Master Thesis in Human Centered Informatics 10th Semester The Interactive Touch Wall at the Copenhagen Airport in Human-Computer Interaction Perspective: Evaluation of The User Experience Author: Karolina Szymbor Supervisor: Birger Larsen Date: 2nd of July 2015 Page count: 149 Character count: 188450 ​ Normal pages: 78,5 Abstract Software-based solutions can not only be used to automate certain types of repetitive human labor, but also to unlock capabilities beyond that of the human beings, such as instantaneous access to large amounts of information. However, with the great power of large information amounts comes the great responsibility and challenge of presenting it to the users in an accessible and efficient fashion. The particular software-based automation opportunity being the focus of this thesis is the Interactive Touch Wall system at the Copenhagen Airport developed by The Municipality of Copenhagen, whose aim is to provide high-quality automated tourist information services. In this context, the particular challenge being addressed in this thesis is an evaluation of the usability and the user experience quality of the Interactive Touch Wall. To achieve this, firstly a solid methodological basis is formed by employing concepts and theories of usability and user experience, cognitive load and information labeling. The evaluation itself is performed on end-users through interviews, observations and usability testing. Based on the results, this thesis points out several usability flaws of the system and makes suggestions on how they can be addressed. Moreover, the obtained results are used as a basis for developing a redesign prototype that proposes an alternative point of view on the on the system that better aligns it with user needs and stakeholder goals. The work and results described in this thesis were presented to the main stakeholder of the Interactive Touch Wall project, and were met with a positive reception and perspectives of using the finding to shape the future versions of the system. 1 Table of Contents Abstract - p. 1 ​ Table of Contents - p. 2 ​ 1. Introduction - p. 4 ​ 1.1 Case Description - p. 5 ​ 1.2 Problem Statement - p. 9 ​ 1.3 Structure of the Thesis - p. 10 ​ 2. Public Display Research within the Interaction Design Field - p. 11 ​ 2.1 Problems with Evaluation - p. 11 ​ 2.2 Requirements for Interactive Public Displays - p. 12 ​ 2.3 Conveying Interactivity - p. 14 ​ 2.4 Honeypot Effect - p. 14 ​ 2.5 Cognitive Aspects - p. 14 ​ 3. Theory and Methodology - p. 16 ​ 3.1 The Interaction Design Field - p. 16 ​ 3.2 Interpretive Approach to Knowledge Building - p. 17 ​ 3.3 Theoretical Frameworks - p. 19 ​ 3.3.1 Usability - p. 21 ​ 3.3.2 User Experience - p. 23 ​ 3.4 Cognitive Load on User Interfaces - p. 25 ​ 3.5 Information Labeling - p. 27 ​ 3.6 Methods Available within Interaction Design - p. 28 ​ 3.7 Methodological Approaches Used in the Project - p. 33 ​ 3.7.1 Observations - p. 36 ​ 3.7.2 Interview - p. 39 ​ 3.7.3 Usability testing - p. 42 ​ 4. Analysis of the System - p. 46 ​ 4.1 When and How the Interaction Starts? - p. 46 ​ 4.2 After the First Click - p. 51 ​ 4.3 Available Features - p. 56 ​ 4.4 What Information is Available on the Displays? - p. 60 ​ 5. Analysis of the Collected Data - p. 62 ​ 5.1 Observations and Interviews - What Do Real Users Do? - p. 62 ​ 5.1.1 How Was the Qualitative Data Analyzed? - p. 62 ​ 5.1.2 General User Behavior - p. 64 ​ 5.2 Usability Testing - How Were Tasks Executed? - p. 76 ​ 5.3 Summary of Findings from All Methods - p. 83 ​ 2 5.4 Recommendations for System Improvements - p. 85 ​ 6. Redesign of the Interactive Touch Wall Interface - p. 91 ​ 6.1 Motivating Metaphors - p. 91 ​ 6.2 Redesign of the System - p. 93 ​ 6.3 Feedback from the Main Stakeholder - p. 101 ​ 7. Discussion and Future Work - p. 103 ​ 8. Conclusion - p. 105 ​ Bibliography - p. 106 ​ Appendix 1 - p. 110 ​ Appendix 2 - p. 115 ​ Appendix 3 - p. 121 ​ Appendix 4 - p. 133 ​ Appendix 5 - p. 140 ​ Appendix 6 - p. 147 ​ 3 1. Introduction In the modern world, more and more of human labor is being automated by means of software-based technology. Such automation is often driven by the goals of reducing costs, eliminating manual errors and ensuring constant level of quality of service. In addition to partially achieving the capabilities of the human counterparts, software solutions bring a broader range of possibilities, and instantaneous access to large amounts of information that can be browsed and presented in a manner best suited to the needs of users. One particular context in which such automation is pursuit, being also the focus of this thesis, is the tourist information services at the Copenhagen Airport. There the aim is to replace human-based tourist information services by a software-based solution. This solution is referred to as the interactive touch wall. In its essence the interactive touch wall is a publically available wall-mounted display with touch capabilities and a dedicated software application that serves content to users. This system is currently installed and active at the Copenhagen Airport. The end goal of the system is to completely replace other forms of tourist information services at the airport. Beyond this it is hoped that the wall can provide types and amounts of information not feasible previously, and serve it in ways not achievable before. The main challenges include ensuring that the system addresses the actual user needs (such as finding practical information), that the system is highly usable without prior training, and that it can initially attract user’s attention and maintain it throughout the interaction. Finally, the overall impression communicated to the users is supposed to present Copenhagen as an exciting city offering a wide range of experiences and attractions. