WILEY Designing the Mobile User Experience User Manual
Designing the Mobile
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User Experience
Barbara Ballard, Little Springs Design, Inc., USA
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Designing the Mobile
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User Experience
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Designing the Mobile
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User Experience
Barbara Ballard, Little Springs Design, Inc., USA
Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,
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Contents
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Preface xi
About the Author xiii
1 Introduction: Mobility is Different 1
1.1 Mobilizing Applications 2
1.2 What is ‘Mobile’ Anyhow? 3
1.3 The Carry Principle 4
1.4 Components of a Mobile Application 5
1.5 About This Book 7
2 Mobile Users in the Wild 9
2.1 Mobile User Characteristics 10
2.1.1 Mobile 10
2.1.2 Interruptible and Easily Distracted 12
2.1.3 Available 12
2.1.4 Sociable 14
2.1.5 Contextual 15
2.1.6 Identifiable 16
2.2 Groups and Tribes 17
2.2.1 Voice and Texting 17
2.2.2 Extending Online Communities 18
2.2.3 Physical and Mobile Hybrids 18
2.2.4 Mobiles as Status 19
2.3 International Differences 20
2.3.1 Europe 21
2.3.2 Japan 24
2.3.3 United States 26
2.3.4 Other Regions 28
3 Mobile Devices 31
3.1 A Device Taxonomy 31
3.1.1 General-Purpose Devices 33
3.1.2 Targeted Devices: the Information Appliance 36
3.1.3 Ubiquitous Computing 40
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3.2 Anatomy of the PCD 44
3.2.1 The Carry Principle 44
3.2.2 Input Mechanisms 45
3.2.3 Output Mechanisms 49
3.2.4 Technologies 51
3.2.5 Connection Characteristics 54
3.2.6 Standby Screen 54
4 Selecting Application Technologies 55
4.1 Input Modalities 56
4.1.1 Buttons 56
4.1.2 Speech 57
4.1.3 Speech + Buttons 57
4.1.4 Visual + Buttons 58
4.2 Interaction Responsiveness 58
4.3 Data Storage Locations 59
4.4 Display Modality 60
4.5 Supplemental Technologies 60
4.6 Distribution Methods 62
4.6.1 Cost of Deployment 62
4.6.2 Sales Channels 63
4.7 Other Concerns 65
4.8 Platforms 66
5 Mobile Design Principles 69
5.1 Mobilize, Don’t Miniaturize 70
5.1.1 The Carry Principle 71
5.1.2 Small Device 72
5.1.3 Specialized Multi-Purpose 75
5.1.4 Personal Device 79
5.1.5 Customized Device 79
5.1.6 Always On, Always Connected 80
5.1.7 Battery-Powered 80
5.1.8 Inconsistent Connectivity 81
5.2 User Context 82
5.3 Handling Device Proliferation 83
5.3.1 Targeted Design 84
5.3.2 Least Common Denominator 85
5.3.3 Automatic Translation 86
5.3.4 Class-based Design 88
5.4 Emulators and Simulators 90
5.5 Detailed Design Recommendations 91
5.5.1 Platform Providers 91
5.5.2 Standards Organizations 92
CONTENTS vii
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5.5.3 Carriers and Device Manufacturers 92
5.5.4 Third-Party Guidelines 93
6 Mobile User Interface Design Patterns 95
6.1 About User Interface Patterns 95
6.1.1 Mobilization 96
6.1.2 Universal Patterns 100
6.1.3 Corporate Patterns (Library) 100
6.2 Screen Design 101
6.2.1 List-based Layout 101
6.2.2 Table-based Layout 102
6.2.3 Location Selection 104
6.2.4 Returned Results 105
6.2.5 Menus 107
6.2.6 Tab Navigation 109
6.2.7 Breadcrumbs 110
6.3 Application Navigation 112
6.3.1 List Navigation 112
6.3.2 Game Navigation 114
6.3.3 Alphabetic Listings – Short 116
6.3.4 Alphabetic Listings – Long 117
6.3.5 Softkey and Button Management 118
6.4 Application Management 121
6.4.1 Application Download 121
6.4.2 Application State Management 122
6.4.3 Launch Process 123
6.4.4 Cookies 124
6.5 Advertising 126
6.5.1 Interstitials 126
6.5.2 Fisheye Ads 128
6.5.3 Banners 131
7 Graphic and Media Design 133
7.1 Composition for the Small Screen 133
7.1.1 Learning from Portrait Miniatures 135
7.1.2 Distinguishing from User-generated
