Digital monetary gifts are a promising way to maintain relationships across distance. Different online platforms already enable the transmission of digital gift cards or amounts of money. However, money as a gift can face restrictions in its conveyance of personal messages, is often considered inappropriate for intimate relationships, and may elicit awkwardness. In this study we implemented three digital gifting concept prototypes that explored ways of wrapping digital money and tested their experience with 20 German participants from a recipient perspective. We applied a thematic analysis focusing on how the design could impact the perception of money. The wrapping could show thoughtfulness, add enjoyment, communicate intention, and lead to a feeling of money as ‘in the background’. Sometimes the addition of decorative and personal elements as a wrapping did not feel very connected to the money gift itself. It is recommended to specially design or restrict the recipient’s spending process.

This study explores issues of consistency and inspectability in usability test data analysis processes and reports. Problem reports resulting from usability tests performed by three professional usability labs in three different countries are compared. Each of the labs conducted a usability test on the same product, applying an agreed test protocol that was collaboratively developed by the labs. Each lab first analyzed their own findings as they always do in their regular professional practice. A few weeks later, they again analyzed their findings, but then everyone applied the same method (SlimDEVAN: a simplified version of DEVAN, a method developed for facilitating comparison of findings from usability tests in an academic setting). It was found that levels of agreement between labs did not improve when they all used SlimDEVAN, suggesting that there was inherent subjectivity in their analyses. It was found that consistency of single analyst teams varied considerably and that a method like SlimDEVAN can help in making the analysis process and findings more inspectable. Inspectability is helpful in comparative studies based on identified usability problems because it allows for tracing back findings to original observations as well as for laying bare the subjective parts of the data analysis.

A number of trends over the last twenty years have brought the prospect of instant computer power to the ordinary man and woman to near fruition. The arrival of interactive computing coupled with developments in the communications field have enabled man and computer to converse both at high speed and at long distance. Furthermore the decreasing cost of microprocessor hardware has made the acquisition of a computer or remote computer access, affordable by most establishments and many ordinary people. A need exists therefore, to develop usable software interfaces or man-computer dialogues to support this equipment.