they call it surfing for a reason
DESCRIPTION
In the spring of 2007, I co-lead a project that explored Internet access on mobile devices. At that time, uptake for mobile Internet content in the U.S. was dismally low. Recruiting participants that engaged with the mobile Internet for more than a few minutes once or twice a week proved extremely challenging. In order to collect the type of data needed to inform the design process and improve the user experience, we designed a PC Internet deprivation research study. Eight lucky participants used only their mobile phone to access the Internet for four days.I co-wrote this case-study about the project with Mirjana Spasojevic of the Nokia Research Lab in Palo Alto and Pekka Isomursu of Nokia Design and presented it recently at CHI in Florence, Italy. The case study describes details of the research methodology as well as design insights and implications for development of mobile applications and services.A lot has changed in the year since this study; the release of the iPhone in June of 2007 and Google’s Android platform in November 2007 were watershed moments for the mobile Internet – improving the experience and opening up opportunities for usage that simply didn’t exist before.Despite these advances, I still believe most Internet experiences on mobile devices are broken and compromised, overburdened by interaction models and metaphors from the PC that simply don’t work on small devices. Yet so much of how we understand the Internet – and computing – is based on the PC legacy.What has been exciting me most about mobile these days is that exact challenge… figuring out what metaphors and models to keep and what to leave behind as we try to prism Internet content through a myriad of devices.TRANSCRIPT
April, 2008 1
They call it “surfing” for a reason:Identifying mobile Internet needs through PC deprivation.
Rachel Hinman [email protected] Spasojevic [email protected] Isomursu [email protected]
April, 2008 2
1. Why we used deprivation as a methodology
2. Two design implications derived from research findings- Design for partial attention and interruption- People want information, not URLs
April, 2008 3
Deprivation as a methodology
A lot has changed in a year….
Android Release:November 5, 2007
iPhone ReleaseJune 29, 2007
April, 2008 4
Deprivation as a methodology
Spring 2007, few people were using the mobile web…
Source: Forrester’s Consumer Technographics, Q4, 2006
April, 2008 5
Deprivation as a methodology
There were, and continue to be many barriers to use
Obstacles to mobile internet use:- phone’s interface makes it difficult to enter URL- text input through keys- network speed/latency- network reception- small screen size- perception of cost (perceived value)- lack of cost transparency- sites are not optimized for mobile phones
Carriers are the set-pointFew people stray from the walled garden of thecarrier deck. What’s outside of it is hard to get toget to and not always worth the effort.
April, 2008 6
Deprivation as a methodology
Mobile internet… meet your competition
73% of all American homes have in-home internet accessSource: Pew Internet: Internet Penetration and Impact. April 26, 2006
April, 2008 7
Low engagement
April, 2008 8
How do we ensure engagement?
April, 2008 9
Deprivation as a methodology
Inspiration from a PC deprivation study
http://webevents.broadcast.com/yahoo/disconnected/index.html
April, 2008 10
Deprivation as a methodology
Eight users, four days, nothing but a mobile phone forInternet access …
The goal of our study was to identify theneeds of the Mobile Internet users in the U.S.in order to improve the mobile internetexperience.
• 8 individuals (US - San Francisco)• 4 days of PC internet deprivation
Data Collection• 1-hour contextual interview before the study• 2-hour contextual interview after the study• Online diary tool (Revelation)• PC Internet vouchers
Data Analysis• Narrative analysis• Affinity clustering
N-series phones: four N80 and four N93.Both types of phones were equipped with aT9 keypad, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networkcapability, 3 megapixel camera, 176x144pixel resolution color screen and Internetbrowsing functions and capabilities.
April, 2008 11
Implication One:
Design for partial attentionand interruption
April, 2008 12
Emerging Insight
User’s mobile internet expectations and requirements aredifferent than on a PC
“They call it surfing for a reason..” - Gabriella
While most users communicated that internetaccess on their mobile device was a usefulfeature, they expressed fundamental differencesin the experiences.
