McMaster eBusiness Research Center (MeRC) Khaled Hassanein, Director

1. McMaster eBusiness Research Center (MeRC)Khaled Hassanein, Director

2. MeRC • Established in 2000 • Part of the Ontario Research Network in e-Commerce (ORNEC) • Funded by the Ontario government, McMaster University and the business community • Includes faculty from the School of Business, Engineering and Humanities

3. Research • Innovative Interdisciplinary research in all aspects of eBusiness • Research groups have developed expertise in areas of: • Interface Design • Online Trust and Privacy • eLearning • Change Management • Knowledge Management • among others … • Identity Theft • Mobile Commerce • eHealth • Portals • Online Negotiation • SCM

4. Education • Providing graduates with the managerial and technical knowledge demanded and necessary in the electronic marketplace • Undergraduate eBusiness courses • eBusiness MBA specialization • PhD (currently 12 candidates engaged in eBusiness research) • Co-op, internship, & full time placements

5. Outreach • Distribution of research papers and reports • Research and consulting contracts • Executive eBusiness training programs • Online eBusiness courses • Seminar series on current and important topics in eBusiness • Annual eBusiness Conference (World Congress) • Annual Supply Chain Management Symposium • Student eCase Competition

6. Welcome toICMB 2007 & WCMeB 2007 Toronto Canada July 9 – 13, 2007

7. Conference proceedings published by the IEEE Computer Society

8. Organizing Committee Conference Chair Dr. Yufei Yuan Wayne C. Fox Chair in Business Innovation, McMaster University Program ChairDr. Khaled HassaneinDirector, McMaster eBusiness Research Centre (MeRC) McMaster University Research Track ChairDr. Norm ArcherProfessor Emeritus, Special Advisor to MeRCMcMaster University Industry Chair Christian CouturierDirector General, NRC Institute for Information Technology Canada

9. Important Dates, ICMB

10. Conference proceedings published by the IEEE Computer Society

11. Organizing Committee Conference Co-Chairs Dr. Khaled HassaneinDirector, McMaster eBusiness Research Centre (MeRC) DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University Dr. Milena Head Associate Professor of Information Systems DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University Program ChairDr. Brian Detlor Associate Professor of Information Systems DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University

12. Important Dates, WCMeB

13. Venue: Hilton Toronto

14. Getting Involved… • Propose a panel discussion • Present a paper • Sponsorships – packages tailored to your needs • Suggest keynote speakers • Display products/services • Attend one or both conferences • Suggest to us other forms of involvement

15. Thank you!& See you in Toronto in 2007 Dr. Khaled Hassanein,  P.Eng., Ph.D., MBADirector, McMaster eBusiness Research Centre (MeRC) Associate Professor of Information Systems,DeGroote School Of Business, McMaster University,Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaTel. (905) 525-9140 ext. 23956Fax : (905) 528-0556e-mail: hassank@mcmaster.ca

16. Mobile Usability Dr. Milena Head

17. m-Consumer Concerns • Privacy • Security • Cost • Usability • Reliability • Download Times

18. Elements of Mobile Usability

19. Usability Models • A usable system facilitates interaction with its users by making the interface transparent; focusing their attention on the mission and not the means • Usability involves several dimensions • Learnability; efficiency; memorability; error prevention and satisfaction

20. Measuring Usability Results from 45 studies: (Frequency of usability measures used)

21. Measuring Usability

22. Mobile Usability Model Environment Types: statice/dynamic quiet/noisy Environment Limitations: distractions ambient conditions time Environment Types: static/dynamic quiet/noisy Environment Limitations: distractions ambient conditions time Interface Types: hierarchical menu short-cut codes tree-based table-based speech-based Interface Limitations: screen size and quality input methods varied devices Interface Types: hierarchical menu short-cut codes tree-based table-based speech-based Interface Limitations: screen size and quality input methods varied devices Environment Environment User User Interface Interface User Types: novice/expert sequential/multi-tasking User Limitations: memory capacity visual capacity motor skill capacity User Types: gender culture age novice/expert sequential/multi-tasking User Limitations: memory capacity visual capacity motor skill capacity Task Types: closed/open accessing/authoring Task Limitations: complexity interaction level Task Types: closed/open accessing/authoring Task Limitations: complexity interaction level Task Task Environment Environment

23. Understanding the Impact of Distractions on Mobile Usability

24. Research Questions • What is the impact of distractions on the usability of mobile devices for WDS? • What is the impact of usability on consumers’ behavioural intention towards using mobile devicesfor wireless data services? • Which factors become relevant when studying usability within a context of use?

25. Experiment • Tasks: • Send a text message • Schedule an appointment in a calendar • Update an entry in an address book • Search the Web for specific information • Device: • Blackberry 7250 (QWERTY) • Sample size: • 87

26. Experimental Setup …

27. Results … • What is the impact of distractions on the usability of mobile devices for WDS? Perceived - Significant impact on efficiency & effectiveness - Larger impact on efficiency Objective: - Significant impact on SMS task completion time

28. Results … • What is the impact of usability on consumers’ behavioural intention towards using mobile devices for wireless data services? • Large support: Satisfaction with efficiency  BI • Lower support: Satisfaction with Effectiveness  BI • Consumers place more emphasis on efficiency than on effectiveness

29. Results … 3) Which factors become relevant when studying usability within a context of use? User • Women • More susceptible to distractions • Older users • More susceptible to distractions Environment • Distractions influence perceived usability Task • Calendar, address book, & Web tasks more resistant to environmental noise • SMS affected by environmental noise

30. Understanding the Impact of Individual Differences on Mobile Usability

31. Experiment • Participants • Culture - 30 Canadian, 30 Chinese • Gender – Canadian (M=53% F=47%); Chinese (M=43%, F=57%) • Age – Canadian (<35=67%, 35&>=33%) Chinese (<35=67%, 35&>=33%) • Experimental Device: Nokia 6600 Internet enabled phone • Experimental Site: Lonely Planet City Guide in English and Chinese versions

32. Lonely Planet City Guides

33. Examined Impact On Design Elements … • Information Design(ID) – Site elements that convey accurate or inaccurate information to users (i.e. whether or not an icon conveys correct information to users is ID) • Navigation Design(ND) – Navigational scheme used to help or hinder users as they access the site • Visual Design(VD) - Balance, emotional appeal, aesthetics, uniformity of the website overall graphical look (i.e. colors, photographs, shapes, font type)

34. Results • Inconclusive statistical results for Gender and Culture, but notable difference for Age • Qualitative Analysis: • ID (culture) – Canadians more disappointed with restaurant choices; price mattered more to Chinese • VD (gender) – Women thought “the screen design good for me, but thought the colors and contrast could be better” • VD (age) – significant differences and older users were more impressed with the novelty of the device and its design: “The newness of it, it’s captivating… Look at this, look at what it can do”

35. Predicting Satisfaction • Design elements impact satisfaction with mobile services • Most significant impacts on satisfaction… • VD -> Satisfaction • ID -> Satisfaction • ID X culture X age -> Satisfaction

36. Implications for Practice

37. Implications … • Mobile usability is important for satisfaction and adoption of mobile services • Context is an important element to determine mobile usability • Adaptable & location-aware mobile interfaces to address contextual usability • Target markets for adaptable interfaces: Women & Older users

38. Implications … • Design elements are important determinants of mobile usability • Perceptions of visual design differ by age, and may be influenced by culture and gender • Know your users and the context in which they are using the application/system!

39. Thank you!