Apps | Fiona MacNeill | Macknowlogist

[Talk] Factors of Trust in IoT App Interfaces Redux

Tue, 14 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Talk presented at UX Camp Brighton 2016 - Redux on 14/06/16 at 68 Middle Street

for the version of this talk given at UX Camp Brighton, 2016 (19/03/16). Video version of original talk. from on .

Session description:

Does your app rely on OAuth to offer connection to other apps and services? Based on my research studying app-to-device relationships in Internet of Things systems (e.g. Fitbit, Jawbone UP, Nest, SmartThings, Glooko), I have uncovered some best practice recommendations when it comes to inspiring trust within your interface. Trust definitions used in this video are from Pavlidis, Islam, Mouratidis, and Kearney (2014). This research is aligned with the SenSe research Cluster at the University of Brighton (secure and dependable software systems).

About SenSe

aims to develop novel and pragmatic ways to assure the dependability of software systems with particular emphasis on security, trust and risk. We focus on theories from model-based engineering and analysis-based assurance to develop methods, models, practices and tools that promote the provision of security and dependability in complex interconnected and heterogeneous systems and information infrastructures that underpin our economy and society.

Preliminary recommendations:

UX Questions to Ask in Relation to IoT Apps

#	Category	Questions to ask
1	System dialogues and Semantics	Are system dialogues consistent? For data permissions for use tips for motivational messages
2	Settings	Are all the settings housed together? Are items like the privacy policy and standards adherence available from this area? Can the Terms of Service (or a shortened format of ToSs) be accessed from within the app? Can connected apps and devices be reviewed/managed from within the app? Can support documentation be accessed from within the app?
3	Checkups for Setup/Workflow/Privacy An essential part of onboarding. Also a method for supporting trust and helping users to invest time in learning the higher-level functions of an app, which promotes realisation of app benefits and long-term commitment to use of the app (Brignull, 2013).	Periodic reminders about setup: Can the setup be improved? What devices could be added safely? What benefits might be available as part of the system that the user may be unaware of? Periodic review of workflow: ask users to review the workflow in the system to add a level of human oversight. If the app is not accessed frequently then email and text message may be effective ways to prompt engagement. Think of it like entering a monthly gas meter reading. Is an automated workflow still operating as intended? Is the function still needed? A possible incentive could be that the workflow will stop/timeout if it is not reviewed a la IFTTT. Periodic review of privacy: privacy overview and audit tools within the app. What information is shared with third-party developers? For what purpose/s is it shared? Non-legalese overview of changes to T&Cs should be included in privacy checks.
4	Role/function of the app Applies to central app and third-party apps.	This sounds really obvious, but a lot of primary IoT apps don't actually explain their purpose within the system. What service does the app offer? What need does the app fulfill? What does the app do? How important is the app to the operation of the system? E.g. is it the primary interface or management tool for the system? What data does it need? - Make it clear what is used and why, in plain English.
5	Health/status of hub/sensor/device At any point in time the user should be able to view a basic log of what is currently going on in the system.	What is going on in the system right now? Is recent system activity accessible? Is it possible to access logs from other time periods? Is it possible to see what communication channels are in operation? What third-party apps are connected to the system, what are they doing? What third-party devices are connected to the system, what are they doing? This should be more like what you expect from your banking app when it comes to overseeing the operation of high-importance health, home/business automation IoT systems.
6	OAUTH and API: secondary app data use	Respect users and prove that your app is more trustworthy by only calling data that you are actually using. What data is needed into order to provide the desired third-party service? How is the data used to provide the service? Note: platform manufacturers/developers need to ensure that third-party apps aren't over-privileged in terms of the data they access and the calls they can make via APIs (See the work of Fernandes, Jung and Prakesh, 2016). Developers need to state their intention when it comes to use of information that they call via the API. This doesn't stop those with malicious intent, but it helps users to distinguish between those who pay due diligence to privacy and those who are either malicious or sloppy.
7	What is shared?	Can data access be allowed/disallowed? Once disallowed from the primary app, is this decision upheld? Ideal world: provide granular options for allowing/disallowing access to data which is not necessary for the operation of the service offered by the app. Better yet, don't ask for the data at all if it isn't essential to operation.
8	Access control	Is two-step authentication an option for the web app and login from a new device? Does the smartphone/tablet app offer biometric authentication? Does the app offer the option of setting a passcode for auto screen lock? Particularly if the app controls home appliances.
9	Dependency and operational relationship	As systems become more complicated it is crucial that the user is aided in building a mental picture of the basic configuration of the system. I [keep thinking of Max](https://cycling74.com/products/max/) when I think of this issue. Is logging available? What is going on in the system right now? What is attached to this system (devices/sensors/users)? Is the system visualised in any way?
10	Try before you buy	Wearables have the right idea on this one, allowing you to trial a wearable companion app using your smartphone's built-in sensors. What if you could try out the perks of the system before you buy the actual device? Is a preview of how the app will operate with devices, provided as part of onboarding? Can you try of some of the functionality of the system without buying a system-specific device?

