Influences of personal preference on product usability

ABSTRACT

This study intended to demonstrate experimentally that user trust or affection for a brand affects the results of usability tests. For the experimental method, experimentees were exposed to products made by companies they preferred and did not preferred, and these products were then tested with a group of tasks for each product. For the test assessments, NASA-TLX was utilized to measure the mental and physical demands on the experimentees, along with the measure of error rate and time of product operation.The results were that, even though the experimentees performed the same tasks, they had decreased mental and physical demands operating products that they preferred. That is, it was shown that an individual's psychological state greatly influences the usability of a product and that, for a usability test, the user's image of the product's brand is also an important variable.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)

Keywords:
NASA-TLX, personal preference (brand image), product usability