They call it surfing for a reason: Identifying mobile Internet needs through PC deprivation.

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1 They call it surfing for a reason: Identifying mobile Internet needs through PC deprivation. Rachel Hinman Design Strategist Adaptive Path 363 Brannan St. San Francisco, CA USA hinman@adaptivepath.com Pekka Isomursu Design Strategist Nokia Design P.O. Box 300 FIN-90401N Oulu, Finland pekka.isomursu@nokia.com Mirjana Spasojevic Senior Principal Scientist Nokia Research Center 955 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA USA mirjana.spasojevic@nokia.com Abstract In this paper we describe the details of a PC Internet deprivation study used to gather information on Mobile Internet needs. Eight participants in our study used a mobile device as their only means of Internet access for four days. The case study describes details of the research methodology as well as design insights and implications for development of mobile applications and services. Keywords Internet, mobile, design, UI, user research, design guidelines, deprivation, user experience, user-centered design Copyright is held by the author/owner(s). CHI 2008, April 5 April 10, 2008, Florence, Italy Introduction Despite being lauded as the future of the Internet in business and technology circles, the true value of the Mobile Web for a typical mobile-device consumer remains illusive. While PC services, such as and local search, sound appealing to many users, limitations of the technology and design network latency, rendering issues on a device, small screen size, lack of pricing transparency, limited text input and

2 2 interaction in models optimized for PCs ultimately lead to a poor experience and lack of usage. While these barriers are significant, they are in constant flux. Everyday, new mobile devices are released with enhanced I/O features, such as qwerty keyboards, touch screen, WiFi, and Near Field Communication or NFC-based interaction mechanisms that deliver better experiences and lower the barrier to Mobile Web usage. PC Internet vs. Mobile Internet In addition to the design and technology barriers, perhaps the most significant threat to widespread Mobile Web adoption is the PC. Research has revealed that users in PC-centric cultures and geographies who readily have access to PCs, commonly prefer to use their PCs at home or work to meet their Internet needs over a mobile device. Such research and usage statistics prove that providing access to Internet content is simply not enough in PC-centric cultures. In addition, the conceptual understanding of the Internet and its value for users is based primarily on the PC experience. The metaphors, interaction models, and even preferences for content are based on the PCbrowsing experience. While content developers, handset manufacturers and carriers all recognize that a mobile device and a PC are very different devices, too often Mobile Web solutions attempt to replicate PC interaction models and content offerings on a mobile device. Human-Centered Approach While barriers to use are obvious and identifiable, Internet content on a mobile device remains a powerful opportunity space for design and technology. At the heart of most if not every widespread technology adoption success story is a story of technology filling a human need. In a user-centered design process, upfront contextual research is a tool that can be used to identify these unmet human needs. Collecting data that identifies behaviors, context of use, and use patterns from consumers can be a powerful tool in guiding the process through well-established design research methodologies, such as diary studies and contextual interviews. Collecting this type of valuable and relevant data from research subjects who routinely use technology in a nascent space, such as the Mobile Internet, proves challenging because behavior and use patterns are often a reaction to the limitations of the technology, rather than insights into fulfilling the unmet needs through a technology. Often when collecting data from consumers on the topic of the Mobile Web, subjects focus on the limitations of the technology cost, latency of the network, web pages that render poorly on a device. These are limitations that ultimately prohibit habitual use of the technology, but could eventually change as the technology advances. While these limitations are important in understanding the current experiential aspects of using the Mobile Web, such data does little to support the identification of unmet needs that the technology could fulfill, if and when, limitations change. Deprivation as a research methodology has proven useful in cases where users under-report behavior, cases where a technology has been ritualized into daily life to such an extent that people are not conscious of their behavior. This case study describes the use of

