News
May 2023
New center "Focus Human" supports human-centric digitalization in small and medium-sized enterprises
The Hochschule der Medien (HdM) in Stuttgart has become the consortium manager of the new Center Focus Human. The center supports start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises in adapting their strategies to human-centric digitalization. The researchers at the HdM are focusing on "Wellbeing and resilience". Since May 2023, the center "Focus Human" has been supporting companies in the field of human-centric digitalization. The human-centric digitalization concept builds on human-centric approaches for ease of use (good usability) and a positive user experience, but then integrates other important aspects of digitalization. These include four key topics: Ethics and diversity, digital sovereignty, sustainable transformation and wellbeing and resilience. There are also two overarching topics: Human-centered innovation and design and Human-centered artificial intelligence into which the four topics are integrated. The research team at the HdM is are focusing on "Wellbeing and resilience". The focus is on opportunities for companies to design their products and services to increase the wellbeing and resilience of people, companies and society. The "Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Fokus Mensch" is a direct development of the "Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability" and is part of the initiative "Mittelstand-Digital". Other partners of the center include the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO), Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, the University of Hamburg, Chemnitz University of Technology and other associated partners. More Information
April 2022
Online-Symposium: Positive UX for the future of work (12.05.)
Digitization for work contexts is often reduced to solving problems and achieving efficiency and productivity gains: Negative consequences are to be eliminated.
Workers may feel threatened by digitalization or at its mercy as a result.
But digitization is more than that. It is a design task and thus offers new opportunities. We want to find answers to the question of how we want to work in the future.
We want to bring together experts and practitioners from small and medium-sized enterprises as well as start-ups who want to design digitally supported workplaces in
such a way that employees can
- experience themselves effectively,
- work together in teams in a positive way,
- See work as meaningful and significant.
December 2020
Continued support for the Kompetenzzentrum Usability from the BMWi
For three years, the IXD-Group, as part of the Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability, supported small and medium-sized enterprises as well as start-ups on their way to digitalization. Thanks to the Mittelstand Digital funding initiative, a variety of free services and support formats were developed and implemented. Through information material, workshops, lectures or individual projects, hundreds of companies were sensitized to the topics of usability and user experience (UUX for short), were able to try out methods themselves or implement them in projects together with the competence center. Through the expansion of the AI trainer program last year, it was possible to familiarize enterprises with the relevance and potential of UUX in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) as well. We are therefore pleased to report that the Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability will continue to receive funding and support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). In addition to further projects, workshops, and demonstrators, we look forward to welcoming you again to events (whether virtual or in person) in the coming years. As a highlight, we plan to organize a big event around the topics of usability and user experience in the next years. We are looking forward to more exciting years with many interesting projects and further success stories in the Kompetenzzentrum Usability.November 2020
WUD Stuttgart
On 12.11.2020, the World Usability Day (WUD) Stuttgart took place online for the first time. With up to 200 visitors in the conference room at times, the event was a complete success.
Interested guests had the opportunity to participate in selected talks, interactive workshops and cross-regional networking.
This year, the IXD-Group was intensively involved in the planning and implementation of the Stuttgart online WUD as part of the Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability. In addition
to the organizational part, the IXD team offered input on the topic of human-centered AI, relevant methods as well as interesting insights into projects of the Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability via a online workshop.
UUX-Week 2020
In November, the Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability organized the first UUX-Week and presented a great variety of UUX events in one week.
The UIG-Tagung started the week and the World Usability Day 2020 was the grand finale. With a total of 17 events, several hundreds of participants could be reached -
in addition to the pure knowledge transfer, the topic of networking and discussion was on the agenda of many events even though the format was virtual.
The IXD-Group was also involved in the UUX-Week with different formats. Various workshops focused on the topics of human-centered AI embodied and multimodal needs and other UUX-methods.
September 2020
Mensch und Computer 2020
This year the IXD team was again represented with different contributions at the Mensch und Computer 2020.
On the one hand, the IXD Group IXD-Group presented a current project with the TU Darmstadt as part of the workshop series "Smart Collaboration". The project is about the development of guidelines for the design of positive experiences in the field of assembly work. As a central method, a revised version of the so-called ‚experience potential analysis‘ was used, which was developed in a previous research project of the IXD-Group.
