Yurika Katagiri’s scientific contributions

One of the key factors we should consinder in designing the new ICT services that provide high user experience is environment. In this paper, we show two example in which the use of ICT service strongly depends on the environment in which the service is provided. We then propose an environment-centered approach for desinging ICT services. Traditional user-centered approaches like the persona-scenario method focus on the user domain, but environmental factors are considered in little while designing servies. We found, however, that service use is diversed drastially in the different environments. We have started to examine the proposed approach for ICT service design. A preliminary finding is that we can focus on environmental factors, especially, the environmental difference at different times, which is not considered explicitly in the traditional user-centered approach.

We propose two design concepts for the user-friendly manual and compare them in an experiment. The first concept, which focuses on user comprehension, is to use one picture of the completed wiring. The second concept is to uses a series of steps from left to right with the goal of making the user follow the order. Trials show that participants presented with material based on the first concept tend to follow their own mental-model rather than the manual. Material based on the second concept also failed to make users follow the order. Some implications for the refinement of manual design are derived based on the results.

Although many Internet-based social services exist that can raise our quality of life, there are still many non-active users who cannot fully enjoy the convenience of the computer and its functionality even though they have computers in the home. In order to analyze how to enhance computer usage, we conducted a field study and arrived at an integrated model that enables us to deeply understand the psychology of active/non-active computer users. Initial design guidelines for activating the non-active users are derived from our model.