References

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Bradbury, D. (2015, November 26). Usability v safety: How to design our way to better security. The Guardian. Retrieved from

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My current personal hero:

Reflection: The search for the best notetaking -or rather handwriting- app

Sat, 27 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

In February I shall be starting an MSc in User Experience Design and as a consequence my thoughts have turned to the study tools, which I wish to make use of as a student. As part of this process I have been considering my arsenal of apps. I’ll likely talk about the full extent of my app choice plotting in future posts. In this post I shall provide my reflections on notetaking apps in-particular. In my experience early preparation has always been the best strategy when considering any new academic venture, so I look forward to sharing some of my findings on this blog in the lead up to and during my forthcoming period of study.

Productivity and notetaking apps that I use

In my professional life I have become a devotee of . I was not by any means an early adopter or rather I was but I got burned by a glitch circa 2009 which resulted in the loss on my web-based notes (at that time using it in-browser). I must stress that such a loss is not likely to happen with Evernote now but back then it was a relatively new thing and when on the cutting edge you may occasionally experience virtual paper cuts (thankfully I only lost a few notes)! However last year Evernote won my heart again when I decided that I wanted a solution with note tagging (keywords), multi-platform compatibility (in my case, Mac, PC, iOS, Android) and OCR capabilities (text recognition). After looking at a few app-based solutions it was the only option which gave me the flexibility I was craving. In my work I have come to rely on Evernote as an excellent option for recording meetings and consultations, being able to send a record of what was discussed and any actions to a staff person immediately after the meeting. I then link this information to my to-dos in (I’ll write about the wonders of Trello some other time). Sometimes when I’m particularly busy I quickly jot ideas or tasks down on paper and then use Evernote’s document capture function to take a photo. I am always impressed by the OCR capabilities of Evernote when it comes to recognising my squiggly handwriting and making it searchable (the detects words in handwriting rather than converting handwriting to type). Also when you add in the photo annotation tools made possible through Evenote’s partner app I am one happy customer. But…and you knew that this was coming, there is something to be said for handwriting and when it comes to deeper notetaking and truly learning concepts; I personally need to write concepts down to retain and understand them. When the iPad first came out in 2010 (Apple, 2010).

Handwriting in apps

File management

I was an early adopter and one of the first apps I fell in love with was . This app lets you draw or write with a stylus or your finger in virtual notebooks, later they added being able to add photos and voila it became a virtual sketchbook! I no longer wanted to carry a moleskin and an iPad and for a while Penultimate served me well for quick notetaking. Penultimate was acquired by Evernote in 2012 (Libin, 2012) and with that came the OCR capability of being able to ‘search’ your handwritten notes. However there were three functions which I have always felt are missing from Penultimate app which eventually caused me to abandon it. The first is the absence of a adequate notebook file management system, in apps like , and , although more strictly for annotation of imported files, these apps allowed a far superior filing system. For example in iAnnotatePDF you can tag files with keywords, create folders and connect to Sharepoint (MyFiles) via WebDAV for backup purposes. In Penultimate, you just have an ever growing pile of notebooks.

iAnnotatePDF, the tagging function is shown.

