Models of user experience from the field of HCI

This section presents an overview of descriptive quality models related to user experience from the field of HCI (see also Jumisko-Pyykkö 2011, Mahlke 2008). The aim is to identify from the models the components of user experience, including the descriptive qualities as user experience components. The models from the field of IS that incorporate similar constructs or components as user experience models, but have also differing components relevant to this research, are reviewed in the next section.

The user experience components provide the theoretical background for the initial conceptual framework of user experience that was constructed in the beginning of the thesis work (see Figure 15). It is elaborated based on the empirical findings of the thesis work and presented in Chapter 5 (Figure 18). As the aim of the model created based on the synthesis of the thesis work is to provide support for developing and evaluating systems for mobile users that support mobile and cooperative work and crowdsourcing in mobile newsmaking, the approach in this thesis is primarily based on the user-centered component models of user experience and specifically focusing on quality-based models. Perceived quality refers to the user’s subjective perception on an object’s quality – or characteristic – whether the object is a system, an application, a mobile service, an outcome of usage of the system, or an impact of the adopted technology on the current situation or practices, for example. This thesis aims to identify the components of the descriptive qualities (attributes), the objects they are related to, and the factors that can contribute to the perceived descriptive qualities, in order to create a model of user experience based on earlier research and the empirical findings from the studies of the thesis.

Models chosen for the review have as common components of user experience 1) descriptive system or service related qualities, and 2) other experiential dimensions, such as emotional user reactions. In addition, they include 3) influencing factors, or antecedents, of the perceived quality or experience and/or 4) the consequences or outcomes of user experience. Some of the presented models are based on definitions, but they are included in this section to highlight the proposed and studied components of user experience.

2.2.1 The model of user experience by Hassenzahl and Tractinsky

One of the influential definitions for user experience in the field of HCI is presented by Hassenzahl and Tractinsky (2006): “UX is a consequence of a user’s internal state (predispositions, expectations, needs, motivation, mood, etc.), the characteristics of the designed system (e.g.

complexity, purpose, usability, functionality, etc.) and the context (or the environment) within which the interaction occurs (e.g. organizational/social setting, meaningfulness of the activity, voluntariness of use, etc.).” This definition emphasizes the characteristics of the user, system, and context as the factors that influence user experience. It has been illustrated by Roto (2006) (see Figure 2) and it illustrates the influencing factors. However, the model does not provide details on the components of user experience and the consequences of user experience.

Figure 2. Illustration by Roto (2006, p. 26) for the definition of user experience presented by Hassenzahl and Tractinsky (2006) (reprinted with permission).

2.2.2 The model of user experience from the ISO standard

The standard for the Human-centered design of interactive systems (ISO 9241-210:2010) defines user experience as a “person’s perceptions and responses that result from the use/or anticipated use of a product, system or service”. The definition emphasizes a broad and holistic view to user experience and describes the user’s perceptions and responses as the manifestation of user experience. In addition, it highlights the temporal aspect relating to expectations prior to usage in addition to the experience based on the usage. The definition includes the following notes that aim to concretize the broad definition.

Note 1 describes the experiential components as follows: “User experience includes all the users’

emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, behaviours and accomplishments that occur before, during and after use”. This note highlights the multiple facets of user experience and the temporal dimensions of user experience. It also raises accomplishments as a component of user experience, being the only user experience model that can be interpreted to refer to what is concretely achieved as a result of the system usage.

Note 2 underlines the influencing factors: “User experience is a consequence of brand image, presentation, functionality, system performance, interactive behavior and assistive capabilities of the interactive system, the user’s internal and physical state resulting from prior experiences, attitudes, skills and personality, and the context of use.” This note emphasizes the features of the interactive system, the characteristics of the user, as well as generally the context of use as factors influencing user experience. These factors were also described in the previously presented definition by Hassenzahl and Tractinsky (2006).

Note 3 comments on the role of usability in relation to user experience: “Usability, when interpreted from the perspective of the users’ personal goals, can include the kind of perceptual and emotional aspects typically associated with user experience. Usability criteria can be used to assess aspects of user experience.” This addition is useful as it provides a comment on the debate between the similarity and difference between usability and user experience. It leaves it open for further research to investigate how usability and user experience are related. In addition, it remains somewhat unclear what is exactly meant by goals and whether they solely refer to instrumental goals in this case. Some of the models of user experience with quality-based approaches include usability related system qualities (attributes) in the models (Hassenzahl, 2003, 2004; Mahlke, 2008; Mahlke et al. 2007; Thüring et al. 2007).

As a summary, this definition for user experience emphasizes the following aspects:

- Experiential components: All users’ perceptions and responses resulting from the use or anticipated use of a product, system, or service,

- The temporal aspect of experience: The temporal aspects of the user experience, before, during, and after the system use,

- Influencing factors: All factors that influence user experience, including the characteristics of the user, the interactive system, as well as the context of use, and

- Usability as a construct for system attributes that may influence user experience.

2.2.3 The model of user experience by Hassenzahl

Hassenzahl (2003, 2004) presents one of the first models for user experience that illustrates the product attributes as components of user experience (see Figure 3). According to Hassenzahl (2003, 2004), product character can be described by two attribute groups, namely pragmatic and hedonic attributes (Hassenzahl, 2003). Each person constructs his/her own personal version of the product character based on the product features and on her/his personal standards and expectations (Hassenzahl, 2003, 2004). Pragmatic qualities (attributes) are related to the product’s usability and utility when the product is used for instrumental tasks and goals, and the user has a need to achieve behavioral goals (ibid.). On the contrary, hedonic qualities (attributes) are related to the user’s self, such as stimulation and identification (ibid.).