Content 136
7.1.3 Style and Technique 137
7.1.4 Context of Use 139
7.2 Video and Animation 140
7.2.1 Content 141
7.2.2 Production and Preprocessing 142
7.2.3 Post-production 143
viii CONTENTS
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7.3 Sound 144
7.3.1 Content 145
7.3.2 Post-production 145
7.4 Streaming versus Downloaded Content 146
7.5 Managing Media: Meta Data 147
8 Industry Players 149
8.1 Carriers (Operators) 150
8.1.1 Carriers and Devices 150
8.1.2 Walled Gardens and Decks 152
8.1.3 Mobile Virtual Network Operators 153
8.1.4 Network Types 154
8.2 Device Manufacturers 154
8.3 Technology and Platform Providers 155
8.3.1 Browsers 156
8.3.2 Application Environments 156
8.3.3 Operating Systems 157
8.3.4 Hardware and Other Software 158
8.4 Application and Content Developers 158
8.5 Content Distributors 159
8.6 Industry Associations 160
8.7 Government 161
9 Research and Design Process 163
9.1 Mobile Research Challenges 165
9.1.1 Device Proliferation 166
9.1.2 Multimodal Applications 167
9.1.3 Field versus Laboratory Testing 167
9.2 User Research 168
9.3 Design Phase Testing 169
9.3.1 Card Sorting 169
9.3.2 Wizard of Oz Testing 170
9.4 Application Usability Testing 171
9.4.1 Emulator Usability Testing 172
9.4.2 Laboratory Usability Testing 173
9.4.3 Field Usability Testing 173
9.5 Market Acceptance (beta) Testing 175
10 Example Application: Traveler Tool 177
10.1 User Requirements 177
10.1.1 User Types 178
10.1.2 User Goals 179
10.1.3 Devices 179
10.1.4 Key User Needs 179
CONTENTS ix
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10.2 Product Requirements 182
10.2.1 Features 183
10.2.2 Technologies and Platform 186
10.2.3 Device Classes 187
10.2.4 Development Strategy 187
10.3 High-level Design Concepts 188
10.3.1 Task List 189
10.3.2 Communications Center 189
10.3.3 Maps, Directions, and Transportation 190
10.3.4 Journaling 191
10.3.5 Local Information 192
10.3.6 Main Screen 193
10.3.7 Softkey Strategy 195
10.4 Detailed Design Plan 196
10.4.1 Process 196
10.4.2 Tasks 197
10.4.3 Data Sources 197
10.4.4 Testing Plan 198
Appendices 199
A: Mobile Markup Languages 199
B: Domain Names 204
C: Minimum Object Resolution 206
D: Opt-In and Opt-Out 209
E: Mobile Companies 212
Glossary 221
Index 235
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Preface
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Hundreds of devices. Dozens of browsers. Hundreds of implementation environments. Myriad technology choices text messaging,
voice-over-IP, Java, GPS, MMS, cameras, and more. Does the connectivity matter? CDMA, GSM, 1xRTT, CDMA-EDGE, GPRS, Wi-Fi,
WiMAX, Bluetooth
And let’s not forget the users. At a desk, hiding from teachers, at a
cafe, at a club. Mobile phones are used instead of lighters at concerts.
People use the mobile in the bathroom.
Mobile phones are not miniature personal computers, and mobile
applications should not be miniature computer applications. While
product design for mobile devices is not a separate discipline from
desktop computer software and web site design, it does have many
differences in users, user context, technologies, distribution, and
research.
The mobile space is complex, but navigable. While technologies
come and go, certain key principles remain the same. ‘The Carry Principle’ is the observation that the mobile phone, and any related or
future personal communications devices, are always with the user. This
simple principle strongly influences the shape of the personal communications device market, limitations users will be experiencing, context
of use, and nature of the device itself. Learn how The Carry Principle
affects application design throughout this book.
Designing the Mobile User Experience is intended to provide experienced product development professionals with the knowledge and
tools to be able to deliver compelling mobile and wireless applications.
