The usability of complex scientific software is often lacking as it tends to not receive a high priority in development, in addition to the fact that developers are usually engineers with a low level of knowledge in usability areas. The study examines such a software in an environment with a significant difference in terms of user skill, which creates some issues in terms of improving usability. Novice users need to have a higher degree of learnability to better understand how to operate the system, but this cannot reduce the overall level of complexity since it is required by experienced users to perform more advanced tasks. To find out how usability could be increased under these conditions, qualitative interviews were conducted with users of the software. The gathered data was applied to a thematic analysis that was used as a foundation in the development of a functional prototype for a new design, which was iteratively tested and evaluated with users. The design integrates a somewhat novel feature through a zoom-in function as an adaptable view, where the user can visualize a more complex layer of the software. The study also highlights the importance of correctly identifying central user activities in an environment with a high difference in complexity among tasks, to make more informed design decisions around visual priority.

I och med att digitalisering, användning av internet och e-tjänster har ökat finns ett stort behov av att se till att webbsidors information kan nå ut till och tillgodogöras av alla individer. Det finns ett antal lagar, riktlinjer och krav för att uppnå detta. I Sverige är det ett lagkrav för offentlig service att skapa digitala tjänster som är tillgängliga för alla individer oavsett behov och förmågor, vilket framkommer i Lag om tillgänglighet till digital offentlig service som bygger på bestämmelser från EU-direktivet och har i syfte att säkerställa att offentlig service kan nås av alla individer. I syfte att undersöka användbarhet, tillgänglighet och potentiella förbättringsmöjligheter hos Nationell Patientenkäts resultatsida har användbarhetstester med testuppgifter, think aloud, semi-strukturerade intervjuer samt SUS-enkäter tillämpats. Testerna genomfördes av sex testdeltagare för att ge insikt i potentiella användares interaktion med webbsidan. Utvärdering av tillgänglighet genomfördes genom att testa Nationell Patientenkäts resultatsida mot utvalda krav ur WCAG 2.1, dessa valdes ut utifrån resultaten från användbarhetstesterna. I analys av insamlade data utifrån Benyons 12 designprinciper och utifrån analys av hur webbsidan lever upp till kriterier ur WCAG 2.1 framkom det att resultatsidan har rätt god användbarhet samt tillgänglighet, men för att öka båda dessa skulle mindre justeringar behöva göras främst inom synlighet och tydlighet för funktionalitet.

Då ett företags webbplats är ansiktet utåt till kunder och en kanal som ska generera värdeför företaget så är det viktigt att dess innehåll och dess design är genomtänkt och möter användarnas behov. Konverteringsoptimering handlar om att omvandla en besökare till kund, vilket leder till en ökad lönsamhet. Denna studie genomfördes på uppdrag av ett företag med syfte att testa och utvärdera hur man genom förändring av design kan generera en ökad konvertering på utvalda sidor på företagets webbplats. Med hjälp av verktyget Google Optimize, så har så kallade A/B-tester satts upp och testats på webbplatsens besökare under en period, för att undersöka hur webbsidorna presterar i förhållande till varandra. Google Analytics har försett Google Optimize med webbtrafikdata och därefter har Google Optimize sammanställt vilken version av sidorna som presterat bäst under denna period. Vidare användes Hotjar för att få fram en karta över besökarnas scrollbeteende. Resultatet från testerna visade en klar framgång för vissa förändringar i designen, även om rekommendationerna till företaget är att fortsätta testa och jobba vidare med konverteringsoptimering på sin webbplats. Slutsatserna av undersökningen är att placering av element och dess synlighet definitivt kan ha en påverkan på besökarnas beteende och därmed också på konverteringsgraden.

The thesis aims to explore digital interface elements that inhibit physical properties from the real world. Using a material-centric thinking, which is both developed and sharpened throughout the process, different physical materials and their attributes are collected, evaluated and attempted to be carried over into a digital medium. The outcome of the project is a repository of digital interface elements that “respond to the world around them.” By leveraging the sensing capabilities of today’s smartphones, the elements react to physical input and change their visual expression and interactive behavior. This makes the interface, and the device, feel like a extension of reality and “more like a physical thing in the world.” The project aims to inspire and provoke other designers to think about their practice and craft in the field of digital interface and interaction design.

