User Experience Evaluation for User Interface Redesign: A Case Study on a Bike Sharing Application

Mobile application redesign requires the accurate use of design methods and guidelines, as well as detailed evaluation. In the context of alternative and environmentally friendly transportation supported by mobile applications, the redesign process can help enhancing the user experience resulting in a greater adherence of the citizen. To illustrate this scenario and inspire designers to further consider the user experience aspects, we present a case study of the redesign of Bicicletar, a Brazilian bike-sharing application. Our main goal is to analyze how the User Experience (UX) with this outdoor mobility application may affect the design choices in the User Interface. Overall, our iterative redesign process comprised: (1) UX evaluation of the application in the real usage context; (2) redesign of the application through a high-fidelity prototype; and (3) prototype validation. The results showed that the user experience problems regarding the identification and interaction with the main features of Bicicletar affected the perceived usability of the application. On the other hand, the redesigned prototype improvements on the user interface positively affected not only the user experience but also how the users trust the application. The present research is a starting point for the implementation of improvements in Bicicletar and in over 10 variations of this application in other Brazilian states, benefiting the local community, and serving as a reference for the redesign of other mobile applications.

[1]  James R. Lewis,et al.  IBM computer usability satisfaction questionnaires: Psychometric evaluation and instructions for use , 1995, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[2]  M. Bradley,et al.  Measuring emotion: the Self-Assessment Manikin and the Semantic Differential. , 1994, Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry.

[3]  Kurt Schneider,et al.  Prototypes as assets, not toys. Why and how to extract knowledge from prototypes. (Experience report) , 1996, Proceedings of IEEE 18th International Conference on Software Engineering.

[4]  Janni Nielsen,et al.  Getting access to what goes on in people's heads?: reflections on the think-aloud technique , 2002, NordiCHI '02.

[5]  Oscar Gutierrez.  Prototyping techniques for different problem contexts , 1989, CHI '89.

[6]  Marc Hassenzahl,et al.  User experience (UX): towards an experiential perspective on product quality , 2008, IHM '08.

[7]  Roque Moraes,et al.  Analise de conteudo , 1999 .

[8]  Youn-Kyung Lim,et al.  Comparative analysis of high- and low-fidelity prototypes for more valid usability evaluations of mobile devices , 2006, NordiCHI '06.

[9]  Hae-Deok Song,et al.  Make E-Learning Effortless! Impact of a Redesigned User Interface on Usability through the Application of an Affordance Design Approach , 2015, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[10]  Jane Fulton Suri,et al.  Experience prototyping , 2000, DIS '00.

[11]  Steve Howard,et al.  Evaluating the usability of a mobile guide: The influence of location, participants and resources , 2005, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[12]  Harold W. Thimbleby,et al.  User interface design , 1990, ACM Press Frontier Series.

[13]  Michael Thompson,et al.  Prototyping: tools and techniques: improving software and documentation quality through rapid prototyping , 1992, SIGDOC '92.

[14]  Keith Duncan,et al.  Cognitive Engineering , 2017, Encyclopedia of GIS.

[15]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  A mathematical model of the finding of usability problems , 1993, INTERCHI.

[16]  Kent L. Norman,et al.  Development of an instrument measuring user satisfaction of the human-computer interface , 1988, CHI '88.

[17]  P. Lang,et al.  International Affective Picture System (IAPS): Instruction Manual and Affective Ratings (Tech. Rep. No. A-4) , 1999 .

[18]  Ankur Omer,et al.  Erratum to “Next Generation Sequencing: Potential and Application in Drug Discovery” , 2014, The Scientific World Journal.

[19]  Rosa Yáñez Gómez,et al.  Heuristic Evaluation on Mobile Interfaces: A New Checklist , 2014, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[20]  Yvonne Rogers,et al.  Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction , 2002 .

[21]  Georgios K. Ouzounis,et al.  Smart cities of the future , 2012, The European Physical Journal Special Topics.

[22]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Heuristic Evaluation of Prototypes (individual) , 2022 .

[23]  Ole B. Jensen,et al.  Mobilities design – towards a research agenda for applied mobilities research , 2016 .