The meCUE Questionnaire: A Modular Tool for Measuring User Experience

Nowadays, a satisfying user experience is the goal of any user-centered design activity and the key to success for any technical device. User experience (UX) is a holistic concept that emphasizes the importance of subjective appraisals, feelings and motivational tendencies before, during and after interacting with a technical product. It includes numerous aspects, such as usability, aesthetics, social communication of personal values, emotional stimulation and motivational support for using and reusing the product. Based on a comprehensive framework of UX, the Components model of User Experience (CUE) by Thüring and Mahlke (Int J Psychol 42:253–264, 2007, [1]), a new questionnaire for a standardized measurement of UX was developed, the meCUE questionnaire. This questionnaire consists of four separately validated modules which refer to instrumental and non-instrumental product perceptions, user emotions, consequences of usage, and an overall judgment of attractiveness. The construction of the questionnaire was based on two online data collections, in which n = 238 subjects participated respectively. Two laboratory experiments and a further online survey were conducted for determining the reliability and the validity of the questionnaire. Results support the assumption that both, the internal consistency of the constructed scales as well as their discriminative, criterion-related and construct validity are highly acceptable. Therefore, meCUE is a valuable and economic instrument for measuring key aspects of UX providing a promising alternative to existing questionnaires.