Background colour

The second issue is the background colour, from my you’ll know that background colour is very important to my efficiency when reading and writing. You do have the option of importing a photo to use as a background, so in theory that is a workaround and you can purchase notepaper types from Evernote Market, there are some good ones but these are more to do with line based layouts than page background colour. I have also found this which allows you to create your own templates for Penultimate as well as use templates which other’s have created, in particular I was happy to find a template after the recent presentation about it. With any drawing/handwriting app, as a workaround, you could draw a template on the page, but then it becomes tricky when you need to cut and paste your written sections as the background gets confused with your written content.

Notes Plus - the background colours and template options available in Notes Plus.

On-screen wrist protector

The third issue is the lack of an adjustable on-screen wrist protector. Penultimate allows you to define your wrist position but as you will see from the image below, it has trouble deciding which marks my stylus is making and which marks my wrist is making. This was the deal-breaker, I’d be mid-flow in writing and half of what I’d written would fail to show up as in Penultimate’s view my wrist had been doing the writing!

Penultimate - the effect of wrist shown.

Cornell Notes template shown above from

So after four years of on and off trial and error, with periodic abandonment of the idea of handwriting on my iPad other than using very helpful PDF annotation apps for small comments (another post about these apps specifically in the future), I think that I have finally come up with my ideal list of functions which a handwriting app needs - and one app fits almost all of them - Notes Plus with Notability taking a close second place.

My ideal list of functions

File management and ideally creation of folders or notebooks for storage of different note types
Background page colour and template adjustment
Adjustable on-screen wristguard

iAnnotatePDF - this is a pretty typical wristguard which you can adjust downward as you fill the page. A simple thing, but important.

Good virtual ink flow
Ink customisation and style
Two-fingered scroll and zoom support
Easy drag and drop customisation of already written text
Dropbox and/or WebDAV backup support - just in case
Hand-drawn shape recognition - I draw a circle or square and the app tidies it up for me automatically
Close-up mode - I not good at keeping to the lines or within box areas otherwise due to my squiggly writing

Two Examples of Close-up mode

Notes Plus

Also shows the excellent Ink customisation options.

Notability

Audio memos - for when my writing isn’t fast enough!
Presentation mode: can this app be shown in a classroom, to demonstrate annotation or to draw quick diagrams?
Good tutorial materials to make the most of the app
- Bonus:
  - PDF and word doc import - is it an annotation app too!
  - Layers - ‘send to back’ and locking options
  - Built-in Cornell Notes template
  - Handwriting to text converter (!) - in app purchase available in Notes Plus

Handwriting to Text Converter in Notes Plus

Select the text by drawing a circle around it. Select the conversion option.

It is accurate even with my horrendous handwriting.

Analysis

I analysed four apps based on these criteria: Notes Plus, Notability, iAnnotatePDF and Penultimate. The results are below, I have awarded 2 point for each “X”, the “+” signs indicate exemplary functionality. Bonus features are not counted towards possible total of 26.

New: Notability have just released a .

Criteria	Apps				Notes
	Notes Plus	Notability	iAnnotatePDF	Penultimate
File Management	X	X	X+		iAnnotatePDF:has excellent file management options - tagging, folders, search etc.
Background page colour	X	X+			Notability: will even allow you to change the background colour of PDFs.
On-screen wristguard (adjustable)	X	X	X
Good virtual ink flow	X+	X	X	X	iAnnotate is not quite as good as the others on this point.
Ink customisation	X+	X	X	X	Notes Plus has highly customisable and rather beautiful ink - it actually improves my handwriting.
Two-fingered scroll and zoom	X	X	X	X
Easy drag and drop of text	X+	X	X+	X
Backup options	X Dropbox Google Drive	X WebDAV Dropbox	X Dropbox Box Google Drive OneDrive WebDAV	X Evernote Dropbox	Of course I would love all these apps to be able to sync with Evernote some how, but I would like to see all of them offer a WebDAV option and ideally also Microsoft OneDrive.
Drawn shape recognition	X+				Notability does offer a nice function for drawing shapes and figures, but no shape recognition. This is where iAnnotate is more of an annotation programme, the ‘stamp’ tool has some shapes but it is limited.
Close-up mode	X	X			iAnnotatePDF: does let you zoom in and type and it also has a signature tool for close-up signing on PDFs, but these are less well suited to original notetaking. Penultimate: has drift mode for this kind of writing experience, but I found the enforced motion quite difficult and also frustrating to get out of.
Audio memos	X	X	X+		iAnnotatePDF: lets you place notes in-context throughout your document (in-place, a microphone icon is shown next to areas of text). Really helpful for formative feedback. Notes Plus and Notability: will link audio notes to the specific pages rather than areas of the page.
Presentation mode or allows projection	X+	X	X		Further testing needed: Notes Plus has a VGA connection view which is great. Notability does not have a specific mode, but does project well, as is the case with iAnnotate. Penultimate in my experience has a strange presentation mode and in prior versions would not show when connected via VGA to a projector.
Tutorial materials	X+	X	X	X	Notes Plus: has a lovely developer website as well with a forum and they have responded very positively to my features suggestions in the past. iAnnotate: also have a superb website with tutorials and FAQs.
Bonus
PDF and Word document import	X Converts to PDF	X Converts to PDF	X Converts to PDF
Layers	X+
Cornell Notes Template (built-in)	X
Handwriting to text converter	X+				Notes Plus: offers an in-app purchase for handwriting to text conversion. It is very accurate for small sections of text and immensely useful.
Totals (26)	26	24	20	12