The text could also be used in undergraduate and graduate courses as
well as any other education venue that focuses on mobile design and
the mobile experience.
While many of the principles in the book will be useful to device
manufacturers and mobile platform creators, it is largely targeted at the
vastly larger number of people designing and developing applications
to run on those devices using those platforms.
The book covers the obvious – devices, technologies, and users in
the mobile environment – but goes further. Included is a discussion
xii PREFACE
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of design patterns in the mobile space, including handling rendering
differences, in Chapter 6. Chapter 5 covers general mobile design principles and sources of more specific design recommendations. Media
generation for mobile is covered in Chapter 7. Research variations for
mobile users are covered in Chapter 9.
Chapter 8 covers the various players in the mobile value chain, and
their history, different goals, and typical decisions. Your organization will likely be in or closely related to one of these categories, and
understanding what players in the other categories are doing will help
decision making. Several application developers enter the mobile space
thinking that a web site and some viral marketing will get their application on devices, but historically this has failed. Learn who needs to
be part of your consideration.
Finally, Chapter 10 discusses an example application, from concept
to design and project management. A few appendices help navigate
topics like mobile markup languages, mobile domain names, capturing
images for mobile display, and SMS campaign best practices. Also
find a list of companies important in the mobile field and their web
addresses, and an extensive glossary of mobile terms.
I owe gratitude to my entire family and network of friends for the
ongoing support I have received in the creation of this book, especially
with a new baby in the house. My husband in particular has had his
patience sorely tested, and he has continued to support me.
Mark Wickersham and especially Elizabeth Leggett have helped with
editing throughout the book. Mark is my technology go-to man, and
Elizabeth understands users and art in a way that I simply don’t.
The two made the chapter on media possible and as good as it is.
Additionally, Elizabeth patiently reviewed every chapter, usually more
than once, and put together many of the graphics for me.
James Nyce spent several hours helping with the chapter on design
principles as well as reviewing the first chapter. C. Enrique Ortiz
graciously review some chapters near the project completion, while on
vacation. This book is the richer for their input.
About the Author
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Barbara Ballard is founder and principal of Little Springs Design,
a mobile user experience consultancy founded in 2001. Clients
have included carriers, device manufacturers, content companies, and
industry associations, with projects including platform user experience,
device UI design, style guides, and application design. Prior to 2001,
she worked at the US carrier Sprint PCS on the user experience of
devices, platforms, style guides, and data services.
Barbara has an MBA from the University of Kansas and a BS in
industrial engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. She
additionally has completed all coursework necessary for a doctorate in
human factors and ergonomics from North Carolina State University,
with significant work in engineering, psychology, and industrial design.
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1
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Introduction: Mobility is Different
A mobile phone is a Swiss Army knife. It is not a chef’s knife or a buck
knife. We keep wanting new features on the phone, like texting, voice
memos, browsing, a camera, music, and television, because we would
like these things in our pocket and the phone is already there.
And like a Swiss Army knife, the user experience of each of the
features leaves quite a bit to be desired. A Swiss Army knife will not
deliver the quality of cut a chef’s knife will, nor will it fit in the hand
quite as well as a good pocket knife.
Designing applications or web sites for mobile phones is in many
ways the same as designing the best possible screwdriver or fishing rod
for a Swiss Army knife. There is much that needs to be done before
people will actually use the application – and people will not use the
Swiss Army screwdriver in the same situations that they would use a
full-sized screwdriver.
While the platform, user context, business context, device, and technologies involved in a particular mobile application may be different
from similar desktop applications, the fundamental product design
and development practices remain the same. The purpose of this book
is to give product designers, software developers, marketers, project
managers, usability professionals, graphic designers, and other product
development professionals the tools they need to make the transition
into the mobile arena.
This is not a book about technology or specific design recommendations. Instead, it focuses on the mobile users and their context.
Designing the Mobile User Experience Barbara Ballard
© 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
2 INTRODUCTION: MOBILITY IS DIFFERENT
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It leans heavily on principles of human–computer interaction, usability,
product development, business, and graphic design.
1.1 MOBILIZING APPLICATIONS
‘I don’t have a need for data services on my phone. Just give me
a simple phone that has good reception and battery.’
I hear some variant of this from almost everybody to whom I talk
about my work who is not actually in the mobile industry – although
I grant that I do not talk to many teenagers about my work.
