computer science

User experience evaluation

User experience evaluation is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand User experience evaluation rather than just read about it. In short: User experience evaluation (UXE) or user experience assessment (UXA) refers to a collection of methods, skills and tools utilized to uncover how a person perceives a system (product, service, non-commercial item, or a combination of them) before, during and after interacting with it. It is non-trivial to assess user experience since user experience is subjective, context-dependent and dynamic over time.

Key takeaways

User experience evaluation belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect User experience evaluation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of User experience evaluation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

User experience evaluation (UXE) or user experience assessment (UXA) refers to a collection of methods, skills and tools utilized to uncover how a person perceives a system (product, service, non-commercial item, or a combination of them) before, during and after interacting with it. It is non-trivial to assess user experience since user experience is subjective, context-dependent and dynamic over time. For a UXA study to be successful, the researcher has to select the right dimensions, constructs, and methods and target the research for the specific area of interest such as game, transportation, mobile, etc.

Dimensions There are many different dimensions to consider when choosing the best assessment approach:

Goal: Summative (on the final product) or formative (during the process) Approach: Objective or subjective Data: Quantitative or qualitative Granularity: Momentary, episodic, or overall UX Setup: Lab or field Laboratory experiments may work well for studying a specific aspect of user experience, but holistic user experience is optimally studied over a longer period of time with real users in a natural environment.

Constructs In all cases, however, there are certain aspects of user experience that researchers are interested in (measures), and certain procedures and techniques used for collecting the data (methods). There are many measures and some high-level constructs of user experience that can be used as the basis for defining the user experience measures, for example:

Utility: Does the user perceive the functions in the system as useful and fit for the purpose? Usability: Does the user feel that it is easy and efficient to get things done with the system? Aesthetics: Does the user see the system as visually attractive? Does it feel pleasurable in hand? Identification: Can I identify myself with the product? Do I look good when using it? Stimulation: Does the system give me inspiration? Or wow experiences? Value: Is the system important to me? What is its value for me? To properly evaluate user experience, metrics and other factors surrounding a study need to be taken into account, for example:

Data (metrics): The time taken to complete a task. Scale (metrics): Indicators that show effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. Other Factors: Conditions of use, the surrounding environment and other human factors.

Methods An individual method can collect data about a set of specific constructs of user experience. For instance, usability testing is used to collect data about usability construct. Methods also differ if they are to measure a momentary or episodic experience (i.e., assessing how a person feels about a specific interaction episode or after executing a task) or an experience over time, also known as an longitudinal experience. UXA methods can be classified in three categories: implicit, explicit and creative methods.

Implicit methods Implicit methods of UX research focus not just only on what the users say, but also on what the user cannot express verbally. Many available tools can assist in the implicit evaluation, in particular to gather implicit or objective data. When available, UX researchers utilize state of the art equipment to uncover all aspects of the experience. Examples of implicit evaluation methods and tools:

Eye tracking Attention tracking User tracking Task and reaction measurement, galvanic skin response or skin conductance Electroencephalography (EEG) Observation studies: participant observation where observers monitor the participant's reactions such as facial and other gestures, the tone of voice or other body language cues

Explicit methods Explicit methods of UX research explore what the user is consciously aware of getting them to reflect on their own feelings or thoughts, and gather their views and opinions. An important aspect of explicit methods includes usability testing and emotion evaluation.

Emotion assessment When investigating momentary user experiences, we can evaluate the level of positive affect, negative affect, joy, surprise, frustration, etc. The measures for emotions are bound to the methods used for emotion assessment, but typical emotion measures are e.g. valence and arousal. Objective emotion data can be collected by psychophysiological measurements or by observing expressed emotions. Subjective emotional data can be collected by using self-report methods, which can be verbal or non-verbal.

Examples of emotion assessment methods:

Psychophysiological emotion measurements aim to identify emotions from physiological changes in muscles (e.g. face), pupils, skin, heart, brains, etc. Expression Think aloud protocol can be used for reporting emotions (real-time verbal self-report) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) (retrospective verbal self-report) Geneva emotion wheel (retrospective verbal self-report) Photographic Affect Meter (PAM) Emotion slider (continuous non-verbal self-report) Sensual evaluation instrument (SEI) (snapshot non-verbal self-report) PrEmo, a new version of EmoCards for assessing emotion (snapshot non-verbal self-report)

Creative methods Equally important to implicit and explicit methods are the creative methods that the user researcher can utilize in order to bring together the design team's view, as well as the target market's dreams, aspirations and ideas of optimal design. These activities are more open and allow people to either co-create with the engineers/designers, or to use their imagination to express their ideal system. Examples of creative assessment methods

Co-design activities Creativity workshops Paper prototyping, wireframing, mind mapping Card sorting Personas

Longitudinal In contrast to identifying a momentary emotion, longitudinal UXA investigates how a person feels about a system as a whole, after using it for a while. Examples of longitudinal UXA methods (excluding traditional usability methods):

Diary methods for self-reporting experiences during field studies Experience sampling method (ESM) for self-reporting during field studies Day reconstruction method (DRM) – story-telling to reveal the meaningful experiences during field studies AttrakDiff questionnaire for overall UX evaluation User experience questionnaire (UEQ) (available in several language versions) Ladder interviews – e.g. to find out attitudes or values behind behaviour or experience Holistic user experience (HUX) identifying the relevant product factors for holistic user experience

Areas of UXA research

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with User experience evaluation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what User experience evaluation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to User experience evaluation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about User experience evaluation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of User experience evaluation

In research: User experience evaluation appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses User experience evaluation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: User experience evaluation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Evaluation methods, Human–computer interaction, User interfaces, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for User experience evaluation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study User experience evaluation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what User experience evaluation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain User experience evaluation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is User experience evaluation in simple terms?

Why does User experience evaluation matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study User experience evaluation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on User experience evaluation.