As consumers increasingly use subscription-based services, there is a rising tendency to discontinue a service to try others, due to a larger variety of options available. This incentive has prompted the widespread use of dark patterns by companies aiming to make the termination of their services more difficult for users by creating overly complicated cancellation processes. An excessive number of steps, confusing options, and unclear wording are among the tactics used to complicate these processes. To gain insight in this phenomena, this study aims to create knowledge about the effectiveness of various dark patterns within the category of Interface interference, with a particular focus on their ability to mislead users in a cancellation process, and their subsequent impacts on usability and user experience. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study engages user testing with a website prototype to provide an understanding of the different categories of dark patterns' effects on usability and user experience. The findings indicate that the dark pattern categories False hierarchy and Trick question resulted in the most pronounced negative reactions and led to most deviations in the prototype interaction data, signifying a severe impact on usability and experience. Additionally, the categories Hidden information and Preselection, while not provoking as many immediate reactions, were frequently overlooked by users. This observation underscores their potential as concealed manipulative agents, misleading users in a subtler manner.

Dark mode, an increasingly popular design trend, is a user interface that uses light text and icons on a dark background. As most social media platforms have adopted this trend it’s important that the interface is also designed with usability in mind. Despite seniors' increasing use of social media their needs are often overlooked in the development of digital products compared to younger users. Seniors' needs and challenges often differ from those of younger users, which emphasizes the importance of adapting technology and design to also meet their needs. By understanding how dark mode affects usability for senior users, developers and designers can create user interfaces that meet the needs of a wider audience. This study therefore examines how dark mode may affect the usability for senior social media users, using Facebook as a case. A survey was conducted based on the five quality components of usability: learnability, efficiency, recognizability, error and satisfaction. The result shows that the respondents had a generally negative attitude towards the usability of dark mode on social media regarding all five usability components. We propose a bigger clarity in how to switch to and from dark mode so that seniors easily themselves can choose which mode they prefer to use.

Findability is crucial for usability and user experience of websites. E-government websites, such as those of municipalities, regions, and other government agencies, often contain vast amounts of information and services, putting findability to the test. This study aims to investigate findability on a combined regional and municipal website through a case study, identifying the components of information architecture, navigation methods, and features that have the greatest impact on the website's findability. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, analyzing log data on website visit statistics and conducting a secondary analysis on a survey on user experience. The results reveal that organizing content from the users' perspective, accurate labeling, and improving internal search capabilities are some of the prioritized areas for enhancing findability. Additionally, the study demonstrates that commonly accepted measures of findability on commercial websites, such as bounce rates and visit duration, may not be directly applicable to e-government websites

In today's society more and more people are consuming both clothes and groceries using websites online. With a few clicks, users have access to a wide range of products and services. However, many of these e-commerce sites also contain design intended to control users through dark patterns. While such practices can both manipulate and mislead, users can also become emotionally affected. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the user's emotions are affected by dark patterns on e-commerce sites. With qualitative research, the emotional impact on users is investigated while users explore a selection of websites, Shein and Systembolaget. This study was conducted using the Condensed Contextual Inquiry session method, including a brief interview with participants. The results illustrate that the majority of participants experienced dark patterns negatively on the e-commerce sites with emotions such as stress, irritation and uncertainty. Although participants identified dark patterns and experienced negative perceptions of these on both websites, the e-commerce site Shein contained the most dark patterns that were interpreted negatively on the users. The study concludes, therefore, that negative experiences on e-commerce websites using dark patterns can affect the users propensity for action and return.

As a new citizen of a country, it is important to be able to absorb socially important information in an accessible way. For second language speakers, this can be challenging. The purpose of this study is to create knowledge about the importance of language in making information accessible on a selected municipality's website for people who are learning Swedish. Through this work, we wish to contribute to an increased understanding of the importance of language for accessibility on the web, what accessible language means and the user group's experiences of accessible language. The study builds on theories in information architecture and accessible language. It is based on a qualitative research strategy with quantitative elements. Despite some variations, the results show that the understanding of the website's texts is relatively good. These variations can, among other things, be linked to the readability index of the texts. We can see that active language work on a municipal website is important for making the information accessible and that an accessible language influences this user group's ability to absorb the information.

Ny teknik utvecklas dagligen och ger upphov till nya möjligheter för användaren. Med tanke på teknikutvecklingens framfart kan de etiska aspekterna ibland försummas. Syftet med uppsatsen är att lokalisera etiska problemställningar som uppkommer vid utövandet av yrkesrollen informationsarkitekt. För att lokalisera dessa utfördes en litteraturundersökning samt en etisk analys av resultatet. Litteraturundersökningen resulterar i tre teman: immaterialrätt, sociala nätverk och beteende och identitet på nätet. På dessa teman applicerades Tavanis analysmodell för att lyfta fram olika etiska perspektiv. Uppsatsen kunde utifrån resultaten lokalisera att det finns ett allmänt behov av etik för utvecklare. / New technologies are being developed every day which creates new opportunities for users.Given the technological advancement, the ethical issues can sometimes be neglected. The purpose of this paper is to locate the ethical issues that arise when working as an Information architect. To locate these issues a literature survey was conducted and an ethical analysis was performed of the results. The survey covers three areas: intellectual property, social networks and human behaviour. To deliberate on the ethical issues Tavanis analysis model was used. The result of the paper concluded a general need of ethics for developers.

