User participation is often time and resource intensive for both the designers and participants. This is especially problematic in cases where designers and users are not co-located and have to travel to participatory meetings. Distributed co-design through remote participation technologies has been hoped to alleviate these issues. However, distributed co-design has its own issues, such as requirement of an access to suitable technology independently by the participants. In this paper we present three cases where distributed co-design has been mediated through WhatsAppTM, the currently most wide-spread mobile instant messaging app. Our lessons learned from these projects indicate that mobile instant messaging has potential in distributed co-design, and the continuous access to communication channels can enable detailed discussions between the designers and the participants. To summarise our findings, we present a framework to help future academics and practitioners to plan and implement (part of) their co-design process in mobile instant messaging services.

Crowdfunding has been thought to be a potential tool that the poor small-scale entrepreneurs in the Global South could use to find funding for their businesses.However, a gap in communication remains in between the potential campaign backers and the entrepreneurs creating crowdfunding campaigns.In this paper, we have worked with Namibian crowdfunding campaign creators, and their potential backers to investigate that gap.We have found that creators have difficulties in creating persuasive media for their campaigns.The backers find the lack of believable business plans and the poor quality content unreliable.To close the crowdfunding communication gap, we have tested a prototype of a tool that helps the campaign creators to communicate their ideas.We recommend that the crowdfunding platforms should help the creators to produce relevant images, create channel for interaction between backers and creators, and use more explicit questions to guide the campaign text creation.

Creating emotionally engaging mobile applications requires consideration of constantly evolving technology, content richness, usability, and user experience (UX). UX plays an important role in promoting long-term usage. We focused on the emotional aspects of UX design of mobile applications. In particular, we adopted the concept of feelings of being (FoB) – also known as existential feelings – in the context of mobile UX design. We presented an in-depth literature review covering 112 articles (2005–2021) on human-computer interaction, UX, mobile application development, mobile learning, and emotional engagement. Of these articles, 16 discussed FoB in the context of mobile applications. Building on the results of literature analysis and other previous research, we presented a FoB model for mobile application design comprising 13 FoB (ownership, engagement, contribution, security, trust, adjustability, enjoyment, empowerment, effectiveness, frustration, excitement, gratification, and needs fulfilment) and the hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of UX. Finally, we validated the FoB model through nine design projects, proposed design recommendations based on the model, and presented considerations on extending the model with additional elements.

In the era of digital services and digital connectivity, a massive amount of knowledge has become available and accessible all the time and for all ages. This mandates significant structural changes in the ways in which knowledge are shared and contents are presented. The ways in which knowledge is shared and learners become engaged with that knowledge are crucial in lifelong learning. In lifelong learning the knowledge and the content must be delivered to learners at the right time, without distractions and noise. The traditional educational offering in classrooms is not anymore feasible and supportive as learning happens in a disengaged manner in lifelong learning. In new lifelong learning services, user experience (UX) plays a key role in delivering content appropriately and supporting transition of learning between different contexts with adaptive learning media. The objective of this study is to illustrate and elaborate on the roles of feelings and emotions in engaging students in lifelong learning applications. We have applied systematic literature review (SLR) to identify emotional factors associated with lifelong mobile learning (m-learning) environments. Based on the findings, we propose an application concept as a case study to demonstrate how emotional factors can manifest themselves in lifelong learning applications. Finally, based on the findings of the literature review and the case study evaluation, we propose a model illustrating the facets in lifelong learning applications.

The development of a mobile learning application is associated with many challenges including timely technology, richness of the learning content, pedagogy, usability, and the design of user experience. Users’ expectations and requirements on m-learning applications have evolved since the beginning of this\nmillennium. The evolvement is mainly a result of the advancement of mobile technologies, devices, and network services. Users’ expectations are based on previous experiences, expertise level, and the context that users have previously worked. The focus of this paper is on mobile learning usability and user experience.\nWe elaborate on m-learning applications’ user experience evolution from 2003 to 2016. The results demonstrate that usability needs to be complemented with user experience analysis when developing mlearning applications.

With the rapid growth of image and video data as well as the fast spread of user-generated content in social media and cloud services, it has become increasingly difficult for users to have efficient access and effective management of their digital content. In this paper we present a novel integrated open source multimedia content management and access framework, called VisualLabel, that enables smart photo services based on automated visual content analysis, annotation, search and retrieval using state of the art analysis back ends for services such as Facebook and Flickr. This paper includes detailed descriptions of the high-level architecture used in the VisualLabel framework and proof-of-concept implementations of a front-end service, along with three analysis back ends and a web client, all of which demonstrate the basic functionality provided by the framework.

We introduce a new usability inspection method called HED (heuristic evaluation during demonstrations) for measuring and comparing usability of competing complex IT systems in public procurement. The method presented enhances traditional heuristic evaluation to include the use context, comprehensive view of the system, and reveals missing functionality by using user scenarios and demonstrations. HED also quantifies the results in a comparable way. We present findings from a real-life validation of the method in a large-scale procurement project of a healthcare and social welfare information system. We analyze and compare the performance of HED to other usability evaluation methods used in procurement. Based on the analysis HED can be used to evaluate the level of usability of an IT system during procurement correctly, comprehensively and efficiently.

This paper describes the implementation and impact of specific focus on user-centred design (UCD) methods and practices to a mobile application concept development course. The course has been held for two consecutive years at a University of Applied Sciences. This project-based course educates students in teamwork, user study techniques, data interpretation, and scenario-based design. Moreover, by applying usability assessment methods such as heuristic evaluations and usability tests, students learn the basics of usability engineering methods and principles. In addition to outcomes on students’ learning, the course has resulted in several innovative mobile application concepts some of which are in the process of being commercialized. This paper presents student feedback about the applied methods months after the completion of the course. The questionnaire-originating results indicate that students gain knowledge and skills that are very valuable for their future careers in software and service development. Knowledge on UCD is relevant in contemporary mobile application development and an important asset for students to become competitive in job markets. Almost all students have applied the educated methods in their work, and they are willing to promote the UCD methods and framework to their professional peers. The results are further used to discuss and emphasize the importance of UCD education.