ABSTRACT
With an ever increasing number of mobile services, meaningful audio notifications could effectively inform users of the incoming services while minimising undesired and intrusive interruptions. Therefore, careful design of mobile service notification is needed. In this paper we evaluate two types of audio (auditory icons and earcons) as mobile service notifications, by comparing them on 4 measures: intuitiveness, learnability, memorability and user preference. A 4-stage longitudinal evaluation involving two lab experiments, a field study and a web-based experiment indicated that auditory icons performed significantly better in all measures. Implications for mobile audio notification design are presented.
- Baber, C. and Noyes, J.M., Eds. (1993). Interactive Speech Technology: Human Factors Issues in the Application of Speech Input/Output to Computers. Taylor&Francis, Inc. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Blattner, M.M., Sumikawa, D.A. and Greenberg, R.M. (1989). Earcons and Icons: Their Structure and Common Design Principles. SIGCHI Bull. 21(1), pp. 123--124. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Block Jr F.E., Nuutinen L. and Ballast B., (1999). Optimization of Alarms: A Study on Alarm Limits, Alarm Sounds, and False Alarms, Intended to Reduce Annoyance. Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing, 15(2), pp. 75--83.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Bonebright, T.L., and Nees, M.A. (2007). Memory for Auditory Icons and Earcons with Localization Cues. In Proc. ICAD 2007, pp. 419--422.Google Scholar
- Brewster, S.A. (1998). Using Non-speech Sounds to Provide Navigation Cues. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 5(2), pp. 224--259. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Brewster, S.A., Raty, V.P., and Kortekangas, A. (1996). Earcons as a Method of Providing Navigational Cues in a Menu Hierarchy. In Proc. BCS HCI'96, pp. 169--183. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Brewster, S.A., Wright, P.C. and Edwards, A.D.N. (1993). An Evaluation of Earcons for use in Auditory Human-Computer Interfaces. In Proc. CHI'93, pp. 222--227. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Bussemakers, M.P., and De Haan, A. (2000). When it Sounds Like a Duck and it Looks Like a Dog .. Auditory icons vs. earcons in multimedia environments. In Proc. ICAD 2000, pp. 184--189.Google Scholar
- Cohen, J. (1994). Monitoring Background Activities. In G. Kramer (Ed.), Auditory Display: Sonification, Audification and Auditory interfaces, pp. 499--522.Google Scholar
- Edworthy, J. and Hards, R. (1999). Learning Auditory Warnings: The Effects of Sound Type, Verbal Labelling and Imagery on the Identification of Alarm Sounds. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 24(6), pp. 603--618.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Garzonis, S., Bevan, C. and O'Neill, E. (2008). Mobile Service Audio Notifications: intuitive semantics and noises. In Proc. OZCHI'08, pp. 156--163. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Gaver, W.W. (1997). Auditory Interfaces. Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, Elsevier Science.Google Scholar
- Gaver, W.W. (1989). The SonicFinder: An Interface That Uses Auditory Icons. In Human-Computer Interaction, 4(1), pp. 67--94. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Gaver, W.W. (1986). Auditory Icons: Using Sound in Computer Interfaces. In Human-Computer Interaction, 2(2), pp. 167--177. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Graham, R. (1999). Use of Auditory Icons as Emergency Warnings: Evaluation within a Vehicle Collision Avoidance Application.Ergonomics, 42(9), pp. 1233--1248.Google Scholar
- Hickling, E. M. (1994). Ergonomics and Engineering Aspects of Designing an Alarm System for a Modern Nuclear Power Plant. In Human Factors in Alarm Design, N. Stanton, Ed. Taylor&Francis, pp. 165--178. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hoggan, E. and Brewster, S.A. (2007). Designing Audio and Tactile Crossmodal Icons for Mobile Devices. In Proc. ICMI'07, ACM Press, pp. 162--169. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Isaacs, E., Walendowski, A. and Ranganathan, D. (2002). Hubbub: A Sound-Enhanced Mobile Instant Messenger that Supports Awareness and Opportunistic Interactions. In Proc. CHI, pp. 179--186. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Keller, P. and Stevens, C. (2004). Meaning from Environmental Sounds: Types of Signal-Referent Relations and their Effect on Recognizing Auditory Icons. Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied, 10(1), pp. 3--12.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Leplatre, G. and Brewster, S.A. (2000). Designing non-speech sounds to support navigation in mobile phone menus. In Proc. ICAD'00, pp. 190--199.Google Scholar
- Leung, Y. K., Smith, S., Parker, S., and Martin, R. (1997). Learning and Retention of Auditory Warnings. In Proc. ICAD'97, pp. 288--299.Google Scholar
- McGee-Lennon, M., Wolters M. and McBryan, T. (2007). Audio Reminders in the Home Environment. In Proc ICAD'07, pp. 437--444.Google Scholar
- Patterson, R.D. and Mayfield, T.F. (1990). Auditory Warning Sounds in the Work Environment {and Discussion}. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, Vol. 327(1241), Human Factors in Hazardous Situations, pp. 485--492.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Sanderson, P., Wee, A., Seah, E. and Lacherez, P., (2006). Auditory Alarms, Medical Standards, and Urgency. In Proc. ICAD'06, pp. 24--27.Google Scholar
- Sikora, C.A., Roberts, L. and Murray, L. (1995). Musical vs. Real World Feedback Signals, In Proc. CHI'95, pp. 220--221. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Ulfvengren, P. (2003). Design of Natural Warning Sounds in Human-Machine Systems. PhD thesis, Stockholm, Sweden 2003.Google Scholar
- Walker, B. N. and Kramer, G. (2005). Mappings and Metaphors in Auditory Displays: An Experimental Assessment. ACM Transactions on Applied Perception 2(4), pp. 407--412. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- Auditory icon and earcon mobile service notifications: intuitiveness, learnability, memorability and preference
Recommendations
Mobile service audio notifications: intuitive semantics and noises
OZCHI '08: Proceedings of the 20th Australasian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction: Designing for Habitus and HabitatIt is hoped that context-aware systems will present users with an increasing number of relevant services in an increasingly wide range of contexts. With this expansion, numerous service notifications could overwhelm users. Therefore, careful design of ...
Lyricon Lyrics + Earcons Improves Identification of Auditory Cues
Proceedings, Part II, of the 4th International Conference on Design, User Experience, and Usability: Users and Interactions - Volume 9187Auditory researchers have developed various non-speech cues in designing auditory user interfaces. A preliminary study of "lyricons" lyricsï ź+ï źearcons [1] has provided a novel approach to devising auditory cues in electronic products, by combining ...
The Role of Earcons and Auditory Icons in the Usability of Avatar-Based E-Learning Interfaces
DESE '11: Proceedings of the 2011 Developments in E-systems EngineeringThis paper describes an experimental study conducted to investigate non-speech sounds such as earcons and auditory icons when used alongside speaking avatars in e-learning interfaces. The usability aspects (effectiveness, memorability and user ...
Comments