Contributions published at People and Computing Lab (Elaine May Huang)

Recent advances in voice-based telecom information systems enable underprivileged and low-literacy users to access and offer online services without expensive devices or specialized technical knowledge. We propose SRLs (speech resource locators), a mechanism that facilitates the creation, access, and sharing of online voice content. To test the interaction with SRLs, we developed a proof-of-concept application that allows for simple sharing of voice content. We subsequently created a smartphone application for the same service that provided a graphical user interface to the online voice application. Our findings show that literate underprivileged people were able to share online voice content on feature phones and smart phones whereas in low-literacy people were unable to access shared content over feature phones but able to do so on smart phones. We conclude by highlighting opportunities and challenges for the design of voice-based applications that support information sharing.

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This thesis focuses on temporal metaphors for smart home information visualization, whereas traditional smart home interfaces often make use of spatial metaphors like floor plans to visualize smart home information. With home automation becoming increasingly widespread the affected audience is becoming broader as well. Research has shown that a lot of smart home inhabitants – especially persons without technical background – experience several barriers to understanding and satisfaction. In order to provide more understandable interfaces and thus improving user acceptance and satisfaction, two paper prototypes were created. These were evaluated in an iterative design process that led to an interactive prototype that can be accessed through a web browser. Usage of temporal metaphors for display of smart home information can open new perspectives, not just for users without technical background. Temporal metaphor based interfaces can provide a high-level overview to a complicated system hiding much of the involved complexity.

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There is disclosed a method and mobile device for displaying points of interest in a view of a real environment displayed on a screen of the mobile device with a functionality for interaction with a user, which comprises the steps of: capturing an image of the real environment or a part of the real environment using a camera, determining at least one point of interest related to the real environment, determining an image position of the at least one point of interest in the image, displaying at least part of the image on at least part of the screen, overlaying a computer-generated indicator with the at least part of the image on the screen at a screen position according to the image position of the at least one point of interest, displaying a computer-generated virtual object related to the at least one point of interest on the screen at a screen position determined according to the screen position of the computer-generated indicator and which is adjacent to a bottom edge of the screen, displaying a visually perceivable relation indication indicative of a relation between the computer-generated virtual object and the computer-generated indicator. The mobile device may perform an action related to the at least one point of interest if at least part of the computer-generated virtual object displayed on the screen is touched.

Mobile phones have come a long way from being plain voice calling devices to becoming multipurpose handy tools powered by ever increasing new applications available on-the-go. For many, the mobile phone of today has become the essential device one does not leave home without. However, for a large percentage of human population mobile phone apps are not of much use as they are not literate or IT savvy enough to be able to benefit from them. Recent advances in voice-based telecom information systems enable underprivileged and low-literacy users to access and offer online services without requiring expensive devices or specialized technical knowledge. However, voice applications are limited in their capability due to their time consuming nature. In this paper, we demonstrate an interaction modality that combines the power of voice communication with graphical interfaces in smartphones to break the barrier of illiteracy.

Sustainability in (Inter)Action provides a forum for innovative thought, design, and research in the area of interaction design and environmental sustainability. The column explores how HCI can contribute to the complex and interdisciplinary efforts to address sustainability challenges.

Learning about what makes “good home automation” is challenging, when very often it means that technology and its actions should remain unnoticed. In this position paper we describe how we conducted our research on smart home inhabitants [1] in order to learn about good and bad experiences in their everyday life with automation to inform the future design of such technologies.

This thesis focuses on an alternate form of app data visualization. Traditionally category centric designs (e.g. top lists) are used to discover new apps. In the following we look at related work in the fields of exploration of digital libraries, music visualizations, mobile communication and to some extent app discovery, to elicit the important features and affordances needed for app discovery. With this analysis as a backdrop, many forms of visualizations were brainstormed, of which three were prototyped as wireframes and shown to potential users. This informal evaluation enlightened the decision of which visualization to implement. The final implementation (AppDJ) was evaluated in a cognitive walkthrough and then released on the Google Play Store. Following this, a user study of AppDJ was conducted and app analytics data was collected. The evaluation of both the user questionnaire and the analytics uncovered several interesting aspects. It was found that AppDJ is not only a simple and easy visualization, but it support serendipitous discovery as well as driving installs down the long tail. Furthermore, the data collected on app market clicks gave rise to the notion of an App Adoption Cycle.