Focus groups show that real consumers are painfully aware that the
web sites that they use not only would not work well on a mobile
phone, but also would have little functionality or purpose. Most people
are barely willing to read a long document or news story on a relatively
comfortable full-sized monitor; it is difficult to know when or why
a person would be willing to read the same story on a tiny screen.
And willingness to pay for a service that provides text freely available
elsewhere is even more rare.
This state of affairs, which is present in some degree in most of
the world, is a result of some fundamental misunderstandings about
what mobility means for customers and users. These misunderstandings cause the frequent failure of companies to create useful, relevant,
enjoyable experiences.
Most mobile applications have been created as a miniaturized version
of similar desktop applications. They have all the limitations of the
desktop applications, all the limitations of the mobile devices, and
typically some extra limitations due to the ‘sacrifices’ designers and
developers make as they move applications from desktop to mobile
device.
Some mobile applications have broken the ‘miniaturize’ trend and
have enjoyed considerable success. While sound customization in the
desktop environment is something done only by highly motivated users,
phone ring tones have become a key component of the mobile user
experience. FOX Network’s ‘American Idol’ television show allowed
the audience to vote via text messaging, and text messaging even in the
United States has become extremely profitable.
Text messaging is very popular (and profitable), especially in Europe,
and most of Japan’s iMode traffic is actually similar short communications services. Sprint PCS did not have two-way text messaging in
WHAT IS ‘MOBILE’ ANYHOW? 3
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its earlier offerings but developed a web-based similar product which
fast became extremely profitable despite having never been advertised.
While there are several factors that these successful examples share,
the most notable thing is something they do not share: they are not
simply desktop applications ported to the mobile environment. A welldesigned mobile application, to be successful, cannot simply be some
subset of the corresponding personal computer (PC) application, but
rather an application whose features partially overlap and complement
the corresponding PC application’s features.
1.2 WHAT IS ‘MOBILE’ ANYHOW?
The definition of ‘mobile’ is slippery. Visit the Consumer Electronics
Show’s ‘Mobile’ section and you will see a plethora of in-automobile
media players, both audio and video. A laptop computer is certainly
‘mobile’ but is used more like a desktop computer.
Other attempts to apply a name to the field have used ‘wireless’, describing how the device communicates digitally. This again is
problematic as more and more desktop computers are using wireless
communications, as are automobiles, thermometers, and likely refrigerators in the future.
One of the earliest books on user-centered design in the mobile
environment has used the term ‘handheld’, which wonderfully captures
the essence of the size of the devices in question, but allows television
remote controls into the definition.
Mobile phones epitomize mobile devices, but the category also
includes personal data assistants like Palm, delivery driver data pads,
iPods, other music players, personal game players like GameBoy, book
readers, video players, and so forth. Fundamentally, ‘mobile’ refers to
the user, and not the device or the application.
Further, this book is about the business and practice of mobile user
experience management, not design for specific platforms. If you are
designing a Palm application, go see a developer guide for PalmOS. If
you are designing an iPod application, go see a developer guide for that
platform. There are a number of mobile web and Java development
guides available. These resources are invaluable.
To get entertainment and information services to the mobile user,
some sort of communications device is necessary. Most target users of
applications already have a mobile phone or other mobile communications device, which they carry with them most or all of the time.
4 INTRODUCTION: MOBILITY IS DIFFERENT
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1.3 THE CARRY PRINCIPLE
Of particular importance to mobile users are a special category of
devices, namely personal communications devices, or PCDs. These are
epitomized by mobile phones and text communications devices like
the BlackBerry and Sidekick. The principles of design and management
found in this volume apply to PCDs. In this book, the terms ‘mobile
device’ and ‘personal communications device’ are used interchangeably.
A PCD is:
•
Personal. The device generally belongs to only one person, is personally identifiable, and has a messaging address and ongoing service.
•
Communicative. The device can send and receive messages of various
forms and connect with the network in various ways.
•
Handheld. The device is portable. It can be operated with a single
hand, even if two hands or a hand and a surface are more convenient.
•
Wakable. The device can be awakened quickly by either the user or
the network.
For example, a mobile phone will receive a text message even when
in its ‘sleep’, or standby state. Note that most computers, if they are
asleep, can not communicate with the network.
