Marianna Obrist
Virpi Roto
Arnold Vermeeren
ABSTRACT
In this paper we point out the relevance of and the need for a theoretical discussion around UX research and practice. Although there is a good coverage of methodological and design related topics in the HCI literature, there is still a lack of theoretical focus in the rapidly increasing work on user experience (UX). We analyzed 122 individual items on theories collected in a CHI'11 special interest group session on UX theories and theoretical frameworks. The data set was filtered and categorized in several iterations, resulting in 56 items distributed over 7 major theory categories and related to 9 relevant disciplines. The categories are an initial mapping of the field and point towards the directions for further conceptual and theoretical clarification. Our results help to explore the multi-disciplinary nature of UX and to build a more solid foundation for UX research and practice.
- Bassoli, A., Brewer, J. and Martin, K. 2007. In-between theory and practice: dialogues in design research. In CHI EA '07. ACM, NY, USA, 1691--1696. Google Scholar
Digital Library
- Baumer, E. P. S. and Tomlinson, B. 2011. Comparing activity theory with distributed cognition for video analysis: beyond "kicking the tires". In Proc. CHI '11. ACM, NY, USA, 133--142. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Blythe, M., Wright, P., McCarthy, J. and Bertelsen, O.W. 2006. Theory and method for experience centered design. In Proc. CHI EA '06. ACM, NY, USA, 1691--1694. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Carroll, J. M. (Ed.) 2003. HCI Models, Theories, and Frameworks. Towards a Multidisciplinary Science. Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco.Google Scholar
- Diefenbach, S and Hassenzahl, M. 2009. The "Beauty Dilemma": beauty is valued but discounted in product choice. In Proc. CHI '09. ACM, NY, USA, 1419--1426. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Fuchs, C. and Obrist, M. 2010. HCI and society: Towards a typology of universal design principles. In: International Journal of HCI, 638--656.Google Scholar
- Gaver, W. 2006. Learning from Experience: The Humble Role of Theory in Practice-Based Research. CHI'06 Workshop position paper for Theory and method for experience centered design.Google Scholar
- Kuutti, K. 2010. Where are the Ionians of user experience research? In Proc. NordiCHI '10. ACM, NY, USA, 715--718. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Law, E. L. C., van Schaik, P. 2010. Modelling user experience - An agenda for research and practice. Interacting with Computers 22(5): 313--322. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Obrist, M.; Law, E. L.-C.; Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, K.; Roto, V.; Vermeeren, A. & Kuutti, K. UX Research: What Theoretical Roots Do We Build On - If Any? In Proc. CHI EA '11. ACM, NY, USA, 165--168. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Obrist, M., Roto, V., Law, E. L-C., Väänänen-VainioMattila, K., Vermeeren, A. P. O. S., Buie, E. 2012. Theories behind UX Research and How They Are Used in Practice. Accepted CHI'12 Workshop. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Shneiderman, B., Card, S., Norman, D. A., Tremaine, M. and Waldrop, M. M. 2002. CHI@20: fighting our way from marginality to power. In CHI EA '02. ACM, NY, USA, 688--691. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Rogers, Y. 2011. Interaction design gone wild: striving for wild theory. interactions 18, 4(7/11), 58--62. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Vermeeren, A. P. O. S., Law, E. L. C., Roto, V., Obrist, M., Hoonhout, J. and Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, K. 2010. UX evaluation methods: current state and development needs. In Proc. NordiCHI '10. ACM, NY, USA, 521--530. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Wright, P., and McCarthy J. 2010. Experience-Centered Design: Designers, Users, and Communities in Dialogue. Synthesis Lectures in Human-Centered Informatics, ed. John Carroll, no. 8, San Rafael, CA: Morgan & Claypool Publishers. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., and Koskinen, I. 2009. Building a unified framework for the practice of experience design. In Proc. CHI '09. ACM, NY, USA, 4803--4806. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- In search of theoretical foundations for UX research and practice
Recommendations
Theory and practice in ux research: uneasy bedfellows?
CHI EA '13: CHI '13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsWe believe that it is time to talk about user experience and its theoretical roots as well as about the relationship between theory and practice in UX research. Although user experience is overused as a buzzword, it defines a main step change in the ...
Theories behind UX research and how they are used in practice
CHI EA '12: CHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsAt CHI2011 we organized a SIG session asking the question "What theoretical roots do we build on, if any, in UX research?" Overall, 122 single items from about 70 participants were collected, which corroborates the relevance of and interest in this ...
UX research: what theoretical roots do we build on -- if any?
CHI EA '11: CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsUser Experience (UX) research focusing on the emotional and experiential aspects of system usage is of highly recognized relevance for the CHI community. A lot of work has been conducted with different goals: investigating a common definition and ...
Comments