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Research in sustainable HCI has repeatedly pointed to the need for encouraging longer use of technology as part of the solution for stemming the tide of e-waste. Ways of achieving this goal remain elusive, however. We build upon previous research that considers the role of personal attachment in object ownership, and how this attachment might be leveraged to encourage longer use. We conducted a personal inventories study with 17 households in Switzerland, and use the findings to support and expand Odom et al.'s framework of attachment categories. We subsequently provided this framework to 3 designers and asked them to design novel technologies that encourage attachment. This exercise shed light on how they drew insight and inspiration from the framework, and how they integrated it into their design processes and design thinking.

Affinity diagrams are a widely used technique to structure unstructured data. Data is segmented into pieces and the pieces are arranged as sticky notes on a wall. To support or substitute this traditional method, various electronic solutions have already been developed. But none of them has made a big impact in practice so far. This thesis follows a new approach, exploiting the possibilities of today's tablet computers. An application for tablet devices that displays additional information across the affinity diagram in an augmented reality style has been developed. Users can look at the affinity wall through the device and display context information, media data and annotations related to affinity notes in the diagram. The evaluation of the developed solution in several user tests has shown that the application is accepted by the users but still has some technical problems that negatively impact the handling. Nevertheless the application can help users to make better and more exact decisions in the affinity diagramming process based on the displayed context information.

Commercial home automation systems are becoming increasingly common, affording the opportunity to study technology-augmented homes in real world contexts. In order to understand how these technologies are being integrated into homes and their effects on inhabitants, we conducted a qualitative study involving smart home professionals who provide such technology, people currently in the process of planning or building smart homes, and people currently living in smart homes. We identified motivations for bringing smart technology into homes, and the phases involved in making a home smart. We also explored the varied roles of the smart home inhabitants that emerged during these phases, and several of the challenges and benefits that arise while living in a smart home. Based on these findings we propose open areas and new directions for smart home research.

Within the last few years of development in the financial world, the importance of an efficient and reliable records management implementation has increased significantly. It has become crucial to prove business activities using recorded information held in so called records. To ensure proper safekeeping, rules need to be defined and enforced on how to manage these records. The most synergetic implementation consists of a central repository containing these rules. This repository needs to be held up to date and its validity needs to be ensured. To allow an efficient management of this change process, technical support is required. We looked into such support at a financial institution and evaluated their approach concerning usability. A new user interface concept is proposed and evaluated with current and prospective users. Results show that the concept simplifies the change process and allows more efficient and effective usage of the system for the users involved.

Having seen how tech-savvy people think about the security of their smart home, it is unclear what makes passive users feel safe and comfortable in their smart home. We conducted interviews with passive users and can report that their perception is substantially different. Not the state of technical devices but other people play a big role. With an interface that is much more usable and not only suitable for tech-savvy people, we present a prototype that solves an issue that causes passive users to feel uncomfortable: strange and unknown noises.

The traditional paper-based affinity diagram is a powerful tool for collaborative qualitative data analysis, but the present paper-based process has limitations. In this work we describe how users work with paper-based affinity diagrams as uncovered through a set of interviews with professionals who use the method. We also present an early prototype system to provide computer support for paper-based affinities.

A server in a communications network establishes a communication channel between a user's device and another device having a display. Particularly, the server generates a Quick Response (QR) code utilizing one or more parameters, and sends it to a device for display to a user. Using his or her device, the user captures an image of the displayed QR code and extracts the parameters using an image analysis technique. The device then sends the extracted parameters back to the server, which then utilizes them to authenticate the user and establish the communications session.