Photo by MuC 2020
On the other hand, the IXD group was represented with several workshop. Together with UUX experts and interested parties, the workshop format “AI Service Blueprint Workshop” developed for designing human-AI collaboration was explained, applied on an exemplary use case and subsequently discussed. The insights gained from the feedback of the workshop participants are now being incorporated into the further development of the AI Service Blueprint Workshop. In general, the method received positive feedback and was perceived as very structured and interlinked. In addition, the participants could well imagine that the method could be integrated into their own company or project processes. In another workshop, insights and results were presented on the topic of "UUX in the company - an endurance run with obstacles?". The long-term implementation of usability and user experience (UUX) projects is a major challenge for medium-sized enterprises. After collecting and discussing the central problems with over 50 participants at last year's MuC, solutions were presented in this year's workshop based on successful experiences in UUX projects.June 2020
Snackomat positively used waiting times
A very complex project designed and carried out with a lot of energy and commitment was now published in the International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology.
The Snackomat is a vending machine offering snacks for free, installed in waiting situations, and is designed to initiate small talk and therewith to create a positive experience. The article describes how the Snackomat was evaluated in a controlled randomized experimental study and compared to a coffee machine. Among other results it was shown that people showed more small talk and laughter and the waiting time was perceived as shorter.
The project is an excellent example how designing for a positive user experience leads to innovative products contributing to the Greater Good.
November 2019
WUD Stuttgart 2019
The World Usability Day 2019 will take place in Stuttgart again on November 14. Under the motto "Designing for the future we want", various lectures from business and research with trends, innovations and best practices around user-friendly design will be presented.
The World Usability Day Stuttgart (WUD) has a long tradition and will take place at the VHS Stuttgart again this year. Come by and inform yourself about current trends and insights!
This year, the different perspectives on usability and user experience of large corporations as well as small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly exciting.
The Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability, with lectures of the Hochschule der Medien and the Fraunhofer IAO in the Theodor-Bäuerle-Saal, will report on how Usability and User Experience should also be integrated in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how AI can increase well-being in work and leisureYou can also become active yourself in workshops and try out and discuss new methods. Explore exciting UUX projects and get to know new UUX methods.
Further information can be found at www.wud-stuttgart.de
Register here free of charge.
June 2019
Mission UUX - Symposium
On June 18, 2019, the first Mission UUX symposium of the Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability was hosted by the NORDAKADEMIE in Hamburg with 200
guests from small- and medium-sized enterprises and startups.
The opening speech was given by Ms. Juliette Melzow from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. In his keynote, Dr. Kim Lauenroth (BITKOM) emphasized that digitization is a design task and drew a parallel to the Bauhaus movement. "Good digital design must also be sustainable and focus on the whole person. Innovation replaces existing things, of course, but it doesn't destroy them," was one of the points Lauenroth made in his talk.
As in construction, he said, it is also important to use the right materials in digitization. With this impetus, the guests were then able to plan their day from a wide range of activities.
Photo by Mittelstand 4.0-Kompetenzzentrum Usability
Products and services are successful when they are geared to people's needs.At the 'Mission UUX' conference, the Mittelstand 4.0 Usability Competence Center presented various approaches to taking people into account in the development of digital products in lectures, workshops and so-called topic islands. In the lectures and workshops, individual projects with practical partners were presented. The theme islands provided insights into directly applicable solutions such as the CollaborationKIT, a SCRUM board game or the service robot Charlie. A Start-Up Corner was set up for start-ups to network. The little hero of the conference was service robot Charlie. At the robotics theme island, visitors were able to interact with Charlie. As part of the Kompetenzzentrum, Charlie is being used as a digital assistant in a pharmacy in Sankt Augustin. Here, the interaction behavior of an artificial intelligence with customers is being investigated.November 2018
3D-GUIde final symposium
On November 22, 2018, the final symposium of the project "3D-GUIde" took place, where the final results and the website www.3d-guide.net were presented. There are interaction patterns for 3D, design guidelines, additional resources and a workshop available. Dr. Frank Fischer, who is part of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, opened the series of speakers with a greeting in which he congratulated on the good project results and pointed out that they will be available by the "Mittelstand 4.0 - Kompetenzzentrum Usability", which was founded in 2018. Frank Steinicke, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Hamburg, discussed in his keynote "Visions and Dystopias for 3D Interaction" the long way research and industry already went to create good 3D interactions in the past decades and his expectations for the future. Marc Herling and Marco Lang of Tacton GmbH from Karlsruhe discussed the current challenges of a manufacturer of 3D software in the presentation "Intuitive 3D Interactions" and pointed out that good software should be operated by the customer naturally, quickly and without errors. These presentations were followed by the presentation of the results of the 3D-GUIde project: In addition to interaction patterns for the 3D software, design guidelines, additional resources and a workshop are part of the project results available online. Part of the developed interaction patterns evolved from prototyping with and for certain companies in the 3D area, such as ISG or Re'flekt, but also independent of the companies with the focus on finding new solutions. The solutions developed in prototyping as well as existing interaction solutions in various 3D software have been scientifically evaluated. In order to make the usability of interaction concepts measurable, a newly developed evaluation method was used. With a total of 139 participants of varying levels of knowledge, the various interaction concepts were tested in order to gain insights into good solutions and current problems with the interaction. Accompanying the presentations, interested companies presented their solutions for intuitive 3D software in the form of an exhibition. The results of the project 3D-GUIde are openly accessible via the website www.3d-guide.net. These include interaction patterns for interac-tions in 3D software, both for the desktop and augmented reality and virtual reality systems, concepts for positive experiences when using 3D interfaces ("UX patterns") and guidelines for the design of intuitive 3D interactions ("Design Guidelines"). In addition a workshop which is based on the results of the project will be offered to help you find the best way to make your software more user-friendly.September 2017
Mensch und Computer 2017
At this years Mensch und Comupter in Regensburg HdM participated with three workshops, one booth and one presentation.
