Using archetypes to create user panels for usability studies: Streamlining focus groups and user studies
Author(s)
Stavrakos, SK
Ahmed-Kristensen
Goldman
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Designers at the conceptual phase of products such as headphones, stress the importance of comfort, e.g. executing comfort studies and the need for a reliable user panel. This paper proposes a methodology to issue a reliable user panel to represent large populations and validates the proposed framework to predict comfort factors, such as physical fit. Data of 200 heads was analyzed by forming clusters, 9 archetypal people were identified out of a 200 people's ear database. The archetypes were validated by comparing the archetypes' responses on physical fit against those of 20 participants interacting with 6 headsets. This paper suggests a new method of selecting representative user samples for prototype testing compared to costly and time consuming methods which relied on the analysis of human geometry of large populations.
Date Issued
2016-04-08
Date Acceptance
2016-02-28
Citation
Applied Ergonomics, 2016, 56, pp.108-116
ISSN
0003-6870
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
108
End Page
116
Journal / Book Title
Applied Ergonomics
Volume
56
Copyright Statement
© 2016, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Subjects
Human Factors
1116 Medical Physiology
1203 Design Practice And Management
1106 Human Movement And Sports Science
Publication Status
Published