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Measuring User Satisfaction by Detecting and Measuring Emotions

Introduction

The measurement of user satisfaction was not much of a concern for the software community until the field of human computer interaction (HCI) became a recognized contributor to the discipline of computer science. HCI is concerned with the design, evaluation, and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of related major phenomena9. The preponderance of research in HCI has been focused on the components of design and implementation of interactive computing systems. The main goal of HCI is to build interactive systems that are easy to learn, effective to use, and enjoyable from the user’s perspective9. These characteristics are summed up in one word – usability. Usability can only be understood from the user’s mind-set. Glass (as cited in Pressman14) contends that even the quality of a system is not as important as the user being satisfied, because if the user isn’t satisfied, nothing else really matters. Therefore, usability is of utmost importance in measuring a software product’s positive impact on the user.

Since the focus is on satisfying the needs and desires of the user, the development of interactive systems should follow a user-centered approach that is sensitive and responsive to those needs. This foundational principle becomes a challenge for the typical software developer because it calls for skills and abilities that are not normally part of the software engineer’s portfolio5. HCI is an interdisciplinary methodology that involves skills from disciplines such as psychology/cognitive science, engineering, informatics, computer science/software engineering, ergonomics, human factors, and social sciences13. Therefore, HCI is closely aligned with user-centered development. Web-based systems are good examples of HCI-type systems because of the availability of the medium upon which they operate.

This paper addresses the measurement of user satisfaction by detecting emotions. The initial discussion deals with experiments conducted to measure emotions after the user had completed a test scenario. The paper then discusses the ongoing work to create an environment that will provide a real-time assessment of emotions. Before presenting the experiments and ongoing work, some preliminary discussions on the subject of user satisfaction are necessary.

User Satisfaction

Krug7 points out that the real expert in usability is the user. Despite the best efforts of HCI experts and Web designers, the ones who ultimately determine if a Web site is useful (and therefore successful) are the users. Users, as a collective group, bring such a wide diversity of skill levels and backgrounds, that it is impossible for Web designers to anticipate and address every technical or cultural nuance. Therefore, it is worthwhile to give the users a voice in the design of Web sites through low fidelity prototyping and other techniques for user involvement.

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Wilson, P., & Fernandez, J. (2006, June), Measuring User Satisfaction By Detecting And Measuring Emotions Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--977