Conclusion

For written notes Notes Plus wins hands-down and it is also superb for combining PDFs, Word documents and written notes into self-contained notebooks or virtual binders. I have resolved to use it for the purpose of textbook related notes over the next few months. I’ll report back on how it goes. For decent notetaking and excellent PDF annotation Notability has clear benefits. iAnnotatePDF’s clear advantage over the other apps is its excellent file management system and also the ability to place audio comments in context within a document.

References:

Apple, Inc. (2010) Apple Launches iPad [Online]. Available: (Accessed: 28 September 2014).

Libin, P. (2012) Evernote Acquires Penultimate. Evernote Blog [Online]. Available from: (Accessed: 28 September 2014).

The Adjustment Bureau: The Case for Adjustment in Mobile Apps

Sun, 07 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Recently I was asked to present at the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) event hosted by the University of Sussex. MELSIG is a special interest group originally formed in 2008 (MELSIG, 2014). The group’s focus has evolved, alongside contemporary developments in technology, to include investigation of a wide variety of digital media when applied to the support of learning and teaching. The theme for the University of Sussex event was Digital Media Interaction and Inclusivity and this was exactly the prompt I needed to engage in more thorough research of in-app adjustment functions which has been preoccupation of mine for a while.

Learning as a community

Through my work building ‘communities of practice’ (Wenger, 1998) on both sides of the Atlantic, and in particular during the development of events at the University of Brighton something always bothered me about apps or mobile applications/software. Namely why, when developers have such rich to work with, isn’t there more attention to paid to inclusivity when designing apps? Both the iOS and Android operating systems have a number of built-in functions which have the potential to greatly aid accessibility in addition to the benefits afforded by the touchscreens and the form factors of the devices themselves. However, due to the unique conditions under which apps are developed a combination of factors including time/monetary constraints, corporate interests and the lack of a common accessibility guidelines seem to stifle the potential of certain apps on the accessibility front. Indeed within app development no equivalent to the seems to have emerged and the rule systems applied to website design such as the have no bearing on the design of apps. On the one hand this is quite liberating for interface designers and has led to something of a Wild West populated by some truly innovative interface designs.

Bringing greater intention to development for accessibility

My intention with this post, I should point out, is not to stifle innovation, but rather I would like to propose that when an app’s primary purpose falls within certain categories of use, ‘categories’ which can be applied to the creation or consumption of educational materials or be used in support of learning, that extra attention be paid to the accessibility features of ‘said’ apps. Perhaps in the future this could resemble a set of agreed standards, but at this time I would like to make more of a humble request rather than a full recommendation. The core idea I put forth in relation to my ‘request’ is the notion of letting the user choose and customise the app through the presence of ‘adjustment’; this I believe is a key facet of the path to accessibility. I shall expand on ‘categories of use’ later in this post.

