Free Essay

Understanding Application User Frustrations

In: Computers and Technology

Submitted By greenet
Words 1473
Pages 6
WEEK 9 Assignment 4
Submitted by:

COMP INTERACTION AND DESIGN

PROFESSOR MOSES COWAN
8/30/2014

Using technology in any field often causes side effects, strong, emotional states, which arise during computer interactions often, due to the installed applications of the computer. These applications, which initially evolve with a motive of satisfying some user requirements or pre-existing shortcoming of some other applications not only affect the need completion or interaction itself, but also the cause personal discontent and unintentional humility. In computing and information technology, user frustration is a persistent problem arising due to varied masses of users and ambience, workplace, differences. The quality of user experience and feedback is of utmost importance of success for any application. In this paper, we identify reasons for user frustrations and with special emphasis to disabled population suggest ways for better serving theses masses. Average users lose time due to frustrating experiences range from around 31% to approximately 46% of the time they spend on computers and mobile. Hence, we need to develop nomenclature of frustrating experiences, describe methods to identify user experiences as natural ones or due to poor system design and find ways to solve them.
Computers and mobiles have beneficial impacts but also cause much unintentional dissatisfaction among the users because of many reasons, exasperation of losing unsaved work in case of a crash, complicated error messages, hack and phishing attacks via unknown apps which many inexperienced or newbies use and struggle to save their own privacy and passwords.
These problems get aggravated when users haste and use apps without prior heed to tutorials, instructions or proper training. Apart from this, several applications, like accupedo, that use motion sensors, etc. to identify distances covered by the app user, prove to be of fatal discontent for the disabled masses, especially physically handicapped.
Emotion theory (e.g. Izard, ‘93) helps in identifying possible functions for emotions: predicaments, internal states, i.e., how easily the user gets angry and how easy it is for him/her to grasp the instruction for a GUI of the application.
Errors
One of the most frustrating things about using applications is a message box with an error code. Terms like illegal, fatal, bad access, error, etc. should not be used. Error codes with programming ‘debug’ access have negative impact on user feedback. Accompanying error sounds play equivalent roles in this annoyance.

Figure 1.1 Vague Error messages Figure 1.2 Delays, Slow net, wait
Processing Delays, Slow internet, Wait All applications have updates nowadays with most of them having absolutely no changes in the program itself, like Adobe reader, many android apps and games, which itself is an annoyance to every user, rather it consumes their time. In addition, it is common for users reporting loss of data on upgrading software. Slow internet due to technical problems, though has reduced, but still if faced is highly frustrating. Loading delays in soft wares, which have process bars that keep on loading, is another of them, some of them can be due to Anti-Virus software’s like BitDefender, which surely creates discontent because what is bought to protect PC or mobiles is actually stopping it to function properly.
Graphical User Interface
Highly interactive applications with loads of functions lead to confusion among users. Many applications have these problems and yet have no solutions available. Right balance of colors for users and which directed messages of virtual help agents need to pop and when, are annoying. For instance, the help “Clippy” in MS Word 2000 versions, virtual automated support in applications to search for a topic and find relevant solutions, etc.
Additional Issues: * Bad bug tracking tools and support to applications. * Apps for blind and deaf are not efficient, rather are absent. Those, which support stuff like, gesture recognition, audio books for blind, etc. are mostly inefficient increasing problems.

Issue solutions suggestions
Errors
Decreased error alerts with more stable product release rather than ‘beta’ releases, which will reduce crashes and errors, is a much better solution to the pertaining problem. In addition, the programming codes in errors have to be reduced, as most of the users cannot go with these long and complex codes.
Processing Delays, Slow internet, Wait
Loading software in parts, delaying loading of several unused tools and functions to provide faster loading of often-used portions and presenting them to user to provide faster access is one of the most reliable solutions. Slow internets are solvable by better hardware usage.
Human computer graphics Interface
Better pop-up messages and user interaction, easy design for easy understanding of the user is one of the ways for solving this issue. Interface with sounds, is one other thing that improves human-computer interaction. Drag and drop animations along with customizable color balance according to the users is another possible solution.
Dealing with Issues for disabled:
The ‘correct’ thinking holding the ‘disability’ is usually not the problem but it is the perception from outside world that affects them the most. Applications for physically abled users create inferiority among physically disabled; applications for those with vision are not accessible by blind ones, etc.
Disability can be hearing impaired, visually impaired, mobility-impaired, learning disabled.
To deal with frustration of such users, adaptive technology needs to be employed. * Visually impaired: Many such users are able to identify color differences but on a smaller scale. Color customization on read/write backgrounds is a solution for these users, to suit them. Speech browsers, talking browsers, sound codes for keys to identify which key has been pressed on keyboard, * Hearing impaired: There is literally no adaptive solution possible but to use high volume headphones, flashy and colorful texts along with auto focus applications. Applications must have all messages and menu elements flashing with color changes to attract attention. * Mobility Impaired: These users have problem mostly in using hardware rather than software. Using replacement mice i.e. mice with large trackballs and foot pedals for those without hands, large and fewer keys in keyboards, switches and better and accurate gesture recognition soft wares to detect eye blinks for different functions can be solutions. * Learning disabled: There are no ‘plan of action’ available to satisfy such users but to have higher animation and graphics usage to try to satisfy them with visual and audio satisfaction.

Learning a new software product
User experiences while trying to learn a new software product vary depending upon the user type, whether the user is an expert or novice, is evaluating the product or wants to use it. Regardless of the software, more or less learning process is the same. To determine whether user frustration is caused by poor system design or from the natural frustration, the user type- expert level or novice level needs to be identified. Checking for software of same type as the installed one in the computer or mobile and trying algorithms to identify how many software’s the user has switched before evaluating the new one provides help in identifying the user as naturally frustrated or it’s the system design causing inconvenience. Using the gulf of evaluation and execution models [6] in software has to reach the user’s mind, in which different commands, prompt messages, and the selection by user determine the user’s mental model so as to identify whether user is naturally frustrated or the software’s design is responsible for it.
Conclusions
In this paper, we have identified user frustrations, tried to create a nomenclature of users to abled and disabled, experts and novice, and suggested methods for their identification and proposed methods for better user satisfaction.

References
[1] Compeau, D. R., & Higgins, C. A. (1995). Virtual automated support in applications Computer Self-Efficacy: Development of a Measure and Initial Test MIS Quarterly, 19(2), 189-211.
[2] Barrass, S (1996) TaDa! Interface with sounds, HCI.Demonstrations of Auditory Information Design. Proceedings of the International Conference on Auditory Displays (ICAD96). Palo Alto, California.
[3] Irina Ceaparu, Jonathan Lazar, Katie Bessiere, John Robinson and Ben Shneiderman. User frustration is a persistent problem arising due to varied masses of users and ambience, workplace, differences Determining Causes and Severity of End-User Frustration.
[4] Disability can be hearing impaired, visually impaired, mobility-impaired, learning disabled. http://joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter03.html
[5] Sidney L. Smith and Jane N. Mosier. Drag and drop animations along with customizable color balance Guidelines for designing user interface software, ESD-TR-86-278.
[6] Norman 1988. Using the gulf of evaluation and execution models .The Design of Everyday Things, http://www.interaction-design.org/encyclopedia/gulf_of_evaluation_and_gulf_of_execution.html
[7] Morten Hertzum. The user type- expert level or novice level Frustration: A Common User Experience
[8] Scheirer, J., Fernandez, R., Klein, J., and Picard, R. W. 2002. Frustrating the user on purpose: A step toward building an affective computer. Interacting with Computers, 14, 2(2002), 93-118.

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