Lead User Analysis for the Development of Shape Changing Interfaces
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Perustieteiden korkeakoulu |
Master's thesis
Ask about the availability of the thesis by sending email to the Aalto University Learning Centre oppimiskeskus@aalto.fi
Authors
Date
2017-02-13
Department
Major/Subject
Human-Computer Interaction and Design
Mcode
SCI3020
Degree programme
Master's Programme in ICT Innovation
Language
en
Pages
62 + 40
Series
Abstract
The majority of flexible interfaces developed to date are only capable of sensing binary values that represent touch, and have a low actuation pressure. Most interfaces that allow for variable pressure input are either excessively complex from a technical standpoint, or do not support multi-touch. This thesis explores the idea of a multi-touch, variable-pressure input technique. Additionally, the steps followed to develop said technique, the process followed to find a potential use case, and the suitability of the studied users as lead users are presented. Subsequent to the development of the sensing technique, potential use-cases for applying the technique as an input device for smartphones were explored. The targeted users are cyclists who actively use smart device for tasks such as fitness tracking and navigation. 11 expert users as well as 11 everyday users were individually interview in context and an experiential prototype was built. The prototype aims to address the interface-related needs inferred from the initial insights of the expert users. Later analysis showed that 2 of the 11 expert users exhibited typical lead user characteristics, and reinforced that expert users in general offer a much greater wealth and depth of insights compared to everyday users. From a further survey, it was found that the needs found through contextual interviews were latent for 1 in 7 of the 104 surveyed everyday cyclists. The study shows that expert users are, in general, a good place to start with the needfinding process, but that the chance of finding lead users among experts is still quite low. Method-related recommendations for future work include looking for extreme cases among expert users, and involving a design team to enrich the needfinding process, rather than relying mainly on individual work. All needs found through the expert user interviews were found to be important by a significant number of everyday users, therefore a set of recommendations as to which direction future developments should take to address each of these needs is made. The most significant of these needs is the accidental input recognition, since it is both latent and not already addressed by current commercial products.Description
Supervisor
Hölttä-Otto, KatjaThesis advisor
Hoggan, EveKeywords
lead user, HCI, tangible, shape changing, user centered, cycling