Using the Kindle app as dyslexic person

A personal experience which prompted this line of enquiry was my use of Amazon’s Kindle app for iPad. In October 2011 Apple introduced support of text-to-speech (TTS) within their iOS5 operating system (Moren, 2012); as a Dyslexic person I was eager to make use of this function and to this day find it immensely useful. Imagine my disappointment to find out that the ‘Speak Selection’ tool is actively blocked within the Kindle app. The ‘VoiceOver’ tool was later allowed within the Kindle for iPad app (Ingber, 2013) and Amazon had introduced its own text-to-speech function to the Kindle 2 device in 2009 but eBook publishers could choose to disallow the function with the viewpoint that it might damage audiobook sales (Schofield, 2009). There is another aspect of the Kindle app which always seems a bit of an oversight; reading background colours. Given the development resources available to Amazon, there are only three options provided for the text background colour: White, Black (X-Ray) and Sepia. Why not make the reading experience as accessible as possible by including customisable background colours as evidenced by apps like , and ? When comparing Kindle to particularly Kobo reader and Goodreader one is reminded of the oft used technological paradigm of VHS and Betamax; VHS won due to market share in combination with other factors rather than viewing quality.

On the topic of background colour more specifically, from a personal perspective this is the number one ‘adjustment’ which I would like to see made available in apps. Particularly those apps which are promoted as ‘readers’. My own perception of black text on a white background has been a persistent barrier to my consumption and enjoyment of reading. To help elaborate on my own experience I even created a javascript web application using to show what this experience is like for me. This is a condition sometimes known as Irlen Syndrome, Meres-Irlen Syndrome, Visual Stress or Scoptopic Sensitivity syndrome. I am hesitant to adopt any of these definitions as an explanation of my experience, as I have never received an official diagnosis. Furthermore there are some sceptical viewpoints in the medical fields when assessing the diagnostic procedures and the original studies which led to the recognition of the symptoms (Coyle, 1995; Lawrence, 2008). I prefer to view it as a complex part of my own dyslexic puzzle and one thing is not in doubt, the ability to adjust background colours, fonts and font-sizes makes a huge difference to my experience of reading.

The Adjustment Bureau

So why the title of The Adjustment Bureau? The 2011 film, The Adjustment Bureau based on the Phillip K. Dick’s short story, The Adjustment Team (1954 - ) which tells of characters whose life choices deviate from a preordained plan set-out by a mysterious organisation. Inspired by this idea I postulated that there may be a parallel between that concept and app developers whose choices are guided or pushed by a combination of external factors and client influences, ultimately I wondered whether this explains why the avenues to accessibility are so seldom followed? With all of this in mind I decided to enter into an assessment of the adjustment functionality available within some of the most prominent and popular apps I have encountered while working in Higher Education. I focused on apps available for iOS for this pursuit as that is the primary device type supported in my workplace and I had access to the devices. This also prompted me to define some basic ‘categories of use’ when applied to app use within academia for the support of learning and teaching.

Categaries of Use

The Categories of Use are as follows:

Category	Definition
Browser	A web browser for navigating web-based information. May include other features such as reader functions and RSS curation.
Composer	In this context for the composition of text-based materials and documents.
Consumer	For curation and consumption of RSS content, blogs and online news sources.
Notetaker/annotation	Apps with the main purpose of taking notes and/or placing notes and annotation on documents.
Reader	Apps with the primary purpose of reading text, eBooks, ePubs, PDF and other text formats. May have limited annotation tools.

When defining the categories I tried to resist the use of pre-existing desktop software definitions such as for example ‘word processing’. These definitions have established associations and many apps reach beyond the format-based outputs which are expected from these former software definitions.

The Adjustment Criteria upon which each app was judged are listed below. If an app includes a feature it is awarded a point for that criterion, it may partially allow a feature which would result in a 0.5 of a point. The total score is a point value out of a total of 8, for the 8 criteria and is shown as a final percentage. Apps which achieve >=60% are highlighted in purple.