April, 2008 13
Emerging Insight
Form factor, environmental factors and visual cues of thePC internet experience facilitate exploration…
Form and Environmental factorsof the PC experience:- usually seated (stationary)- controlled environment- large screen- keyboard and mouse
Typical visual cues of the PCexperience:- layers are visually represented- visual representations of paths andoptions are apparent at all times
A large screen with easy-to-use inputdevices in a controlled environmentencourages multi-tasking andexploration.}Exploration
April, 2008 14
Emerging Insight
Form factors, environmental factors and visual cues of themobile internet experience facilitate predictability…
Predictability
Form and Environmental factorsof the mobile experience:- standing, walking, seated…- highly variable environment- small screen- limited input
Typical visual cues of the mobileexperience:- options are not always apparent- open application consumes screen- one view at a time
A small screen with limited inputin a highly variable environmentrequires focus and attention.}
April, 2008 15
Emerging Insight
Accessing the internet on a PC is like scuba diving;accessing the internet on a mobile phone is like snorkeling
Deep Dives- The “action” is inside the screen- Can be immersive- Invites exploration and discovery- Multi-tasking is easier than on a mobile device
Skimming the Surface- Attention is divided - dipping in and dipping out- Difficult to get totally immersed- Often highly task or goal directed, you often knowwhat you will find.
April, 2008 16
Implication
Design for partial attention and interruption
Design with interruption in mindUnderstand the limitations of content consumption on amobile device. Users can be interrupted at any time by thephysical environment, a text message from a friend or animportant call.
Design for “skimming the surface”Valuable mobile experiences are not immersive, they respectthe variability of the mobile environment. Map content to thevariability of the mobile environment and deliver it inappropriate forms that are predictable.
April, 2008 17
Implication Two:
People want information,not URLs
April, 2008 18
Emerging Insight
The page metaphor is a brittle organizing principleon mobile devices
April, 2008 19
Emerging Insight
Remember the mix tape?
April, 2008 20
Emerging Insight
Music consumption and delivery use to bea complex system…
Music Labels
Before iTunes, the delivery of music content was a complex systemthat didn’t reflect what people value most about music… a song.
Organizing Principle = Album
Portable CDPlayers
Record Stores
Music Artists
April, 2008 21
Emerging Insight
Apple provided a flexible organizing principle for music
April, 2008 22
Emerging Insight
Apple reframed the organizing principle to align with howpeople think about music
Music LabelsOrganizing Principle = Song
Portable CD Players Apple iPod
Record StoresApple iTunes Store
Music Artists
April, 2008 23
Emerging Insight
When people access the web, the organizing principle isweb pages, or web sites -- but they really want theinformation
Maps
Organizing Principle =Web Page
Music
News
Messages
Photos & VideoInformation
April, 2008 24
Emerging Insight
When people access the web, the organizing principle isweb pages, or web sites -- but they really want theinformation
Maps
Organizing Principle =Web Page
Music
News
Messages
Photos & VideoInformation
A web pageis like an album
A piece of informationis like a song
April, 2008 25
Implication Two
People want information, not URLs
Boulders to Pebbles: Privilege XML over HTMLThe promise of information convergence depends on liberating datafrom current forms and the ability to prism internet data throughvarious devices. The data is the building block, not the format it isheld in.
Focus on the presentation layerThe browser metaphor and web pages are strongly tied to thecurrent PC internet experience. Creating a new presentation layerfor information through interfaces like widgets and RSS present anopportunity to define a new way of interacting with internet contentthrough a mobile device.
April, 2008 26
Deprivation as a methodology - Was it a good idea?[+] Ensured engagement for 7 of the 8 users[+] Delivered visceral stories about what was wrong with the interaction model[+] Delivered better insight on desired content and format preferences.
[-] VERY Labor intensive
Further Study- What are other instances when deprivation is an appropriate methodology?- What metaphors and mental models from the PC experience need to be redefined for themobile experience?
Conclusions and Further Study
April, 2008 27
Thank You
Nokia:
Pekka Isomursu [email protected]
Mirjana Spasojevic [email protected]
Nokia
Adaptive Path:
Alexa Andrezejewski [email protected]
Sebastian Heycke [email protected]
Kim Lenox [email protected]
Dan Saffer [email protected]
April, 2008 28
Questions?