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The use of IT and digital media changes the notion of experience in relation to events. This paper presents a study of event experiences, and in this case a specific type of events, i.e. academic ceremonies. Based on the results of the study, it is shown that earlier theoretical models does not include the use of IT and digital media in relation to events in order to explain the dimensions found. The Density of Events Model (DEMO) is developed and further explained. Finally, a discussion about usage of the model as well as proposal of future work is made.

This paper presents an approach to analyze and re-design evaluation methods. The domain explored in this paper is evaluation methods for evaluating fun and entertainment. However, the approach presented may be applied in other domains as well. The approach is conceptually described and two examples of processes where the approach were used in practice are further discussed. As the map of IT applications and digital media is continuously redesigned, there is a constant need of re-designing evaluation methods.

This paper presents an approach to analyze and re-design evaluation methods. The domain explored in thispaper is evaluation methods for evaluating fun and entertainment. However, the approach presented may be appliedin other domains as well. The approach is conceptually described and two examples of processes where the approachwere used in practice are further discussed. As the map of IT applications and digital media is continuously redesigned,there is a constant need of re-designing evaluation methods.

Evaluating affective interfaces in order to provide input for designers is a challenge for the CHI community. One question is to what extent traditional evaluation methods, used for evaluating traditional usability, are applicable at all, and if they need revision. The purpose of this project was to gain an understanding in how applicable traditional usability evaluation methods are in understanding people’s experiences of affective systems, in this case Entertainment web sites. Empirical techniques as well as inspection methods were used on a number of web sites. The results show that the methods are applicable but need revision. When it comes to the development of inspection methods, the challenges include finding proper heuristics to support the experts in using Heuristic Evaluation, providing conditions for experts which bridge the gap between evaluation and authentic use, developing complementary methods for use in combination with existing methods etc. In empirical evaluation of entertainment in the context of web usability, the most crucial aspect might be to consider how to arrange a setting that is as natural and authentic as possible when evaluating fun, as this seems to be important for the results. Overall, the results of the study clearly show that important aspects of affective interfaces can be

In recent years, we have witnessed a dramatic change in how ICT (Information- and Communication Technologies) is used, and examples of usage of ICT are allocation of leisure time, learning, man-to-man communication, e-shopping and much more (Bradley, 2001). Today, the computer has moved to the kitchen, the living room, and even the garage, to support the activities going on there – food recipes are browsed from the kitchen and in the living room a TV-show is displaying supporting web sites for chatting, presentation of further information, voting, etc. Children have PC’s, on which they communicate with others, play games, search the web and so on. Because of this change in usage of ICT, the focus of design concerns has expanded from predominantly functional aspects of ICT systems to overall user experience. The trend towards experience has direct implications for usability evaluation. Since experience is considered an important aspect of the quality of various products, it should be evaluated. One possible, if not universally accepted, approach is to consider evaluation of experience as a case of usability evaluation. However, the existing methods cannot be employed. When the focus is on experiences rather than on more functional aspects of systems, a revision of usability methods is required. This paper presents a novel approach in how to conduct Heuristic Evaluations (Nielsen, 1993) on ICT mediating interactive entertainment. New heuristics, so called funology heuristics, were developed and empirically tested on, what is called, entertainment web sites. These funology heuristics were also combined with novel methodological approaches in order to fulfill the requirements when evaluating fun on the web.

Evaluating affective interfaces in order to provide input for designers is a challenge for the CHI community. One question is to what extent traditional evaluation methods, used for evaluating traditional usability, are applicable at all, and if they need revision. The purpose of this project was to gain an understanding in how applicable traditional usability evaluation methods are in understanding people’s experiences of affective systems, in this case Entertainment web sites. Empirical techniques as well as inspection methods were used on a number of web sites. The results show that the methods are applicable but need revision. When it comes to the development of inspection methods, the challenges include finding proper heuristics to support the experts in using Heuristic Evaluation, providing conditions for experts which bridge the gap between evaluation and authentic use, developing complementary methods for use in combination with existing methods etc. In empirical evaluation of entertainment in the context of web usability, the most crucial aspect might be to consider how to arrange a setting that is as natural and authentic as possible when evaluating fun, as this seems to be important for the results. Overall, the results of the study clearly show that important aspects of affective interfaces can be revealed by using traditional usability evaluation methods – aspects which should be considered early in the design phase.