Criterion	Definition
Font Size	Font size can be changed specifically, within the app. In the case of ‘composer’ categorised apps this is included in their writing functionality.
Line Height	Line height can be changed specifically, within the app. In the case of ‘composer’ categorised apps this is included in their writing functionality.
Font Style	Font style can be changed specifically, within the app. In the case of ‘composer’ categorised apps this is included in their writing functionality.
Background Colour: Invert/Brightness	Brightness of the display or invert (white text on black background) is a specific option within the app.
Background Colour: Sepia	A sepia background (beige/mild yellow) is a specific option within the app.
Background Colour: Sliders/Colour	A selection of colours or Red/Green/Blue sliders allow the user to adjust and specify the background colour within the app.
Pinch zoom	The pinch zoom is a built-in function of the iOS. Some apps do not make/allow full use of this touch-based function.
iOS Speak Selection	A function which can be enabled in the General > Accessibility functions in the iOS this can be used by selecting text in certain apps and pressing the ‘speak’ option which comes up. This is distinct from the ‘Voiceover’ option which is a complete audio interface and harder use for quick impromptu needs.

The scores as an embedded Google Spreadsheet - a work in progress. NB: this list is not designed to be exhaustive and if you have other apps which you would like me to assess using these criteria, please add them to the comments area below. The “+” next to the app title identifies that the app is available for both iPhone and iPad.

Conclusion

Through this process of investigation and app functionality testing I feel that I have only begun to scrape the surface of how accessibility functions are implemented and the possible avenues for improvement. I think that there is certainly scope to devise a more concrete scoring and testing system with the view to helping teachers and learners make informed decisions about the accessibility functions of certain apps. Such a system would also have the potential to help inform developers about the needs of specific user groups. However the responsibility cannot be squarely that of the developers, as users we also have a responsibility to let developers know what we want and need. One of the benefits of working with apps is that developers are often small to medium sized companies and really benefit from the suggestions from their user-base, this may extend to use testing. In the Wild West of apps we as the user have an opportunity to make a difference and we shouldn’t miss out by sticking to the easy path.

Appendix I - Some particularly successful adjustment interfaces discovered as a result of this investigation

Bluefire reader - this free reader app features some very nice adjustment features. However there is only a small selection of free, public domain ebooks available. The app does allow you to connect a DropBox account so you could in theory use it to read ePub files with the reader functionality.

Feedly - is a free rss feed curator with built-in links to social media services. It is very helpful for the organising categories of news sources including blogs, news sites and trends. It does have some basic and helpful tools to customise the reading experience, such as invert text colour and font size.

Goodreader 4 - an excellent and very powerful reader app. This app includes extensive adjustment capabilities as well as file conversion, compression and on-document annotation. This is the only app to score 100% in the criteria ratings and £1.99 it is a good deal.

Kindle for iPad - somewhat limited capabilities compared to some of the other reader apps, but does allow for a number of adjustments including: brightness, font size, font style, background colour, screen layout and line height.

Index Card for iPad - although this app is limited in terms of altering the background colour when you are composing text it does allow for the display of your resulting Index Cards on tinted backgrounds. This app does allows for text size adjustments and is very helpful for planning out essays and verbal presentations.

Kobo Reader for iPad - Kobo books need to be managed through an account on their website and can also be bought via WHSmiths. The app allows you to search and review free samples. This app has nice adjustment functions and also has a good notifications area which helps users to discover new features which are added to the app.

Microsoft OneNote for iPad - Unfortunately the Microsoft Office apps do not score very highly on this accessibility rating. The OneNote app by contrast has some nice function, including a number of ‘Page Color’ options under the ‘View’ tab.

Notability for iPad - this is a great app for reading, notetaking and annotation. One of its lesser known functions is the flexibility of page background colours and layouts when viewing and annotating PDF files. This app has excellent written and audio annotation options. It is comparable to iAnnotatePDF for iPad with the main difference that audio annotations can be placed contextually throughout the text in iAnnotate.

OverDrive Media Console - a reader app which will allow you to download eBooks from certain public libraries and retailers such as Waterstones. The extent of adjustment depends upon the individual eBook but this app has a lovely intuitive interface both as a local app and as a web-based reader app. The app also allows access to eBooks.

Scribd. - this reader app requires a subscription (£5.99/month) for full access to books and they carry a comprehensive catalogue of both fiction and non-fiction as well as self-published and scholarly works. It is possible to access book samples for free through the app. The text and font related adjustment options are similar to the Kindle app.

(discussed during MELSIG presentation)

This screenshot shows the reader mode adjustments which are available when you turn a page to reader mode. You can save pages to PDF with these settings.

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