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the interactive touch wall - a newly developed digital information product placed in the Copenhagen Airport. The evaluation focuses on usability and user experience of the system, and is performed through interviews, observations and usability testing. Based on the multitude of gathered data, conclusions are made about the value of the system to the users, its usability bottlenecks and improvement suggestions are formulated. In addition, the gained insight is used as a basis for developing a system redesign prototype that proposes an alternative point of view on the system that takes into account the uncovered user needs and stakeholder goals. 4 1.1 Case Description I will now describe the background and roots of the solution, its main stakeholders and the context in which the solution should be seen. My knowledge about the technology behind the solution is based on the interviews conducted with the stakeholders: Marie-Louise Lotz from the Copenhagen Airport and Bianca Jørgensen Mercier from the Municipality of Copenhagen (see Appendix 1 and 2). The Interactive Touch Wall (ITW) is a product designed and developed jointly by the Municipality of Copenhagen’s Department of Culture and Leisure (Kultur- og Fritidsforvaltningen, later referred to as KFF) and the Copenhagen Airport (CPH). The ITW is placed in the baggage reclaim area of the airport, and is thought as an essential part of a bigger concept called “One-Stop Service” or “Check Out Copenhagen”. Description of the concept is presented below. The One Stop Service in the airport is a newly developed concept consisting of the three parts (see Figure 1.1): ​ ​ 1. ITW, aimed at providing the travelers with a wide range of information concerning transportation within the city, tourist attractions, cultural events, descriptions of Copenhagen’s neighbourhoods and many others. The wall consists of 4 interactive screens where various information is available, and a few videos, which are placed in the upper part of the wall and which appear in a particular order. 2. A display wall with timetables concerning buses, trains and metro driving from the airport (DSB wall). This wall consists of three non-interactive screens. 3. Several types of ticket machines where travelers can purchase any kind of ticket needed within Copenhagen, the whole Denmark or in Sweden. 5 Figure 1.1 The three parts of the One-Stop service in the ​ luggage claim area in the Copenhagen Airport. The tree parts of the One Stop Service should be seen as a one bigger unit created with the purpose of giving the passengers arriving to Copenhagen the necessary information and possibility to purchase tickets already when waiting for the luggage. However, the focus of this thesis is solely the interactive touch wall, and the two other parts will therefore only be taken into consideration as an important context in the analysis of the ITW’s functioning. The placement of the ITW in the baggage reclaim area is part of a bigger strategy of the CPH based on the previous studies of the customers’ behavior and needs in the airport (see Appendix 1). Its main objective is to change the way the area is currently perceived by the travellers, i.e. as a boring and unpleasant place where they have to spend some time waiting for the luggage. The airport wants to influence the travelers’ view on that area by changing the waiting time into the experience time (in Danish: “Vi vil gerne ændre ventetiden til oplevelsestid”). Moreover, the CPH’s previous investigations point out that many of the passengers in the airport do not have sufficient knowledge about the country and the city they arrived to. The CPH wants to bridge that gap and give the passengers the necessary information, and also make them feel welcome in the place they came to. Last, 6 but not least, based on the understanding of the passenger behavior and essential needs in the airport, the CPH sees the interactive touch wall as a tool to calm the passengers. According to the CPH, the very first thing the passengers think about after landing is their luggage, and the second one is the way further from the airport to a destination of their choice. By placing the ITW in the baggage reclaim area, the CPH aims at fulfilling these two fundamental needs, and thus delivering a high-quality service to the passengers (see Appendix 1). In order to give the tourists a comprehensive service that covers a broad range of user needs, the CPH decided to collaborate with the KFF of the City of Copenhagen. Municipality’s motivation and contribution to the project The Department of Culture and Leisure (KFF) has since the 1st of January 2015 taken over the responsibility for Copenhagen’s official tourist information service from another public organisation, Wonderful Copenhagen. It meant that the KFF had to significantly broaden the scope of its work focus from only the citizens of Copenhagen to the tourist coming to the city (see Appendix 2). The ITW is a channel through which the KFF would like to communicate with the tourists. It should be emphasized that even though the digital information service was made jointly by the KFF and the airport, the Municipality is responsible for the screen’s content and how it is presented to users. The KFF did not have any influence on the placement of the ITW within the baggage reclaim area. This aspect had already been decided by CPH’s overall development strategy with regards to the area, and the KFF was invited to play along and contribute to achieve the goal of fulfilling the passengers’ needs. The KFF sees a big potential in placing the ITW in the airport as it enables them to reach the tourists in the very beginning of their stay in Copenhagen. Thanks to this, the KFF gains a valuable possibility to make tourists feel welcome in the city, and also to affect their view on Copenhagen and their future choices. The KFF wants to inspire tourists to experience the real Copenhagen with its all diversity, and to attract them to take part in the events happening in the city during their stay. Moreover, they want to brand the city, i.e. create a particular image of Copenhagen that goes