This combination of features makes the service indispensable and
the PCD an ever present part of the user’s life. The service represents
safety and social connection. Because the service is indispensable, users
tend to carry the device with them all the time. This fact forms the
core of understanding the mobile user experience.
The fundamental distinction between mobile-targeted design and
design targeted for other platforms is The Carry Principle: the user
typically carries the device, all the time. The Carry Principle has several
implications on the device:
•
Form. Devices are small, battery-powered, have some type of wireless connectivity, and have small keyboards and screens (if present).
•
Features. Any information or entertainment features that might be
desirable to have away from a computer or television, including
television itself, will eventually get wedged onto the PCD. Devices
evolve towards the Swiss Army knife model.
•
Capabilities. The wireless connection, small size, and power
constraints have made devices have slower connection speeds, slower
processors, and significantly less memory than desktop computers.
COMPONENTS OF A MOBILE APPLICATION 5
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•
User interface. The small screen drives the device to a single-window
user interface, so sharing information between applications is problematic.
•
Proliferation. A personal, always-present device needs to match a
user’s needs, desires, and personality reasonably well. One form,
one feature set, one user interface will not fit all.
The Carry Principle also has implications for the PCD users:
•
User availability. The mobile user is more available for communications and application interaction than a computer user simply
because the device is always present.
•
Sustained focus. Because the user is doing so many things, there may
not be sustainable time available for the device.
•
Social behavior. Always-available connections has made attending
meetings and dinner with friends a modified experience. Coordination across space allows both more and less social behavior.
Each of the above has implications for application design.
1.4 COMPONENTS OF A MOBILE APPLICATION
Any serious consideration of the design of software starts with a consideration of where the software will be used. Designers of web sites or
applications intended for use on desktop or laptop computers tend
to ask ‘which operating system shall we target?’, as computers are so
standardized.
In reality, the desktop environment comprises a number of agreedupon characteristics. All have a largish color computer screen of at least
800 × 600 pixels, a full keyboard, a mouse, speakers, and applications
residing in windows. Connectivity may be slow (30 Kb/s) or fast (500
Mb/s or more), but it is generally there. In the US, landline network
access is generally unlimited.
Further, the user of a desktop application is sitting at a desk or at
least with a computer in the lap. There is a working surface, and both
hands and attention are focused on the computer. Interaction with
other people takes place only through the computer, not generally in
person around the computer.
Devices in the mobile environment do not play by the same rules.
This is not due to the lack of standards, but due to the highly varying
6 INTRODUCTION: MOBILITY IS DIFFERENT
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needs of mobile users. The differing capabilities of low-end mobile
phones, high-end smart phones, and alternative devices lead to a variable environment. Expect this situation to continue for a long time.
A mobile application consists of:
•
a PCD, with its own use metaphor, browser, application environment, and capabilities
•
a user, using any of a set of mobile devices, who could be riding
a train, sitting in a meeting, sitting in a restaurant, walking down
the street, focused on other tasks, or engrossed in the device and
application
•
one or more application platforms, which can include web
browsers, application environments (such as BREW, Palm, Windows
Mobile, Symbian, or Java 2 Micro Edition), messaging technologies
(including email, SMS, MMS, and instant messaging), media environments (types of music and video players), and so forth, with new
capabilities becoming available regularly
•
one or more output interfaces with the world outside the mobile
device, including screen, speaker, infrared, Bluetooth, local wireless
(Wi-Fi), cellular wireless, unique terminal identification
•
one or more input interfaces with the world outside the
mobile device, including (limited) keypad, touchscreen, microphone,
camera, RFID chip reader, global position, infrared, Bluetooth, local
wireless (Wi-Fi), cellular wireless
•
optionally a server infrastructure that complements the mobile application and adds information or functionality to the above
•
interfaces between the application’s servers and other information
sources
•
a network and the corresponding wireless carrier (operator), who
enables some of the above technologies, connects the user to the
Internet and other users, sells applications and other services, may
specify permitted devices, and frequently defines what may and may
not be accomplished on the network
In contrast, an application delivered to a personal computer operates
in a more predictable environment. Operating systems are limited to
approximately three, rather than dozens. There is one browser markup
language, and though there are rendering differences between browsers,
they are trivial and readily handled compared with mobile browsing.
