USABILITY AND USER EXPERIENCE (UX)

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of the usability and user experience (UX) research line is to improve the interaction between users and technology.

We seek to create user experiences that are so intuitive and natural that they allow users to forget about the technological barrier, facilitating their access to tools that improve their quality of life and psychological well-being in a transparent way.

SINCE

Since 2005 LABPSITEC includes in its work team a Usability and User Experience (UX) department that has been transversal to all our projects.

RELEVANT MILESTONES AND APPLICATIONS

Our work has resulted in significant projects with different technologies and end users.

The study of usability and user experience is especially important in the use of technologies for mental health. Technologies must be transparent so that users benefit the most from the psychological intervention.

A user who becomes frustrated with the technology,
will not be able to enjoy or benefit from the clinical content.

We have conducted usability and user experience studies in all the technologies we have developed, both with the clinical population and with the general population or users with specific needs such as the elderly and people with mild to moderate cognitive impairment.

  • Web (telepsychology, self-applied online intervention platforms, authoring tools for therapists, etc).
  • Smartphone applications:
    • EMA -Ecological Momentary Assessments (Ecological Momentary Assessment).
    • EMI – EcologicalMomentary Interventions (Ecological Momentary Interventions).
  • Mixed realities (virtual reality and augmented).
  • Serious Games
  • Natural Interfaces:
    • Gestural language
    • Multitouch
  • Use of sensors (geopositioning, sensorization, etc).
  • Autostereoscopy
PUBLICATIONS, AWARDS AND OTHER RELEVANT ASPECTS TO BE HIGHLIGHTED

Publications:

  1. Castilla, D., Botella, C., Garcia-Palacios, A., Farfallini, L., & Miralles, I. (2012). Experience-sampling methodology with a mobile device in fibromyalgia. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, 2012, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/162673
  2. Castilla, D., Botella, C., Miralles, I., Bretón-López, J., Dragomir-davis, A. M., Zaragoza, I., & Garcia-palacios, A. (2018). Teaching digital literacy skills to the elderly using a social network with linear navigation : A case study in a rural area. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 118, 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.05.009
  3. Castilla, D., del Tejo Catalá, O., Pons, P., Signol, F., Rey, B., Suso-Ribera, C., & Perez-Cortes, J. C. (2023). Improving the understanding of web user behaviors through machine learning analysis of eye-tracking data. User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, 1, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11257-023-09373-y
  4. Castilla, D., Garcia-Palacios, A., Miralles, I., Breton-Lopez, J., Parra, E., Rodriguez-Berges, S., & Botella, C. (2016). Effect of Web navigation style in elderly users. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 909–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.10.034
  5. Castilla, D., Jaen, I., Suso-ribera, C., Garcia-Soriano, G., Zaragoza, I., Breton-Lopez, J., Mira, A., Diaz-Garcia, A., & Garcia-Palacios, A. (2023). Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Full and Short Forms of the System Usability Scale (SUS): Detecting the Effect of Negatively Worded Items. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 0(0), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2023.2209840
  6. Castilla, D., Suso-ribera, C., Zaragoza, I., Garcia-palacios, A., & Botella, C. (2020). Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment : A Usability Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5153), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145153

Awards:

Our dedication to user experience research and ICT development applied to health and psychology has been recognized on several occasions through awards and mentions in scientific publications.

This recognition underlines the quality and innovation of our work, as well as our contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the field of technology applied to mental health and the improvement of people’s quality of life.

The acceptability of our systems, based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) of Fred Davis, has become a pillar of our approach, ensuring that our solutions are not only technically advanced but also highly adapted to the needs and preferences of users.