Affärsnytta är ett mångtydigt och svårdefinierat begrepp, men det är något som alla verksamheter vill uppnå.Uppsatsen avgränsar sig till särskilda kvalitativa egenskaper som definieras av ISO/IEC FDIS 25010:2010 under kapitlet "Quality in use". Uppsatsen går ut på att utvärdera de kvalitativa egenskaperna och om SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) bidrar till dessa samt inom vilken aspekt av affärsnytta. För att svara på frågan var det relevant att utvärdera begreppen Affärsnytta och Kvalitativ nytta samt definiera SOA.Resultatet fick vi genom kvalitativa intervjuer från fyra respondenter som har deltagit i ett lyckat SOA projekt och har goda kunskaper inom SOA och dess koppling till affärsnytta inom olika aspekter.Utifrån litteraturen och resultatet ser vi indikationer på att SOA bidrar till de utvalda kvalitativa egenskaperna. Resultatet visar även indikationer på att SOA bidrar till kvalitativ nytta och att det är en drivande kraft för strävan av affärsnytta. / Business value is ambiguous and very hard to define, but it is something that all enterprises strive for.The thesis focuses on specific quality characteristics defined by ISO / IEC FDIS 25010:2010 chapter "Quality in use". The thesis aims to evaluate the qualitative attributes and to find out if SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) contributes to these and in what aspect of business value. To answer the question it was relevant to define Business Value, Qualitative value and SOA.Our results are based on four qualitative interviews from respondents who have participated in a successful SOA project and have knowledge about SOA and it’s connection to business value in various aspects.We see indications that SOA contributes to the selected qualitative characteristics based on the litterature and result. The result also indicates that SOA contributes to qualitative value and that it is the driving force behind the pursuit of business value.

This study aims to address whether Swedish e-commerce websites use dark patterns in cookies and, if so, how they do it and what users think is ethically acceptable regarding this matter. Previous research has mainly focused on identifying dark patterns and the user experience aspect of cookies and dark patterns. In this study, a framework based on definitions of dark patterns from Brignull (u.å.b) and Forbrukerrådet (2018), was used to identify dark patterns in cookies through a content analysis on 30 of the e-commerce websites in Sweden with the highest economic turnover. What users consider to be ethically acceptable is examined through a survey with a total of 111 respondents. The results show that dark patterns are used to a large extent on Swedish e-commerce websites and out of eight examined dark patterns, an average of five dark patterns per website were identified. The results also indicate that the majority of users thought that dark patterns in cookies are ethically unacceptable, even though a certain part of the respondents also seemed to be more neutral set in the matter.

The importance of information literacy has become increasingly evident in the expansive information environment of social media platforms. Anyone can share information, which also leads to the spread of misinformation. For instance, many individuals share information about ADHD diagnoses, often claiming that certain behaviors are definitive signs of having ADHD. In this qualitative study we first use the walkthrough method to observe the platform’s information architecture, drawing on affordance theory and how it can affect user’s interaction and interpretations on the platform. Secondly, we conduct semi-structured interviews to examine how users interactions and interpretations are influenced by their source criticism skills, grounded in information literacy. The results from the walkthrough method show that the platform’s affordances related to interaction and interpretation, such as comments, are easy to find and use. It is also evident that there is a choice about which features are more prominent than others. It also shows that the short-form content and scrolling-function make it easy for users to consume a large amount of information in a short time. The clearest result from the interviews is that respondents interpretate information about ADHD on TikTok, to be general and primarily interact with content that is entertaining and fun. The study has led to several conclusions. Two of them are firstly, that functions on TikTok are strategically placed to affect how users interact with the content. Secondly, that users' approach to information literacy affects whether users find the information reliable, which in turn affects how they interact with it.

This study explores the impact of information architecture (IA) through choice architecture on conversion rates for Software as a Service (SaaS) company websites. This study is performed as a case study where the research underscores the necessity of a well-balanced IA that effectively aligns user needs, content, and context. Although achieving this balance is complex, the findings illustrate that a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between IA and conversions can enhance conversion rates. By examining the most visited and highest converting pages over the study period, the research identifies key differences and commonalities among these pages. It goes into the relationship between visual affordances within IA, choice architecture and conversions, offering insights into how design elements influence user behavior and conversion outcomes. The data suggests that an increase in visual affordances aimed at promoting conversions does not necessarily boost conversion rates. Additionally, while visit duration appears to have minimal impact on conversions, there is a clear visitor preference for certain types of conversions than others. Integrating insights from previous research with the study's findings, the proposed formula to gauge the impact of design and IA on conversions is. This formula indicates the extent to which visual affordances impact conversions through IA, enhancing our understanding of how design affects user behavior and conversion rates on SaaS company websites.