Figure 3. The key elements of Hassenzahl’s model of user experience (Hassenzahl, 2003).

Hedonic quality focuses on the aspects of stimulation, identification, and evocation (Hassenzahl, 2003). Stimulation is related to personal development, that is, to curiosity, personal growth, the

development of skills, and the proliferation of knowledge (ibid.). Identification addresses the expression of self and the user’s personal values to relevant others through objects and is therefore social (ibid.). Evocation refers to the product’s ability to provoke memories, such as important past events or relationships (ibid.). According to Hassenzahl, the subjective perception of the product character leads to consequences, such as judgments about the product’s appeal, goodness, and beauty (Hassenzahl 2003, 2004), as well as emotional and behavioral consequences. As examples of emotional consequences Hassenzahl discusses satisfaction and pleasure (ibid.).

The model presented by Hassenzahl was used in the beginning of this thesis work, jointly with some other models, to create an initial conceptual framework for user experience (see Figure 15) and as a basis in the evaluation of user experience in mobile newsmaking (P3, P4). Recent research based on the constructs of pragmatic and hedonic quality, beauty and goodness, investigates inference from overall judgments to pragmatic and hedonic qualities (van Schaik et al. 2012). Therefore, further studies are needed to establish the causal linkages.

2.2.4 The model for the components of user experience by Mahlke

A component-based model for user experience is presented by Mahlke (2008), Mahlke et al.

(2007), and Thüring et al. (2007). The model is comprised of three main components (see Figure 4):

1) the influencing factors (system properties, user characteristics, context/task parameters), 2) three user experience components (the perception of instrumental qualities, the perception of non-instrumental qualities, emotional user reactions) and 3) the consequences of the user experience (overall judgments, choice between alternatives, usage behavior). The influencing factors related to system, user, and user’s tasks and goals affect the perception of instrumental and non-instrumental qualities, and emotional user reactions are influenced in the user’s interaction with the system. The user experience leads to consequences, including behavioral consequences.

Figure 4. The components of user experience (Mahlke, 2008).

This model describes a holistic, generic framework for user experience components. It focuses on the perception of instrumental and non-instrumental qualities, and emotional user reactions as the user experience components. Emotional user reactions are components of user experience. It therefore differs from the model presented by Hassenzahl (2003) in which emotional consequences are a consequence of the perception of the product character. The model by Mahlke also separates the consequences of user experience from the components of user experience. This model provides the initial conceptual background jointly with the model by Hassenzahl (2003) for the model of user experience for mobile newsmaking with smartphones.

2.2.5 The model for mobile browsing user experience by Roto

Roto (2006) approaches user experience in mobile browsing with a product-centric view aimed at supporting user-centered design and development of solutions for mobile browsing. She presents a model for mobile browsing user experience with the components and attributes that are presented in Figure 5. This model highlights the characteristics of the user and the dimensions of context as factors influencing user experience. It provides a useful approach for breaking down the system to the system’s sub-components (in this case; mobile device, browser, connection, gateway, sites) that influence the user experience. It presents the subcomponent related experiential aspects as attributes or qualities related to the subcomponents. The model support the user-centered design of solutions for mobile browsing, from identifying the characteristics of the context of use to the evaluation of the developed prototypes and solutions.

For this thesis, the user experience model of Roto provides support for illustrating and analyzing the system subcomponents and the related qualities that influence the user experience. This breakdown to subcomponent related qualities can be used for design and evaluation purposes.

Figure 5. The characteristics of the mobile browsing user experience (Roto, 2006, p. 68, reprinted with permission).

2.2.6 The model of User-Centered Quality of Experience by Jumisko-Pyykkö

Jumisko-Pyykkö (2011) presents a model for quality of experience based on empirical studies for viewing experience of mobile television (see Figure 6). She defines User-Centered Quality of Experience as follows: “User-Centered Quality of Experience is constructed in an active perceptual process where the characteristics of user, the system, and the context of use are contributing and its outcome is described by different experiential dimensions.”

The model has four main components: User, system, context of use, and experiential dimensions.

The user is the person who actively perceives, i.e., controls and manipulates, a system (Jumisko-Pyykkö, 2011). In the case of mobile television, the system represents the characteristics of produced video quality that are categorized into three abstraction levels, namely, content, media, and network (ibid.). The context of use represents the circumstances in which the viewing takes place (ibid.).

Finally, the experiential dimensions define the outcome of the perceptual process (ibid.). These include four dimensions: descriptive attributes (verbally expressible distinctive features of quality), excellence (preference of overall quality or its attributes), appropriateness to use (the relation of quality to the fulfillment of requirements for use), and psychophysiological influence (physiological automatic reactions to quality with a connection to psychologically interpretable phenomena) (ibid.).

Jumisko-Pyykkö (2011) describes three processes between the components represented by arrows in Figure 6). First, there is an active perceptual process between the user and the system in the context of use, where all these components contribute (Jumisko-Pyykkö, 2011). Second, an active learning process takes place between the user and the experiential dimensions (ibid.). An active adaptation and accommodation of the user’s existing data structures takes place that influence the directing of the user’s attention in quality perception (ibid.). The knowledge of experiential dimensions gained from user studies can be used in the development of system characteristics (ibid.).

Although this model specifically focuses on mobile television, it provides a step forward from the previously presented models to support further studies in the field of HCI on user experience when focus is on the descriptive qualities as outcome of user experience. The strength of the model is the clear distinction of the outcome of the perceptual process to four dimensions that includes descriptive attributes, excellence, appropriateness to use, and psychophysiological influence. This approach with the experiential dimensions, and specifically the quality perceptions (descriptive attributes), as an outcome of the perceptual processes related to user experience is adopted in this thesis work.