Influence of any sort of the end user’s ISP is unheard of. There are
ABOUT THIS BOOK 7
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definitely complexities associated with developing for the personal
computer, but mobile is more complex in almost every dimension.
1.5 ABOUT THIS BOOK
This book is intended to help product design and development professionals make the transition from desktop to mobile with sophistication
and understanding. It covers the obvious – devices, technologies, and
users in the mobile environment – but goes further. Chapter 2 discusses
the characteristics of mobile users and how they differ from desktop
users. Chapter 3 presents a framework for understanding the range
of mobile devices and how they fit into users’ lives, then discusses
the anatomy of the personal communications device. In Chapter 4,
learn about various application presentation technologies and how to
choose the best one for a project. Chapter 5 covers general mobile
design principles and sources of more specific design recommendations.
Find sample mobile user interface design patterns in Chapter 6. Media
generation for mobile is covered in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 covers the
various players in the mobile value chain, and their history, different
goals, and typical decisions. Chapter 9 discusses modifications of a
user-centered design process for mobile applications, including modifications of user research techniques. Chapter 10 discusses an example
application, from concept to design and project management.
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2
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Mobile Users in the Wild
Consider a typical desktop – or even laptop – computer user. He is
sitting quietly, perhaps with music in the background, looking only at
the computer. Maybe he is in an airport lounge, with people swirling
all around him, but he is still focusing on the computer. When he steps
away from the machine, he is no longer connected to the network.
If a desktop user is in a busy office, interruptions likely abound.
Telephones, personal visits, and general noise could be present. Email
and instant messaging are major sources of interruption. Personal
computers and their software should be designed to work with this
social state of affairs, rather than assuming users will focus on a task
until completion. Some software is.
Mobile users may hold some surprises:
•
Adult women make up more of the mobile phone gaming market
than do any other market segment,
of teenage boy gaming dominance.
•
The formula for a successful mobile phone game usually involves
short attention, rather than a fully absorbing experience.
•
Mobile users are quite skeptical about web sites on their phone,
as anybody can clearly see that it is not the same experience as a
desktop computer.
1
Several sources, including the Telephia Mobile Game Report for Q1:2006 and Parks Asso-
ciates’ Electronic Gaming in the Digital Home (Q2:2006).
Designing the Mobile User Experience Barbara Ballard
© 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
1
breaking the precedent of years
10 MOBILE USERS IN THE WILD
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Despite the previous, an increasing number of users are interested in
television on their phones. In 2006, use is quite low, but interest was
variously reported between 11% and 30%, depending on the survey.
2.1 MOBILE USER CHARACTERISTICS
To some degree, there is no particular difference between mobile
users and the users of other devices. In fact, the low cost of mobile
devices relative to computers, particularly combined with the high cost
of laying telephone cables to remote villages, means that the mobile
phone is becoming the predominant mechanism to access information
services. Thus desktop users will soon be a subset of mobile users.
All this is true, but it misses the key point of mobility: most of the
mobile users are not sitting attentively at a desk or passively on a
sofa. They are out and about, they are social, they are moving. They
use the device for more personal purposes than a television or even a
computer: it is more likely to be used by just one person.
Figure 2.1 illustrates many of the issues of mobile users. Fashion is a
consideration. Size is important. The device is always present, always
carried. The user is interruptible.
2.1.1 Mobile
Mobile users are mobile. They may be mobile while actually using an
application, or they may move between instances of using the application. Being mobile means that user location, physical, and social
context may change, that physical resources cannot be relied upon,
and that physical world navigation may have to be accomplished.
The user may be in rush-hour traffic, in a meeting, in class, on a train,
walking down the street, at a café, at the library, or in a restroom in
unlimited, ever-shifting environments. Except for highly task-focused
applications, like discovering when the 56 bus will arrive at stop 70,
the user’s context will not be predictable. The user’s context may be
discoverable using current and future technologies.
Generally mobile users can be expected to have their wallet, keys,
and phone, and companies are working hard at making the wallet and
perhaps the keys unnecessary. What is not present is a pencil to jot
down information, a user’s files, reference books, or anything on the
desk. Information or content stored on the computer may or may not
be remotely available (typically not).