Investment advisory encounters are strained by information, knowledge and interest asymmetries between client and advisor. These are detrimental to advisory quality and client satisfaction, leading to an unfavorable client perception of investment advisory services. This situation is disadvantageous for both clients and financial service providers. Clients increasingly turn to other information sources and fail to reap advisory services’ potential benefits for their investment decisions; financial service providers fail to exploit personalized advisory services as one the most promising differentiation strategies against competitors and struggle with low client satisfaction and retention. This dissertation suggests a novel approach for these issues: addressing asymmetries in investment advisory encounters with transparent, shared IT artifacts. Hence, it is based on the following thesis: Shared collaborative IT artifacts are a feasible and useful means to improve transparency of investment advisory encounters and, thus, to increase client satisfaction. The dissertation supports this thesis along three research essays: Essay I provides an empirical investigation of the status quo of Swiss investment advisory services. It suggests that investment advisory encounters are asymmetric and affected by a lack of transparency regarding the process and its information, leading to poor advisory quality and low client satisfaction. To overcome these issues, the dissertation introduces the solution approach of shared collaborative IT artifacts. While Essay I presents the basic building blocks of such an approach, Essay II and III demonstrate the feasibility of addressing process, information and cost transparency with such artifacts, presenting their underlying design considerations as well as their prototypical implementations. Furthermore, they provide experimental evidence of such artifacts’ usefulness – results show that the constructed shared collaborative IT artifacts indeed are useful means to improve transparency in investment a Gespräche zur Anlageberatung zwischen Beratern und Kunden sind durch Asymmetrien geprägt, welche sich in Unterschieden der Akteure bezüglich der verfügbaren Informationen, vorhandenem Wissen und verfolgten Interessen zeigen. Diese Ungleichheiten können zu einer unvorteilhaften Kundenwahrnehmung der Beratungsdienstleistung führen, welche sich insbesondere in gering wahrgenommener Transparenz über Beratungsabläufe und –informationen äußert. Dies wiederum kann sich negativ auf die empfundene Beratungsqualität und Kundenzufriedenheit auswirken. Es zeigt sich, dass diese Situation für Kunden wie Finanzdienstleister nachteilig ist: während erstere sich zur Informationsbeschaffung vermehrt anderen Informationsquellen zuwenden, lassen Finanzdienstleister das Potential ungenutzt, sich über qualitativ hochwertigere Beratungsleistungen gegenüber den Mitbewerbern zu differenzieren. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht den neuartigen Ansatz, Probleme der Asymmetrie in Anlageberatungsgesprächen mit transparenter, geteilter Informationstechnologie (IT) zu begegnen. Sie stützt sich dabei auf folgende These: Geteilte, kooperative IT-Systeme sind praktikabel und nützlich, die Transparenz von Anlageberatungsgesprächen zu verbessern und dadurch die Kundenzufriedenheit zu erhöhen. Diese These wird entlang dreier Essays gestützt: Das erste Essay untersucht mit empirischen Mitteln den Status quo Schweizer Anlageberatungsdienstleistungen. Aus den Erhebungen wird abgeleitet, dass Anlageberatungsgespräche eine geringe Transparenz bezüglich des Beratungsprozesses und der ausgetauschten Informationen aufweisen; dies kann die Beratungsqualität und die Kundenzufriedenheit beeinträchtigen. Um diese Probleme zu adressieren, präsentiert die Arbeit einen Lösungsansatz basierend auf geteilten, kooperativen IT- Systemen. Während Essay I die Bausteine des Ansatzes skizziert, zeigen Essay II und III die Praktikabilität solcher Systeme anhand prototypischer Entwicklungen, welche die Transparenz des Beratungsprozesses und der ausgetauschten Informationen – insbesondere auch bezüglich Kosten – adressieren. Die Essays präsentieren dabei auch experimentelle Nachweise der Nützlichkeit solcher Systeme. Die Resultate zeigen, dass geteilte, kooperative Systeme in der Tat nützliche Mittel darstellen, die Transparenz in Anlageberatungsgesprächen zu erhöhen; ebenfalls legen die Evaluationsergebnisse dar, dass die Nutzung solcher Systeme die Kundenzufriedenheit im Vergleich zu traditionellen Anlageberatungssituationen erhöhen kann.