20100926 - Karlson, Interface & Interaction Design for one-handed Mobile Computing [touchscreen mobile phone]

Interface and interaction design for onehanded mobile computing by Karlson, Amy Kathleen, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 2007 , 282 pages; AAT 3297319 My Interest: 1) How she developed the Design Guidelines & Interaction Techniques. 2) How she tested/evaluated the Design Guideline – the 4 Applications. Action: To read specific parts of the Dissertation in future. Motivation Mobile phones are not only a ubiquitous social accessory, but rapid technology advances have transformed them into feature-rich, Internetenabled mobile PCs--a role once reserved for touchscreen-based personal digital assistants (PDAs). Although the most widespread phone styles in circulation feature the classic combination of numeric keypad and non-touchscreen display, larger touchscreen devices are gaining ground, as indicated by the fervor surrounding new devices such as Apple's iPhone and LG's Prada phone. Yet as devices evolve, users will remain constrained by the limits of their own visual, physical, and mental resources. Research Goal My research has focused on the specific limitation that mobile users often have only one hand available to operate a device, which can be especially problematic for touchscreen-based devices, since they are frequently designed for two-handed stylus operation. Considering the growing volumes of data that small devices can now store and connect to, as well as the expanding cultural role of mobile phones, improving usability in mobile computing has potentially enormous implications for user productivity, satisfaction and even safety. My own exploratory surveys have suggested that one-handed use of mobile devices is very common but that today's hardware and software designs do not support users in performing many tasks with only one hand. Motivated by these findings, the research goal of this dissertation is to contribute substantial knowledge in the form of empirically backed design guidelines and interaction techniques for improving one-handed usability and operation of mobile devices, with particular emphasis on those with touch-sensitive displays. The guidelines for one-handed mobile device design are the product of a series of studies conducted in pursuit of foundational knowledge in user behavior, preference, thumb capabilities and touchscreen-thumb interaction characteristics for singlehanded device use. Methodology I also demonstrate the application of these guidelines through the development and evaluation of four applications. Two involve designs for navigating among programs, one provides an interface for searching large data sets, and the last offers a generalized mechanism for controlling arbitrary touchscreen interfaces with a thumb. Each of these applications explores a different one-handed interaction technique and offers perspective on its viability for one-handed device use. Chapter 2 Foundations: Why Design for One-Handed Mobile Devices? 2.1 Related Work 2.1.1 Effects of Device Size on Design 2.1.2 Attention and Mobility 2.1.3 Impact of Form on Physical Resource Demands 2.1.4 Strategies for Reducing Hand Requirements 2.1.5 The Role of Audio in Mobile Interaction 2.2 Exploratory Study 1: Field Study 2.2.1 Method 2.2.2 Measures 2.2.3 Results 2.2.4 Discussion 2.3 Exploratory Study 2:Web Survey 2.3.1 Method 2.3.2 Measures 2.3.3 Results 2.3.4 Discussion 2.4 Conclusion Chapter 4 Applications: Touchscreen Design Strategies for One-Handed Mobile Computing 4.1 Overview 4.2 A Comparative Design Strategy 4.3 Related Work 4.7 AppLens and LaunchTile Formative Study 4.7.1 Participants 4.7.2 Measures 4.7.3 Materials 4.7.4 Tasks 4.7.5 Procedure 4.7.6 Results 4.8 Discussion 4.9 Conclusion Chapter 5 Applications: Search Strategies for One-Handed Mobile Computing 5.1 Motivation 5.2 Related Work 5.6 User Study 5.6.1 Participants 5.6.2 Method 5.6.3 Equipment 5.6.4 Tasks 5.6.5 Measures 5.6.6 Procedure 5.7 Study Results 5.7.1 Task Times 5.7.2 Percent Correct 5.7.3 Satisfaction 5.7.4 User comments 5.7.5 Usability Observations 5.8 Discussion 5.9 Conclusion Chapter 6 Applications: A Technique for Generalized One-Handed Interaction with Touchscreen Interfaces 6.1 Related Work 6.4 Study 1: Direct Interaction vs. Peripheral Hardware 6.4.1 Independent Variables 6.4.2 Tasks 6.4.3 Hypotheses 6.4.4 Implementation and Apparatus 6.4.5 Method 6.4.6 Participants 6.4.7 Procedure 6.5 Study 1: Results 6.5.1 Task Times 6.5.2 Error Rate 6.5.3 Satisfaction 6.5.4 Preference 6.5.5 Discussion 6.6 Study 2: ThumbSpace vs. Shift for Palm-Sized Touchscreen Devices 6.6.1 Independent Variables 6.6.2 Implementation and Apparatus 6.6.3 Tasks 6.6.4 Method 6.6.5 Participants 6.6.6 Procedure 6.7 Study 2: Results 6.7.1 Task Times 6.7.2 Error Rate 6.7.3 Input Choice 6.7.4 Satisfaction 6.7.5 Preference 6.8 Discussion