Currently usability research and practice are facing a challenge. The focus of design concerns is expanding from predominantly functional aspects of IT systems to overall user experience, which has direct implications for the area of usability evaluation. The aim of the study reported in this thesis is to explore the potential of traditional usability evaluation approaches to deal with issues related to user experience, such as fun and entertainment. The empirical study reported in the thesis deals with fun and entertainment, employs concepts and methods of web usability, and specifically focuses on the so-called entertainment web sites (EWSs). Existing studies and the most relevant theories of fun and usability are examined to determine to which extent these can shed light on evaluation of fun and usability. Then apparently to establish if these theories can help operationalize fun and entertainment as aspects of web usability. . It is concluded that evaluation of fun and usability remains an open issue. In the study, traditional usability evaluation methods are applied on EWSs and based on these results the methods are revised. Finally, these revised methods are used in evaluations of EWSs once more. The results of the study indicate that traditional usability evaluation methods can be applied to evaluation of entertainment and fun in the context of web usability. More specifically, existing empirical evaluation and heuristic evaluation methods are found to produce relevant and potentially useful evidence when applied to evaluation of entertainment web sites. Therefore, the main conclusion of the thesis can be formulated as follows; while the underlying concepts and principles of web usability can be employed in evaluation of entertainment and fun, specific evaluation methods need to be revised.

This paper is a report on the initial findings of a study conducted in the project FunTain with the main purpose to find general guidelines for edutainment games, in order to guide designers of such games. Usability evaluations, with users and experts, were conducted on the edutainment game in order to find usability problems. These findings were then analyzed and used as input in focus group meetings, held with joint teams consisting of game designers and HCI experts. The result was a proposal of a list of design guidelines. In this paper they are grouped in three general categories; (1) game experience, (2) balance between entertainment and education, and (3) general understanding. Findings indicate that users had problems in understanding the underlying model for the game as well as finding the knowledge related content. Experts, further, gave comments about feedback problems and different types of inconsistencies. Some of the implications from the findings, as discussed in the focus group, were guidelines for earning and loosing points, scoring and performance feedback and game object characteristics.

This paper is a report on the initial findings of a study conducted in the project FunTain with the main purpose to find general guidelines for edutainment games. This to guide designers of such games, as they often lack in design guidelines. Usability evaluations were conducted on the edutainment game in order to find usability problems. These findings were then analyzed and used as input in focus group meetings, held with joint teams with game designers and HCI experts. The result was a proposal of a list of ten general design guidelines. Findings indicate that users had problems in understanding the underlying model for the game as well as finding the knowledge related content. Experts, further, gave comments about feedback problems and different types of consistencies. Some of the implications from the findings, as discussed in focus group, are guidelines for earning and loosing points, scoring and performance feedback and game object characteristics.

Social agents have recently been more frequently used in the user interface. However, so far not many studies have been conducted on what impact such interfaces have on users behavior. This paper discusses this and reports on empirical findings, which focus on impact of social agents on user behavior. We talk of social agents as interfaces that act autonomously but are related to the actions of the user. However, to really figure out what social impact these interfaces have on humans, we discuss what characteristics of social agents that should be possible to configure, in order to establish, maintain and develop a fruitful relation with the user. In order to do so, we needed to explore the impact for real users. The exploration of the impact of social agents such as BonzyBuddy the Parrot and Bob, the Paper-clip guy, was done empirically through observations and interviews with users. Based on empirical data collected in the study, a user-agent interaction model was constructed. The model illustrates three dimensions for configuration of social interfaces. Given the interaction model the two agents investigate are discussed followed by a discussion on what implications these observations has for design of social agents. Having identified the need for self-examining and selfadapting social agents and related problems we then conclude the paper and points at some future work.