UX is a discipline which is gaining attraction and simultaneously changing. This study takes an exploratory approach into how UX practitioners adapt to this young and changing industry. The implications of this helps us understand their reality as well as potential areas for further research. To do this, data was collected in the form of interviews from working practitioners within the field and interpreted with thematic analysis. The contribution from analyzing the data revealed that UX practitioners are adapting by seeking knowledge from peers and other non-academic sources such as webinars and conferences, and they use this to adapt both to their environment as well as potential future areas. Other findings were the limitations in practice that UX practitioners struggle with on a day-to-day basis, and that these limitations could have a potential impact on why they seek knowledge.

Home adpats to different life stages of family members. It provides an envrionment for kids to explore and learn. It balances the private life between adolescent and parents. However, it is different for families with Down syndrome because of their slow life path and demaning for time. This project aims to explore how might we improve the family relationship during the transition of living together in the context of a family with Down syndrome. I concentrate on the family plan for independent living: cooking-related activities. It is a long-term life project which demands time and higher motivation. From the research, parents have control over the learning process, which can influence young adults' confidence in making decisions and parents' building trust in their abilities. How might we support the process of collaborative learning for parents and DS young adult to achieve the long-period life project? Take the food planning as an example, this project explores touchpoints of trust building, learning transfer and decision-making points. "COOKIES" is a platform that connects different learning scenarios and on-going practice together. It helps to transfer the learning from outside home to the home cooking context. It motivates young adults with DS to leveling up missions defined by themselves. Parent's ambition is balanced with DS young adult's exploration. With the ability learned in this process, it can also influence several other domains of life choices.

This study investigates the perspectives of healthcare professionals regarding the integration of consumer health applications and patient-generated data into healthcare practices. Through semi-structured interviews with five healthcare professionals from different regions in Sweden, this thesis explores key features that are most valuable to health professionals in enhancing health personnel-patient collaboration as well as how patient-generated data from self-tracking applications can be best integrated into healthcare practices towards achieving health goals. The findings reveal a positive attitude towards these applications, with healthcare professionals recognizing their value in promoting patient engagement, facilitating data-driven decision-making, and enhancing collaboration between patients and providers. However, concerns regarding data reliability, privacy, and the need for seamless integration into existing workflows are highlighted. The study contributes to the understanding of healthcare professionals' perspectives and provides insights into the design and potential adoption and effective implementation of consumer health applications in healthcare settings.

This thesis explores how single parents utilise online forums, particularly Reddit, to navigate parenting challenges and mental health issues. The study involves a mixed-method approach which includes sentiment analysis and thematic analysis.  Through a comprehensive analysis of forum posts and comments, the research identifies key themes and support mechanisms expressed by single parents in addition to the quantitative data from sentimental analysis representing the emotional tone of the text in the posts. The findings reveal that online communities serve as crucial platforms for emotional support, knowledge exchange, and community building. This research contributes to understanding the role of digital spaces in supporting single parents and offers insights for designing more effective online social support intervention by addressing AI-driven features, expert moderation and bridging the gap between online and offline social support for single parents.

Combining surveillance and emotion analysis seems to be on the doorstep and companies are fighting for a competitive edge with Artificial Intelligence. Our study investigates the attitudes of customers towards retail AI emotion recognition implementations and how they can be used by retailers. What role can emotion detecting AI systems play in retail customer interactions? How do people interact with novel AI surveillance technology and the ethical and privacy implications especially involving emotions, in retail environments? Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data from participants to gauge acceptable practices as well as privacy and ethical considerations. Respondents provided varied responses to different scenarios, but most were open to data collection and emotional data processing. Through analysis of the data, several key themes were uncovered including Convenience, Control over Data and Expectation of Privacy. The understandings gained throughout the research point to a need for guidelines and regulations to deploy emotion detecting AI safely and considerately. Finally, recommendations are provided for the multitude of aspects that require attention in designing AI monitoring systems.