3 3 deprivation as a useful and viable research methodology in studies that explore: 1) Technology whose limitations and barriers to use are predicted to improve and change over time; and 2) Nascent and potentially disruptive technology whose seminal value has yet to be determined by users. Study Methodology and Goals The goal of our study was to identify the needs of the Mobile Internet users in the U.S. in order to design a handset interface solution that would alleviate some of the existing barriers to use. The design solution needed to be compelling to users and technically feasible enough to be implemented into handsets in the near future. U.S. participants were selected as a research target due to the company s interest in that geographic market. At the time of our research project, uptake for mobile Internet content for our target group in the U.S. was relatively low. We designed a PC Internet deprivation study to identify unmet user needs. Our hypothesis was that this study would allow us to gain insight into how to improve the experience from the perspective of users. We specifically wanted information on perceptions of interaction design, types of content consumption, and key differences in consuming Internet content on a mobile phone instead of a PC. within the last 12 months. They were all employed in fulltime and/or fulltime student roles, ranged in age from years old. The participants were considered technology trendsetters and leaders of their respective peer groups. Their income levels were average to high (household incomes over 40K). They were highly motivated and more inclined to be optimistic about the future. They tended to seek out the latest features and functions in order to keep up on technology, improve efficiency or express their individuality. They considered mobile devices essential to their daily lives. The eight participants in the study were given Nokia N-series phones: four N80 and four N93. Both types of phones were equipped with a T9 keypad, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi network capability, 3 megapixel camera, 176x144 pixel resolution color screen and Internet browsing functions and capabilities. The participants for this research consisted of eight individuals who reported using the mobile web three to five times a week and had a high level of comfort with Internet browsing on a mobile device. They were frequent users of the PC Internet and used it for browsing, searching, purchasing and transacting. They had all purchased a phone with an Internet data plan Figure 1. Nokia N93 and N80 were used in the study. The eight U.S.-based participants recorded their PC and Mobile Internet usage for three days using an online

4 4 diary tool. Next, we requested participants use a mobile device as their only point of Internet access for four days. Throughout the study we asked them to record their experiences using the phone, specifically their experiences accessing the Internet with the phone. During the course of the four-day deprivation study, participants were allowed to use the PC Internet for two very specific tasks. One task was to complete Mobile Web usage entries into an online diary tool. The second PC task permitted was to use PC Internet vouchers, which consisted of 30-minutes use of a PC to complete tasks of their choosing; tasks that were too difficult to complete using a mobile phone. Data Collection of Online Diaries and Contextual Interviews Rather than utilizing the more traditional paper diary, we asked participants to use an online diary tool to record their experiences from the day. In order to understand context of use, we requested that participants take photos with their mobile device s camera throughout the day. Figure 2. An example of diary entry from online diary tool.

5 5 At the end of each day, we asked participants to upload their photos to the online diary tool via a PC and describe the photos. The photos functioned as a memory trigger for the participants a visual cue that helped them remember where and what they did with their mobile device throughout the day. Additionally, at the end of the four-day deprivation study, we conducted a two-hour contextual interview in each participant s home in order to understand their perspective of the experience. The intent of these interviews was to allow participants to reflect on the experience in the context of their own environment and other topics. Research Findings and Design Implications Data collected through deprivation methodology yielded the following research insights and design implications. Research Finding: People used PC metaphors as a proxy. When participants talked about accessing the Internet on their device, they would often use the language of the PC browsing, , etc. Often this would lead to conversations about comparisons of PCs and devices. Female Participant 5: They call it surfing for a reason... you know because it's a flow. It's like following a wave of information. If you can't click on links, you can't follow that wave... and you can't easily click on links on a mobile phone. Borrowing from the PC sets up false expectations for the mobile experience. While comparisons between the mobile device and PC experiences help people conceptually understand Mobile Internet access, it creates and magnifies limitations about the experience. The screen becomes too small; text input through the T9 keyboard is awkward; connection speeds are slow. Defining characteristics of the device become a liability. Research Finding: The Internet is not a task-based experience. Many of the applications, and therefore, interface menu items, on a mobile device are geared towards very task-specific activities, (e.g. finding a phone number; taking a picture; placing a phone call; or sending an SMS). In this study, was often used as a conceptual link for how the Internet could be useful on a phone. Male Participant 7: was why I even signed up for Internet service on my phone. I thought it would be really convenient to check my from anywhere. But then after I got the service I realized that it was really only practical to check because it is just too difficult to type s using the keypad. Plus it takes so long to download. It really isn t worth the price. Upon further questioning, we found that participants definitions of the Internet was not about specific tasks, but what the Internet enabled. Male Participant 3: The Internet is a huge, huge part of my life, so I try to be on it as much as I can. I just feel like the Internet connects me to everything. To people, family, friends, co-workers, teachers,

