usability testing. Augmented reality is being used in various fields like entertainment, medicine, etc., but this technology’s use for product development has been very limited. This study specifically explores if it could be used for product usability testing. For this study, a product that is already in the market will be used. First, the usability of the product was tested using traditional method, i.e., asking user to accomplish a specific task using that product and then gaining feedback using a questionnaire asking them about their opinions. Then the same product was modeled for augmented reality environment and then a different set of users were asked to accomplish the same task in AR environment. Same questionnaire was provided to these users for feedback. After that, the feedback received using the two methods was compared. The hypothesis presented in this thesis says that using augmented reality can help get a better or similar usability feedback as compared to traditional usability testing. This method might help reduce the cost of usability testing conducted on a large scale by reducing the need to have a fully developed product for testing. It will help in identifying usability issues before a product has been fully developed and thus, reducing the development cost.

This report is concerned with using design to encourage reflective behavioral change through the use of everyday objects. Many designers have studied behavioral change in the context of sustainability and social interaction through information technology in the field of industrial design. While lacking of enough philosophical depth, those designs are mainly adopting symptom-focused approaches, which does not lead to a meaningful experience for users. The goal of the report is to create a reflective experience for behavioral change. My approach is to create a sense of situatedness, which is a holistic experience revolving around a product where designed artifacts recursively derive their meaning and is simultaneously the object of interpretation. This text will illustrate how the strategy of “playful disruption” can be applied to achieve the sense of situatedness in its three different levels: Action, Environment and Nostalgia. If the outcomes are intended to achieve reflective behavioral change, I contest that both playfulness and disruption are necessary; the strategy of “playful disruption” is most effective when applied in a subtle way. While studies of behavior change tend to focus on technology use, this research suggests that behavior change can be initiated in the physical environment through redesign of everyday objects and that subtly disrupt everyday routines. / text

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis(M.I.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1989. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-95).