Kommunikation är en förutsättning för att organisationer ska fungera och sätten att kommunicera på har utvecklats i takt med den tekniska utvecklingen. Med det stora utbudet av kommunikationskanaler som finns idag kan det vara svårt att veta vilken kommunikationskanal som lämpas i olika situationer. Den här rapporten baseras på en fallstudie där den upplevda kommunikationseffektiviteten tenderade att variera beroende på vilken kommunikationskanal som användes vid nyhetsspridning. Tidigare forskning har studerat hur valet av kommunikationskanal kan påverka kommunikationseffektiviteten ur olika perspektiv, men inte då informationstypen är en nyhet. Därför ansågs det intressant att studera hur olika kommunikationskanaler påverkar kommunikationseffektiviteten vid nyhetsspridning.   Syftet med studien var att lyfta fram och beskriva hur kommunikationskanaler påverkar den upplevda kommunikationseffektiviteten, när informationstypen är en nyhet. För att uppnå syftet skulle följande forskningsfråga besvaras:   Vilka för- och nackdelar upplever anställda med kommunikationskanaler gällande kommunikationseffektiveten vid nyhetsspridning på ett stort nationellt företag?   Teorier som användes för att uppnå syftet med studien var Media Richness Theory och Osgood och Schramms cirkulära kommunikationsmodell. Teorierna har använts för att förklara hur nyhetsspridning sker på fallföretaget och för att belysa och eventuellt förklara upplevda problem i samband med nyhetsspridningen.   Data samlades in genom tillämpning av en kvalitativ metod och utförandet av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Undersökningen visade att det upplevdes för- och nackdelar med samtliga kommunikationskanaler, samt att den upplevda kommunikationseffektiviteten tenderade att variera, beroende på vilken nyhetstyp som kommunicerades via kommunikationskanalerna. När resultatet ställdes mot forskningsfrågan och det teoretiska ramverket visade det sig att upplevda för- och nackdelar med kommunikationskanalerna, var kopplat till huruvida nyhetstypen är rutin- eller icke rutinmässig och hur den matchas med en rik eller fattig kommunikationskanal, vilket Media Richness Theory också förklarar.   Slutsatsen av studien visade att nyhetsspridning som sker face to face och via telefon möjliggör interaktion och förmedling av känslor i realtid, men där känslor inte upplevs förmedlas lika bra via telefon som face to face, de många signalerna kan dessutom upplevas som överväldigande. Mejl, anslagstavla och intranät är tidsmässigt effektivt och plats och tids oberoende i olika grad. Däremot är möjligheten till interaktion och förmedling av känslor begränsad. Resultatet tyder på att kommunikationskanalernas för- och nackdelar verkar vara kopplat till huruvida kommunikationskanalerna upplevs som lämpliga för att förmedla olika typer av nyheter. Rika kommunikationskanaler upplevs som effektiva för att förmedla icke rutinmässiga nyheter och mindre rika kanaler upplevs som effektiva för att förmedla rutinmässiga nyheter. / Communication is an important function within organizations and the ways of communicating have developed rapidly due to technological development, which can make it difficult to know which communication channel that is best to use in different situations. This report is based on a case study were the perceived communication efficiency tended to vary depending on which communication channel that was used. Previous research shows how the choice of communication channels can affect the communication efficiency, however, it does not show this from the perspective of news as an information type. Therefore, it was considered interesting to study how different communication channels affect the communication efficiency in terms of news distribution.   The aim of this study was to illustrate and describe how communication channels affect the perceived communication efficiency when the information that is transferred consists of news. To achieve this, the following research question would be answered:   What advantages and disadvantages do employees experience with communication channels regarding the communication efficiency for news distribution in a large national company?   Theories that have been applied in the study are Media Richness Theory and Osgood and Schramms circular communication model. Theories have been used to explain how news distribution takes place in the case company and to illustrate and possibly explain the problems that the company experience with news distribution.   Data was collected by applying a qualitative method in which semi-structured interviews have been used. The result shows that respondents experience both advantages and disadvantages with all the communication channels and that the perceived communication efficiency tended to vary depending on which kind of news. When the result was set against the research question and the theoretical framework, advantages and disadvantages that were experienced, turned out to be depending on if the news were routine or non-routine and how it was matched with a rich or poor communication channel, which Media Richness Theory also declare.    The conclusion of this study shows that news distribution through face to face and telephone enables direct interaction and transmission of emotions, however, emotions are not transmitted as well through telephone as face to face. The many signals can also be experienced as overwhelmingly. E-mail, intranet and signboard are effective in terms of time and are not as depending on time and space. In addition, the possibility of direct interaction and transmission of feelings is limited. The result indicates that advantages and disadvantages with the communication channels seems to be linked to whether the channel is perceived as suitable to transfer different kinds of news. Rich communication channels are perceived to be effective for transmitting non-routine news and poor channels are perceived to be effective for transmitting routine news.