6 6 information news, sports, score, communication with people the Internet is just the way my life works. I don t know what I would do without the Internet. We found that for most people Internet access was synonymous with feeling connected connected to people and to information. Its meaning was not a series of single tasks, but multifaceted experiences that enabled connection. A clear problem that plagued our participants experiences on mobile phones was the legacy of the PC-Internet experience, which influenced and reinforced parody of the PC-Internet experience for the interface design, interaction models and information. The value of technology was not apparent. Therefore, participants created meanings based on their PC experience, which the interface design reinforced. Unless guided, PC-centric people will create meaning for the Mobile Web from their PC experiences. When put within this paradigm, Mobile Web access will more often than not be disappointing. Design Implication: Think invent. Not recreate. The Internet is more than a task or menu item, it is a multifaceted experience that means different things to different people. Because the Internet is multifaceted and its meaning changes by person, a single menu item requires users to interpret Internet access on their device, leading to confusion and unmet expectations. Figure 2. Web Interface menu item from N80. Users were uncertain what they would see when clicking on the icon. Design solutions should help to define the experience for users and accurately set expectations, leaving less open for interpretation. People will create meaning for the Mobile Web from their PC experiences. The history of human computer interaction has seen invention and innovation since its inception. Punch cards and the window metaphor are but a few. Design solutions for the Mobile Web should leverage existing PC metaphors when applicable, but should also explore and invent new metaphors and interaction models for accessing Internet content. Research Finding: Users go where the path has been plowed with Internet content. Since the PC has shaped Internet experiences, a common first step for most users in our study was to attempt PC transference. Participants initially tried to emulate their PC Internet content consumption on the

7 7 mobile platform because Internet routines were deeply engrained in their daily lives. We found that the majority of Internet content accessed during the study came from content sources that had already been frequented on participants PCs. And participants responded emotionally when they couldn t keep up with their favorite sites, reporting feelings of disconnectedness, sadness and stress. Figure 3. An example of a PC-voucher diary entry from online diary tool.

8 8 If the experience of accessing one of their favorite sites via their mobile device was negative, subjects projected that failure across other sites. Research Finding: Mobile Moments = High Value. Powerful experiences happened when participants were able to connect to Internet content to fulfill a pressing need in a mobile context. Female Participant 5: I tried Perez Hilton.com, MySpace the sites I usually go to everyday on the PC. When they didn t work I figured other stuff wouldn t work, so I really didn t bother trying. It just took too much work. There were no stories of discovering new Web sites or Internet content from the eight users in our study. All sources of content sought out were familiar to them. Research Finding: Exploring Internet content on a mobile device requires a high investment of time often with a low value return. Bandwidth constraints and the difficulty of inputting text through the mobile device s numeric keypad meant that every site visited by participants was an investment and involved risk. If the site didn t load or meet the user s need, the perceived cost was too great. Every participant had sites that they liked to visit frequently and compulsively. If visiting these daily essentials on the device was draining or they developed negative expectations, the participants were less likely to explore. Although some sites, such as MySpace, and , were important enough to users to be worthwhile, most sites were perceived as not offering enough value to be worth investing the time, money, and cognitive energy required to be able to access them from anywhere. Figure 4. Participant demonstrating the bakery s web site used to order a cake for a birthday party. For example, one participant was throwing a surprise birthday party for her boyfriend and forgot to purchase a cake. She was able to use her mobile device to select a cake from a local bakery and get the hours of operation and directions in order to purchase the cake on her way to the party. Design Implication: Clear the Path. Most people will start to build Mobile Internet experiences and expectations based on the PC-Internet legacy. Initial beach-heads for Mobile Internet content should be grounded in the familiar, but should reduce the amount of investment required to visit and

9 9 consume familiar content. Design solutions should build on the familiar content, but explore information presentation that compliments mobile context and content needs. Design Implication: Build from the familiar to create mobile moments. The type of content that will drive adoption of Mobile Web usage remains illusive, but evidence from our study suggests that providing relevant content in the right context has very high value to users. Therefore, designers and developers should focus on Internet content that is ripe for mobile consumption. Content has high mobile value when: 1) It addresses a specific need; 2) Information is time- or context-sensitive; or 3) There are no better alternatives for accessing the content. Research Finding: Access is a challenge. Research confirmed a previously held hypothesis: Accessing the Internet on a mobile device is difficult. Users in our study cited several obstacles to Internet usage via their mobile devices such as: device s interface makes it difficult to enter URLs, network speed/latency, poor network reception, small screen size, sites not optimized for mobile access, and painful scrolling. A key challenge for participants in our study was navigating HTML page structures that have been optimized for the PC-Internet experience. The content people were looking for was trapped within pages and navigation structures that were difficult to traverse, given the form factor and limitations of a mobile device. Female Participant 4: "It seems like using the phone to access the Internet... the answer is to move all the online content over to mobile so that when I go on a mobile, the display is exactly how I see it on a PC. But the mobile phone is so small, the screen is so small... is there a way to lay out the graphics in a simpler way... is there a way to use simpler language shorter sentences or break it up into little bits and pieces so that it is easier for me to find what I am looking for on such a small screen with minimal buttons and one hand?" Design Implication: People want information. Not URLs. The promise of information convergence depends on liberating data from current forms and the ability to prism Internet data through various devices. The data is the building block, not the format it is held in. Design and development should Privilege XML over HTML. Design Implication: Focus on the presentation layer. The browser metaphor and Web pages are strongly tied to the current PC-Internet experience. Creating a new presentation layer for information through interfaces like widgets and RSS present an opportunity to define a new way of interacting with Internet content through a mobile device. Many portals and Web sites are massive sources of information that are difficult to navigate on a device. Developing micro-services that deliver content in an easily consumable form for a mobile device will be valuable to users, and given some of the current constraints of the mobile ecosystem, will go a long way in improving the mobile experience.