The conference took place from 10th till 13th of September. Starting on Sunday morning Dr. Katharina Zeiner held a workshop
about the Erlebnispotentialanalyse and Christina Hermosa Perrino talked about how to design UX for time perspectives.
Both Workshops were well attend and the speakers were very pleased. The next day Dr. Katharina Zeiner presented various
methods for Designing positive User Experience. She talked about how to choose the right method for the right context
and introduced a collection of UX methods developed in the project
www.design4Xperience.de . Furthermore the IXD Research Team participated
in the Mittelstand Digital Workshop and talked about the currently ongoing project 3D-GUIde and
www.design4Xperience.de , that was completed last year.
During the breaks the team demonstrated and discussed the two projects on the shared Mittelstand Digital booth.
Juni 2017
Successful DGPPF Conference Awarding of innovation price for IXD Group abstract
Januar 2017
Workplace of the future, how should human-machine interfaces be designed?
Prof. Dr. Michael Burmester explains why User Experience is becoming increasily important. Link to the interview Related article:"Aus Spaß wird ernst"Dezember 2016
Design4Experience
In 2016, the research project Design4Xperience, financially supported by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, was successfully completed. The 3-year project aimed to develop and implement methods and tools to help small- and medium-sized enterprises make their software products more attractive and enable a positive user experience (UX). The results included a method compendium, comprising various existing or newly developed UX design, analysis and evaluation methods, as well as a final report. Handbooks of all the methods can be found online at http://www.design4xperience.de/downloads/ .November 2016
World Usability Day in Stuttgart
10 November - Design4Xperience celebrated the go life of its Competence Center. The launch was followed by a Method
Workshop where people where invited to discuss various ux research methods which have been developed and edited in the
last three years. For more information about the project and the new Competence Center, please have a look at
www.design4Xperience.de
Prof. Ralph Tille gave a presentation about the new research project 3D-GUIde
on the intuitive use and positive experiences of 3D software.
September 2016
Mensch und Computer - Aachen
May 2016
DGPPF conference in Trier The newly founded German association for positive psychological research (DGPPF) held a conference in Trier (19.-21. Mai 2016). Michael Burmester, Magdalena Laib and Katharina Zeiner presented an overview of our work about "Positive Experiences and Well-being in Work Contexts with the Help of Software Design".
March 2016
UIG Frühjahrstagung 2016 Mannheim "Connecting the Dots: Vernetzte UX und Management! Website UIG Frühjahrstagung . The IXD Research Group lead two workshops about lightweight UX methods for daily work.
February 2016
A new blog article from Michael Burmester and Magdalena Laib has been postet on Rewire Happiness . It is called Designing Technology For Positive Experience At Work.
October 2015
Berliner Werkstatt Mensch-Maschine-Systeme, 7 to 9 October 2015 Prof. Ralph Tille will present a study from the User Experience Design Research Group named “Participatory Concept Evaluation Of A Product Data Management System “. The study was conducted with an automotive supplier company from Stuttgart.
UX ROADSHOW - From product to experience, UX as a key achievement for digital products Learn how to design your software more attractive and how to lead your customers to a positive experience while using your software. The UX roadshow will give a first insight in various UX methods. You will get the chance to learn how to discover positive user experience potential in your products and how to expand these experiences. The first event of our Roadshow will take place on the 21 October in Konstanz in cooperation with cyberLAGO e.V. Time: 18.00 to 19:30 Location: Constanzer Wirtshaus, Spanierstr. 3, 78467 Konstanz
ONLINE REGISTRATION , participation is free of charge. For more information please visit our website www.design4xperience.de
September 2015
World Usability Congress in Graz, 07.10-08.10.15 The congress is all about Usability, User Experience and Customer Experience Management. Prof. Dr. Michael Burmester will represent the project Design4Xperiece with his talk Designing Technology for Positive User Experience. For more details please visit the website: www.worldusabilitycongress.com
Interact 2015 in Bamberg The 15th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction takes place from 14 to 18 September in Bamberg. The theme this year is “Connection.Tradition.Innovation“. Design4Xperience is represented here as well. Prof. Dr. Michael Burmester will present the paper “Experience Design and Positive Design as an alternative to classical human factors approach“.