far beyond the typical tourist attractions and activities. Instead, the tourists will get invited to discover the diverse neighborhoods of Copenhagen, eat like locals and try the Danish style of life. Last, but not least, the KFF aims at helping the tourists to quickly receive the needed information regarding transportation within the city (see Appendix 2). It can be concluded that the wall provides two types of information. The first type is the highly practical information regarding the transportation 7 from the airport. The second type is the additional information that are supposed to inspire the tourists, influence their future choices and create a particular sense of place. The ITW is also thought as an alternative to the existing information source at the airport, which is the information desk provided by the CPH. Many tourists receive the needed information from the consultants, but one of the goals of KFF is to minimize this number to reduce the workload and cost put on the CPH. Furthermore, CPH would like to increasingly minimize this service in the future. It can therefore be said that the new product will bring a shift to the airport landscape: instead of receiving wished information from the human source, tourists are now supposed to get it from the new digital source. The KFF’s strategy towards the tourists is not fully developed yet, but the ITW fits perfectly into the overall strategy towards the citizen service provided by the Municipality of Copenhagen, i.e. being more efficient by providing more digital information and self-service to the citizens, partly because it is cheaper, and partly because it gives new possibilities (see Appendix 2). How was the product developed? The development of the product did not start from scratch, but was based on an already existing solution, i.e. a mobile application for tourists in Copenhagen, iSpot Copenhagen. This served as a starting point for the development of the new system, and was subsequently supplemented with the information the KFF assessed as relevant for the tourists coming to the city. The future users of the ITW were not in any way involved in the development of the system, and the information that are available in the system were determined in two ways: the KFF collected frequently asked questions from the information desk at the airport and from the tourist information centers in the city. Moreover, the KFF decided to arrange the content on the screens as teasers and an overview of the city: it is supposed to inform the tourists about particular places, attractions and events in the city, but it should not overwhelm them with too much information (see Appendix 1). It is worth mentioning that exactly the same information system is available as a free mobile application, also called iSpot Copenhagen, and is also placed in the Copenhagen Visitor Center in the city. Therefore, it can be concluded that the system was not designed to serve only as an interactive screen in the airport, but as a general digital solution to convey the KFF’s information strategy towards the tourists in Copenhagen. Moreover, the mobile application is thought as complementary element to the ITW: the KFF hopes that the tourists will become aware of the app when using the wall, and that they will decide to 8 use the app later during their stay in Copenhagen to read more detailed information about the places or events they got inspired about when using the ITW. 1.2 Problem Statement Evaluation of developed products is a vital part of the interaction design field, within which this thesis is placed. Preece et al., define evaluation as “the process of systematically collecting data that informs us about what it is like for a particular user or group of users to use a product for a particular task in a certain type of environment” (2011, p. 434). Evaluation of what is being developed is one of the premises of the user-centered design approach, where user needs are taken into account in design and development. Results obtained during the evaluation are used to inform the changes and adjustments that need to be included in the next version of the product. Ideally, new products should be developed in iterative cycles of design, evaluation and redesign, so that the products are usable and deliver the users exactly what they need. Such development is not the case of the ITW. As it was described in the previous section, the users were not involved directly in the project by any means (apart from including the collected previous users’ inquiries as implications for the content), and the development of the product was using the waterfall model (i.e. a single development pass, without intermediate iterations and user feedback) (Larman and Basili, 2003). However, the main stakeholder and product owner, KFF, treats the deployment of the ITW as a trial: the product is already developed, but it is not possible to predict how it will be received by the users, and whether they at all will be willing to interact with it. The KFF wants to get an accurate understanding of the different aspects of the ITW’s performance after it is given to the users, so that the product can be improved to deliver the intended quality and help to achieve the goals expressed by the KFF. It is worth mentioning the the KFF has only been given resources for the project for 2014 and 2015, so the evaluation of the ITW will be a vital input to the next version of the system in following years (see Appendix 2). In my opinion, this is the point where the ITW can benefit from the user-centered design: an empirical evaluation can bring valuable data to inform the choices that will be made in the next phase of the product development. This project is motivated by the intention to contribute to the evaluation of the ITW. Since the focus of the project lies at evaluation of the specific information system, it should be seen as practically oriented. Based on the above, the problem statement of this thesis is formulated as follows: 9