10 10 Research Finding: The PC-Internet experience is optimized for exploration. Our study found the form factor, environmental factors and visual cues of the PC- Internet experience facilitated exploration. Figure 5. The PC-Internet experience is optimized for exploration.

11 11 Research Finding: The Mobile-Internet experience should be optimized for predictability. Our study found the form factor, environmental factors and visual cues of the Mobile-Internet experience needs to facilitate predictability. Figure 6: The Mobile-Internet experience should be optimized for predictability.

12 12 Research Finding: The PC-Internet experience is like scuba diving. The Mobile-Internet experience is like snorkeling. The metaphor we developed from this study illustrates the point that accessing the Internet on a PC lets you go deep; while accessing the Internet on a mobile device is just skimming the surface. The Mobile-Internet experience is akin to snorkeling because: The PC-Internet experience is like scuba diving because: It can be can immersive. Design factors combine to provide rich experiences that are engaging and engrossing. Attention is divided. Users often need to access content while in an uncontrolled environment. Shallow dipping in and dipping out of content for quick checking of key content is desired. It is difficult to get totally immersed. Slow connection speeds and small screen sizes do not allow users to multitask or to get as engrossed with content. It invites exploration and discovery. Design factors can make it easy to move through content quickly and easily. Multitasking is easier than on a mobile device. Overlapping windows and visual cues allow for easy exploration of multiple directions at once. Design Implication: Design for partial attention and interruption. When designing for the Mobile Web, design with interruptions in mind. You must understand the limitations of content consumption on a mobile device. Users can be interrupted at any time by the physical environment, such as a text message from a friend or an important call.

13 13 Design Implication: Design for skimming the surface. Valuable mobile experiences are not immersive; they respect the variability of the mobile environment. Map content to this variability and deliver it in appropriate forms that are predictable. Intuitive shallow menu structures and landmarks in the interface will help people navigate information on a small screen that does not easily support multitasking. Create visual cues and interface models to help people locate themselves and navigate intuitively. Designers and developers should consider passive forms of content consumption. Sound and video take less cognitive energy to consume than text and hyperlinks, and therefore may be better content forms on a mobile device. Conclusions Internet access on mobile devices is of high interest to the mobile-device industry, network service providers, and content developers. All players in the mobile-device ecosystem have placed high expectations on the value that can be delivered to users, as well as the potential revenue that can be generated in this nascent space. Yet mobile phones have only enjoyed widespread adoption in the last 10 to 15 years and for most consumers, a mobile phone s primary purpose is for making simple voice calls. In order to change that perception, it is essential that new features, such as Internet access via a mobile device, be easy to use and provide tangible value to users. Given this challenge at the onset of our research, we recognized in order to deliver a product that would provide value to users, it was essential to conduct research that would reveal their unmet needs. In order to identify these needs, we had to collect data that was based on usage. However, due to the infancy of the Mobile Web, widespread usage was rare. Essentially, we had to choose a methodology that would force and guarantee usage. The deprivation research methodology used for this research was effective because it allowed us to gather focused user data on the experiential aspects of using a mobile phone to access Internet content. Because participants in the study were using only their phone to access the Internet, they were able to clearly and concisely articulate key problems in the experience, particularly aspects of the experience we hoped to improve through our design, such as interaction models and content formats. Participants were also able to share ideas they believed would make the experience better because they had tangible and real experiences with the technology. The research findings and design implications presented in this case study were gleaned from the deprivation research methodology and were effective in informing the design process.

14 14 Citations [1] Use of Mobile Web Low but Growing [2] Mobile Internet most of us don t use it. l [3] Hutton, Tara. My cell phone, my life. Quirk s Marketing Research Review, 2006