Mensch und Computer conference in Stuttgart
Juli 2015
D4X at "Mensch und Computer" conference in Stuttgart Just before the summer break the project team of Design4Xperience met for another project meeting to discuss the goals for the next months. From September 6 to 9 the annual conference Mensch und Computer will take place in Stuttgart. Mittelstand Digital is one of the main sponsors and, together with UIG , USequreD and PIC , D4X is organizing both a booth and a workshop at the conference. The workshop is open to all attendees and focuses on how usability and user experience can be integrated in industry and academia.
Mai 2015
Mobikon - Frankfurt
On Mai 11 and 12 Design4Xperience presented itself in Frankfurt at the Mobikon - Mobile Business Exhibition and Congress.April 2015
Workshop D4X - PIC
The project-team of Design4Xperience (D4X) met with the project Playful Interaction Concepts (PIC). The Workshop was about finding out the differences and similarities between the two projects and where a future collaboration will be possible. The Workshop led on to interesting discussions. In future common issues will be discussed further a follow up meeting has already been scheduled. For more information about the workshop and the two projects please visit the following websites: http://playful-interaction-concepts.de http://playful-interaction-concepts.de/wo-gamefulness-und-user-experience-sich-kreuzen/ http://www.design4xperience.de
Student cooperation with Carl Zeiss AG
The lecture Advanced usability Engineering is based on a cooperation with the Carl Zeiss AG (website) and takes place this summer semester. The cooperation lecture is about smartphone photography and the future development of user behavior and user experience.
UIG Frühjahrstagung 2015 - positive experiences for the audience
Prof. Dr. Michael Burmester presented the work within Design4Xperience at the IUG Frühjahrstagung in Mannheim. The audience had a great time listening to talks ranging from what the German UPA has been doing for the last ten years to how user experience is important and can be applied to tax return software. Topics ranged from how user experience is used in industry to where research is heading in the field. Prof. Dr. Michael Burmesters talk about positive experiences during the usage of business software was received very well and the various methods of the project Design4Xperience seem to have hit a nerve with a lot of people at the meeting.
UIG-Frühjahrstagung 2015: Emotions and Organizations
Wednesday, 15.04.2015 - Mannheim. The sessions are all about dealing with emotions in organization. Questions around the subject 'Business-to-Business Usability Management' will be discussed. Prof. Dr. Michael Burmester from Stuttgart Media University will give a talk about the emergence and effects of positive experiences while using business software. You will find the entire programme via the following link: Frühjahrstagung
2014
Symposium: Designing for Positive User Experience
The Symposium Designing for positive User Experience took place on Friday the 5th of December. Approximately 220 participants made their way to the Stuttgart Media University. Prof. Dr. Marc Hassenzahl from Folkwang University in Essen and Dr. Anna Pohlmeyer, assistent professor at Delft University of Technology gave the first two presentations. Illustrated by several exciting examples they explained the psychological and creative basics of the design of technologies, which enables emotional positive experiences for the users.
Prof. Dr. Michael Burmester, project manager of Design4Xperience (www.design4xperience.de) and organizer of the symposium introduced the project Design4Xperience and demonstrated how positive user experience can be implemented in the work context. Dr. Peter Schnaebele, Head of Bosch Smart Home Unit at Robert Bosch GmbH explained how Bosch realizes design for positive User Experience. He pointed out that focusing the product wont be sufficient, and that the User Experience of every associated service has to be designed as well. Franz Koller, Managing Director User Interface GmbH, referred to the topic industry 4.0 and explained that a positive operating experience is a key factor in the market competition. Dr. Matthias Peissner from Fraunhofer IAO and Dr. Sunjung Kim from University Tübingen explicated how positive experiences while using technology can be measured with neuroscientific research methods.
Andreas Wolkenstein from University of Tübingen combined positive User Experience with the philosophical point of view of a good live. He motivated to also discuss the risks of the manipulation, which may arise through the design of positive experiences. With all the presentations and further discussions it became clear, that this is a new and promising way to design technology. There is potential to design free time and work a little bit more positive.
For further information please visit our website www.design4xperience.de