Identifying principles of human-computer interface in IOT devices : a South African context

Abstract

With an increasing number of households implementing smart home technology in South Africa, it is important to understand if the Internet of Things (IoT) devices are enhancing the user’s quality of life as well as meeting their needs and expectations. Identifying and incorporating the Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) component when building an IoT device can assist with ensuring that the smart device meets the useability requirement and addresses the challenges and concerns raised by end users. As the end user is required to install and manage the smart device by themselves, the smart device manufacturers must ensure that these devices are easy to set up and can be managed by both technical and non-technical users. IoT devices require data to be fully functional and perform their necessary tasks. IoT data collection is an ongoing discussion as the end user might not be entirely comfortable with the collection and sharing of their personal home data with device manufacturers. HCI designers, therefore, are required to consider end users' emotions regarding their security concerns. Hence, the purpose of this research is to study the principles of HCI in an IoT device. The objective is to add to the existing body of knowledge related to building computation devices around HCI principles. This interpretive case study used two qualitative data collection methods to answer the research questions: a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire focused on gathering insights into the current user experience with smart home devices and identifying challenges or concerns raised by the device users. The semi-structured interviews focused on gathering information on the inclusion of HCI when designing an IoT device, IoT data and the IoT security element, from the employees of the organisation in the case study. The research findings indicated that while the participants have adapted to installing and managing their smart home devices, there were several usage challenges and concerns Page 2 of 146 that need to be addressed. Several of the research participants were unaware of the smart device collecting usage data and therefore, the requirement to educate end users on data collection and usage is highlighted in the study. Key design components of the IoT were highlighted by the interview participants and several methods were also suggested to enhance the user experience of IoT devices.