Understanding of user evaluations on fun products

Abstract

The fields of human-computer interaction and interaction design are increasingly dealing with the issues of fun, enjoyment and pleasure throughout the last two decades. The concept of fun becomes a concern in the development of usability of a product. Fun is an attribute considered to be an emotional aspect of interaction of a product. The evaluations and interpretations of fun on products are, therefore, subjective and personal which is peculiar to a user. A study, hence, was conducted to explore the term fun in everyday experience products. The aim is to understand what features and characteristics of a product make it fun and enjoyable to use. A total of twenty-nine users participated in the study. Each participant was interviewed individually in order for his/her personal attributes, interpretations and evaluations of fun to be elicited from a pool of thirty-two products. The participants' responses to open-ended questions were qualitatively analyzed by the use of content analysis procedure. The collected data was then grouped under four main categories which are visual aspect, functionality, usability, and contextual content. The findings of the study show that visual aspect of a product is the most concerned feature, followed by contextual content, usability and functionality, when evaluating the fun in everyday experience products.