The temporality of user experience: exploring past and future in two car case studies

Paper in proceeding, 2016

The importance of understanding the temporal aspects of user experience (UX) has been recognized by the research community as well as by industry. Two studies of cars were performed to further investigate the temporality of user experience. In total 27 drivers participated in the studies; one study was retrospective investigating past experiences of cars, and one was prospective, researching expectations on future autonomous cars. A mix of qualitative methods was employed, encouraging the participants’ reflections through mediation by creative elements. Overlapping themes in the studies were found, and a tentative model was developed based on a temporal sequence in terms of Aquaintancing, Using and Transforming. By breaking down the temporality of user experience into sequences and defining the aspects of UX characterizing each sequence, it is suggested that designers and researchers can be helped in understanding and approaching experiences at these different stages.