Context Aware

Exploring how devices can become smarter without becoming intrusive.

Introduction

This project defined the UX principles behind context-aware computing—helping products understand where users are, what they're doing, and what they need next. The result was a comprehensive framework for intelligent recommendations, privacy controls, user trust, and adaptive experiences

Key Value Propositions of Contextual UI

Discover new things, places, people, and events
Connect to those I care about
Optimize my device performance
Assist in everyday tasks

Key Principles for the Solution: How We Provide This Experience

Secure privacy and establish trust
Ensure user control and provide visibility of preferences and status
Convey how the collected data is used to benefit the end user
Make accurate recommendations to the user
Be unobtrusive and avoid unnecessary interruptions
Become increasingly invisible over time

Exploration: Filtering Experiences

Where and how to incorporate Contextual Awareness in core apps
Use context awareness to improve common experiences
Avoid unnecessary interruptions to the user
Make accurate and helpful recommendations that clearly benefit the user

What We've Explored

Interactive and visual treatments for embedded content, prompts, or information

What Worked Well

Notifications bar to offer context-based suggestions
Page turns that offer context-based recommendations
Quick input requests that are a small commitment on the part of the user
Opportunities for the user to contribute specific feedback based on immediate context

What We've Concluded

Where, when, and how is it appropriate to filter contextual awareness in the UI?
Where the user can quickly and easily input information to build context awareness
When the app is able to make accurate recommendations based on user preferences and usage patterns
When context awareness input opportunities are available without being intrusive to the user

Core Design Principle 1

Successful filtering will result in apps that make accurate recommendations based on user patterns and preferences without burdening or interrupting the user.

Centralized Repository

What Models and Features Are Appropriate for a Stand-alone App

Create a consistent, centralized location for users to

Choose preferences to opt-in or opt-out of the contextual awareness experience
View, create, maintain, and share smart rules
Search and adopt community smart rules
Visualize their status and view overall participation in context aware activities

What Worked Well

A landing page that serves as a "master control center"
A community page that serves as a wiki for users to share their rules and rate others'
Mastery screens with an overview of the user's progress, goals, and achievements
Widgets with quick access to context-based functionality

What We've Concluded

How can a context-aware repository enhance the user's overall experience?
A centralized location can ensure the user has an easy and efficient way to indicate sharing preferences and ensure the user feels in control of the device.
Giving users control over sharing permissions establishes user trust in the device.
Providing a visual display of participation in context awareness can be fun and entertaining for the user.

Core Design Principle 2

The context-aware repository will establish user trust by providing users a centralized place to secure privacy, ensure control, and determine sharing preferences without being difficult or burdensome to the user.

Game-like Experiences

Leverage game-like interactions to encourage user participation

Make otherwise tedious tasks fun and rewarding
Help bridge the reward gap between initial use and building true context awareness
Avoid overwhelming the user with pop-ups or unnecessary interruptions
Ensure that the visuals and tone of the UI reflect the brand

What We've Explored

Game frameworks and models
Whimsical, game-like activities

Research on the Use of Agents, Avatars, and Bots

Users have a generally negative outlook at the utility of agents based on previous experience
Users come into an interaction with preconceptions regarding agent utility
Users do not need an actual animated figure to encourage the assignment of personality to the device
Users treat technology using the same social rules they use with humans regardless of the presence of animated figures
Specific behaviors include politeness and teamwork, as well as the establishment of a perceived reciprocal relationship
Avatars lose appeal over time and are difficult to evaluate in usability testing

What Worked Well

Metaphors for device management activities
Sandbox interaction styles for settings and user input

What We've Concluded

The following can be adopted from game principles because they align with our research and can be implemented in many ways:
Making the interface engaging and fun can be motivating during tedious tasks.
Game-like interactions (visual navigation, better feedback, etc.) can establish a bond between user and their device.
Elements that encourage learning and exploration develop a recurring pattern of behavior.
Need to avoid unnecessary interruptions and distractions from gratuitous animations or agents that evoke users' preconceived negative associations with avatars.

Core Design Principle 3

A successful solution will add a layer of game-like elements that are fun and engaging without adding complexity to the experience.

How This All Fits Together

Contextual awareness is an ecosystem that pervades the device and influences how a user interacts with it at various levels of experience.

Users should always be in control and can turn on or off contextual awareness.
Users discover and understand the power of contextual awareness through light-weight entry points integrated across the UI or as extensions of the core apps.
With time, users can opt to utilize their device to its fullest potential by actively fine-tuning, managing, building, and sharing smart rules in the central repository.
Users can filter, adopt, and contribute to community-generated smart rules.

The direct and indirect interactions between users and the context engine form a continuous feedback loop that grows and sustains the context-aware ecosystem.

Manage and Build a Context Awareness Hub

Create a consistent, centralized location to manage and build smart rules:

Users are able to choose to opt-in or opt-out of the contextual awareness experience.
Give users the ability to view, create, maintain, and share smart rules.
Users are able to search and share within a community.
Users are able to visualize their status and view overall participation in context-aware activities.
Users may also access and build scripts using input from across the device.

Questions to Be Answered

How can we better understand the value of context awareness?

Trust

What level of trust do users have with the device initially?
What aspects of context awareness can promote immediate trust?
What would users change to feel more immediately trusting of the device?
How do specific context awareness applications affect user trust in the device?
How does experiential trust change over use?

Control

What level of control do users want over context awareness applications?
What do users want done automatically?
How do user preferences differ between social sharing and sharing personal information with the device only?

Prototyping and User Testing

Next Steps for User Research

Phase I: Concept Exploration/Testing

Duration: 1 week
Start Date: dependent on design timelines
Location: Chicago
Explore broad context awareness concepts to gain user insights

Research Questions to Be Answered

Where do users expect context-aware applications?
How trusting are users of context-aware applications?
How automatic are users willing to allow context-aware applications?
What is the perceived utility for various context-aware applications?

Method

Qualitative interviews
Explore potential context-aware applications (widgets, dashboard, alert indicators, types of interactions)

Materials Needed

Wireframes to visualize concepts for users

Phase II: Design Evaluation and Iteration

Duration: 1 week
Start Date: dependent on design timelines
Location: Chicago

Goals

Examine specific context-aware concepts and application designs
Concepts and design based on feedback from Phase I to drive designs

Research Questions to Be Answered

If design and UI options exist, how would users prefer to interact with context-aware applications?
Visual design feedback
What benefit do users see in specific context-aware interactions?

Method

Qualitative interviews to explore context-aware interactions

Materials Needed

Wireframes or mock-ups to visualize concepts for users

Phase III: Usability Testing

Duration: 1-2 weeks to complete data collection, analysis, and report
Start Date: dependent on design timelines
Location: number of locations needed TBD

Goals

Usability testing for context-aware interactions and applications on prototype

Research Questions to Be Answered:

Can users self-discover context-aware applications?
Can users set up permissions for context awareness?
How does context-aware set up requirements influence user satisfaction?
User perceptions of context awareness and context-aware applications

Method

Usability testing of context awareness

Materials Needed

Prototypes with functioning context-aware applications

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