Usability in Mobile IT Systems Johansson, Niklas ж Nylander, Stina Θ Ж Department of Information Technology, Human Computer Interaction, Uppsala University, Sweden Θ Swedish Institute of Computer Science ABSTRACT In this report we give an overview of usability aspects applicable to mobile devices and systems. A number of research projects from three different application areas are presented and experiences from the projects are discussed. To successfully design usable products, services and systems both for leisure and for mobile work practice has turned out to be a difficult undertaking. Many systems fail because of a number of reasons. Some systems do not fail, but remains difficult and cumbersome to use. A certain immaturity can be observed since developers and designers do not fully utilise the benefits and assets provided by today’s technology in design of mobile systems. For mobile systems, the varying contexts of use become more important. When only relying on existing knowledge of design for stationary systems, important possibilities are often lost and the system has gone astray. KEYWORDS Usability, Mobility, HCI, Mobile work ISSN 1404-3203 2005-029 This report is part the Technical reports series from the Department of Information Technology at Uppsala University and is available on the address: http://www.it.uu.se/research/reports/ 1
