Usability and FUN

1
Usability and FUN!

• Charlotte Wibergs Usability and Fun An Overview
  of Relevant Research in the HCI Community
• As presented by Trent Grover

Iowa State University HCI 522x Scientific
Methods of HCI
2
Usability vs. Enjoyability

• Importance of fun/entertainment in IT is
  increasing
• Fun is rarely discussed or measured in IT

3
HCI Trends re FUN

• 3 HCI perspectives on fun
• Usability Reductionism fun results from ease of
  use
• Design Reductionism fun features should be
  added later
• Market Reductionism fun is only an advertising
  tool
• Usability testing focuses on functional aspects
• HCI interest in pleasure and fun is growing, but
  still severely underdeveloped

4
Why so little research?

• No clear theoretical basis
• Cognitive psychology has no tradition for
  investigating fun
• Too many Plato-esque questions
• Few methods for evaluation
• Data is subjective
• Hard to produce significant results
• Funding sources scarce

5
Why should HCI change?

• Beauty affects perceived usability
• Beauty best predictor of overall impression of
  web pages
• Positive correlation between aesthetics and
  perceived usability
• Time flies when youre having fun
• Studies of internet surfing
• Enjoyment focuses the user without interest in
  time/efficiency
• Funs role often trumps traditional evaluation
  methods in usability testing

6
What can we do?

• Key questions in future HCI research
• What does fun mean in the context of usability?
• How can we evaluate fun?
• Need a more holistic view
• Studies to define and measure different types of
  pleasure
• Studies to measure overall user experience

7
Key Points

• Usability testing suffers by focusing solely on
  functional aspects of products.
• Studies have shown that beauty and fun affect the
  perception of usability.
• The definition and evaluation of fun is a key
  subject for future HCI research.