Mobile research goes alfresco

Since the advent of the mobile phone we have seen them move from being a large device used by a very select few to their current ubiquity, with some people owning two or more phones. How did we manage before we had them? However we did it is unimportant; the mobile phone is here to stay. This mobile evolution happened fairly rapidly and over a short space of time, which is due in no small part to the efforts of Nokia, who conquered the market in the late 90s and has seen off growing competition from other mobile manufacturers in the last couple of years. The legend of Nokia lives on and it has managed to keep hold of a sizeable share of the market, although the credit crunch seems to be loosening its grip, albeit marginally – Nokia’s Q4 market share figures for 2008 are down 3% from the previous year’s Q4 share of 40%. That said they are still leagues ahead of their nearest rival. I think the key to their success story can be linked to their heavy investment in user testing and focus on easy to use products. Nokia users are known to be steadfastly loyal and shriek at the thought of using another type of handset.

We face a number of challenges for designing usable interfaces on these shrinking devices. For one we need to contend with the increase in the number of applications and games that are freely available, mobiles are being used in many new and varying ways. Addressing how to make this interaction easy and engaging while on the move is a formidable task. The change from testing in labs to testing in the field will be an important one. Testing in lab conditions will highlight a high proportion of the issues but many more will be missed. Things like mid-day sun can be simulated to a certain extent but not walking and texting at the same time or looking after a child and trying to find someone’s contact details simultaneously. By using small cameras which can be attached to the handset which records participants’ interaction is one way. Another is to make use of embedded software which records users’ interactions, relaying the keystrokes and menu selections back to usability specialists to be analysed. However it is done, mobile testing is going alfresco. Far from being left out in the cold mobile manufacturers should take to the streets.