Into the wild

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Asadzadeh

Rost

et al. 2016

Numerous studies have tracked people's everyday use of digital devices, but without consideration of how such data might be of personal interest to the user. We have developed a personal tracking application that enables users to automatically monitor their 'screen time' on mobile devices (iOS and Android) and computers (Mac and Windows). The application interface enables users to combine screen time data from multiple devices. We trialled the application for 28+ days with 21 users, collecting log data and interviewing each user. We found that there is interest in personal tracking in this area, but that the study participants were less interested in quantifying their overall screen time than in gaining data about their use of specific devices and applications. We found that personal tracking of device use is desirable for goals including: increasing productivity, disciplining device use, and cutting down on use.

“…Trials such as ours are an important part of understanding and working-up design knowledge [3,45]. Our particular cohort is as valid as any for generating insight.…”

Section: " (P8)mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…As Brown et al [3] argue, the purpose of such trials is not to gauge users' 'likes and dislikes' or to assess the usability of the application, but to gain feedback and insight.…”

Section: Personal Trackingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal Tracking of Screen Time on Digital Devices

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Asadzadeh

Rost

et al. 2016

“…Following Brown et al [6], we have invited people to install the app on their own devices and use it during their day-to-day lives. We did not mandate sole use of this messaging app, but encouraged participants to use the app enough to be able to comment upon the design through experience.…”

Section: Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchronous Text Messaging

Podlubny

Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact.

Rost

et al. 2017

We have created and evaluated a novel mobile messaging app named Curtains Messenger. The app has been designed to support synchrony in messaging. It does this by requiring users to be in the app at the same time as each other in order to send, receive and read messages. This design is contrary to typical apps where messages can be sent and read asynchronously at an individual's convenience. We have conducted a field trial in which 15 users installed the app on their own devices and used it in the wild. We present a qualitative analysis of interviews with the participants following the trial. The findings address how the app was used, how synchrony affected conversational flows, how synchrony raised issues of attention and intimacy, and what issues users faced in the practical work of conducting synchronous messaging. This work demonstrates how core concepts in the study of cooperative work such as a/synchrony can be drawn upon to reconsider taken-for-granted design features of mobile applications and the lived experience of communication.

“…Our aim with RosApp was to rapidly create and evaluate a simple prototype in order to further probe the design space, as opposed to creating a fully featured release. The design decisions we made were pragmatic, with a view to creating something from which we can learn design lessons (an approach discussed in [4,6]). …”

Section: Rosapp Prototypementioning

confidence: 99%

Technology for Self-Management of Rosacea

Buls

Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems

2017

Rosacea is a chronic skin condition with multiple signs and symptoms, but typically associated with reddening of the face. Sufferers usually want to avoid and reduce flare-ups of the condition, and so will try to identify and limit possible triggers. In this paper we report an investigation into technology for managing rosacea, particularly for identifying and tracking triggers. Our study has included: a survey of the existing technology; a survey of the attitudes and opinions of people with rosacea on technology; and finally, the production and evaluation of a prototype for identifying triggers. This work is investigatory and so our formative evaluation and discussion focus on understanding the problem space and establishing directions for future development work.