MOBILE USER CHARACTERISTICS 11
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Figure 2.1 Mobile users have different availability, context and interruptibility
than do desktop users
Navigating through the physical world, managing obstacles and
picking routes, is a task that uses a majority of a person’s attention
resources. Similarly, navigating through the virtual world, performing
text entry, and reading text, consumes cognitive resources. Because
these tasks are similar – both navigation – they clash with each
other. Typically, a user attempting both simultaneously will end up
performing the tasks in sequence, or alternating. Even when alternating
virtual and physical tasks quickly, either or both can suffer.
Shifting context and navigation conspire with other factors to make
the mobile user more interruptible and easily distracted than desktop
users.
12 MOBILE USERS IN THE WILD
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2.1.2 Interruptible and Easily Distracted
The mobile user has all the sources of interruption from the physical
world that the desktop user has, without some of the social cues that
suggest he is unavailable for interruption. He is not sitting in an office,
he is not facing a computer obviously focused on a task. He is instead
at a client’s office, at dinner, waiting for a train, in a meeting, on a date
or at a desk, among many possibilities. In many of these cases, his mere
presence in a public, social space could indicate he is interruptible. The
smaller screen size seems to block fewer people, it is easier to meet
his eyes.
He is using a device that can likely display only one thing at once, so
using open windows as reminders does not come easily. Further, even
the device can interrupt itself, with incoming calls or text messages.
Many of his distractions cannot be stalled by social cues: the train will
not wait for him to finish a task or conversation. The user therefore
has no opportunity to ‘just finish this sentence’ when interrupted. The
transition between virtual and physical tasks can be jarring and can
reduce effectiveness at both tasks.
These user characteristics have a number of immediate implications
for application architecture, especially in the area of state management. Most applications should, if not explicitly exited by the user,
return to the same view with the same data as when the user last
departed. Data should be saved without user action, possibly in a
temporary store before committing changes to the official document.
Because the user may not have an opportunity to save data, the
application must save any critical or difficult to enter data for later
reuse.
2.1.3 Available
The converse side to interruptibility is that mobile phone users are
quickly available to remote friends, family, colleagues, and clients. This
fact has led to higher job stress and less quiet time, but it also enables
people to feel more connected.
Most personal communications devices (PCDs) are with the user
constantly, either throughout the day, or throughout relevant portions
of the day. These devices are likely to go with the user even to the
restroom, particularly as they tend to be either worn or in pockets.
Many people even feel uncomfortable when uncoupled from their
MOBILE USER CHARACTERISTICS 13
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devices. Thus a characteristic of mobile users is that they are present
and immediately available. They are likely to look at their PCD even
when they are with others.
At colleges, a large percentage of pedestrians stroll through the
campus with a phone stuck to their ear, or perhaps stopping occasionally to text. No one need ever be alone. While this fosters the
sense of connection to remote friends, it is also making it more difficult for people to communicate in person. A post-class conversation
while walking to lunch is less likely to occur if all the students immediately dial to coordinate lunch with somebody else. Mobile phones are
changing the college experience.
Culture, generation, context, and personality combine to maintain
an ‘importance hierarchy’ for various interaction sources around the
user. An in-person conversation with a respected elder is likely to
trump an incoming call, but the incoming call might take precedence
over a conversation with a clerk. A call from a wife or daughter nine
months pregnant is likely to trump almost anything including lecturing
a classroom.
Being readily available means that people answer their phones, either
with voice or text, in what used to be considered inappropriate places.
Texting and even voice calls in public restrooms are becoming more
common. Accepting a phone call during a personal conversation has
become very common, and is frequently a source of tension between
different generations.
While turning off the phone, or simply not answering it, is one
popular method for dealing with the phone’s prolonged intrusion into
life, many users do not turn it off. Ethnographic research has revealed
that mobile users in Madrid think that it is rude to let a call go
unanswered, and will answer it in class, when out with friends, or
2
at the cinema.
Behavior differs from country to country and user
to user, but even a person who does not answer the phone remains
readily available. She may return the call quickly or text back, and she
immediately knows the call was made.
Availability allows applications to communicate with instant
messaging-like technologies with confidence that the user is present and
will receive the information immediately. An application that required
a return receipt from the device could ensure that a message actually
made it to the device.
2
Lasen, Amparo, 2002. A comparative study of mobile phone use in public places in London,
Madrid, and Paris. University of Surrey Digital World Research Centre.
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