Keywords

102.1 Introduction

Location-based services represent an emerging class of computer systems providing mobile device users with information and functionality related to their geographical location (Paay and Kjeldskov 2008). The Location-based service applications are defined as: a mobile value-added services that individual users use LBS mobile application software to locate, then use all kinds of information and services around by software operation.

Within recent years, this class of context-aware mobile computer systems has received increasing attention from researchers within a range of computer science disciplines as well as from industry. Location-based services open a new market for network operators and service providers to develop and set up value-adding new services for users on the move, such as helping find nearby shops or friends, advertising traffic conditions, supplying routing information. Recent advances in technology have uptake of a wide range of location-based services. PDAs and 3G mobile phones with GPS and other positioning capabilities have become increasingly affordable and popular.

Location-based service (LBS) industry has entered a period of rapid growth in China and the LBS industry is extremely competitive. On the Tenth China Internet Conference, the insiders and experts in related fields agreed that, LBS will become the standard configuration of the whole industrial application in the Mobile Internet era, and most likely to become the first ten billion scale 3G mobile internet applications. However, in the long run, not every developer and operator can achieve long-term survival and maintain sustained profitability. Therefore, how to measure their experience from a user perspective, and then to improve the shortage to enhance the user experience is the focus of the developers and operators.

Contributing to this research, this article reviewed the previous studies about how to measure user experience firstly. Then, we put forward a scale for measuring the level of user experience in LBS. Finally, through the questionnaire survey we test the validity and reliability of the scale.

102.2 Literature Review

To understand the related research of the user experience and location-based service applications, this study has combed the domestic and foreign literatures. EBSCO and Web of Science database as the representative of foreign literatures and China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Weipu database as the representative of domestic literature. The retrieval method is generally in accordance with the Title/Keyword search, we deleted some obviously not related areas, such as health care and rehabilitation, and news, letters and other types of articles were removed, specific search results are shown in Table 102.1.

Table 102.1 Search results of domestic and international representative databases
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The search results reveal that literatures about the user experience of location-based services are not many, the research about it is still in the initial stage. However, if the LBS developers and operators want to succeed, they must know the extent of the user experience. Therefore, research of measuring the user experience of LBS applications is very necessary.

In Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) field, measurements have traditionally been usability measures (Ketola and Roto 2008), ISO 9241-11 determined the three aspects of usability, usability is defined as “The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness (accuracy and completeness), efficiency (resources expended, how quickly a user can perform a task) and satisfaction (the extent to which expectations are met) in a specified context of use” (ISO 1998). People put forward many dimensions to measure usability, such as learnability, memorability, error prevention, and satisfaction (Nielsen 1993); effectiveness, learnability, flexibility, and attitude (Shackel and Richardson 2001); guessability, learnability, experienced user performance, system potential, and re-usability (Jordan 1998). And some people developed some relevant questionnaire (Table 102.2).

Table 102.2 Questionnaires measuring the usability
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When usability evolved to user experience, the measurements broadened from pragmatic (easy and efficient) to experiential (delighting) (Hassenzahl 2003). Bevan (2008) suggested that the concept of usability at the system level can be broadened to include learnability, accessibility and safety, which contribute to the overall user experience. Jordan (2002) upgraded his list to functionality, usability, pleasure, and pride. Norman (2002) set the goal in engaging users in visceral, behavioral, and reflective level. Tullis and Albert (2008) argued measurement of the user experience can be attributed to two main areas: performance and satisfaction, then put forward five main measurement dimensions: task success, task time, error, efficiency, ease of learning.

As UX highlights the emotional aspects, also emotion measurements have been investigated. Most emotion evaluations concentrate on experience :identifying the emotion a user has while interacting with a product, and both objective and subjective methods are used to collect this information [e.g. Mandryk et al. (2006); Desmet and Overbeeke (2001)].

Based on the pase theory about user experience and usability measurement, we summed up the following constituent elements of user experience (Table 102.3).

Table 102.3 Element of user experience
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102.3 Scale Development

102.3.1 Scale Development Theory and Process

This study will base on the traditional scale development paradigm, proposed by Churchill (1979), this scale development processes are as follows:

Step 1: Literature review, gain a clear idea of the concepts and content of LBS applications.

Step 2: Develop an initial scale, and make improvements through group interviews and interviews with experts.

Step 3: Conducted a questionnaire survey of the revised scale.

Step 4: Obtain the most simple scale (check the alpha coefficient, conduct exploratory factor analysis)

Step 5: Conduct the confirmatory factor analysis and validity test of the final scale.

Step 6: Determine the formation of the final LBS applications user experience measurement scale.

102.3.2 The Generation of Initial Items

In this paper, we collect the initial items mainly through reading before scholars’ research literature. In addition, I conducted two focus group interviews, focus group members are regular users of LBS applications. I request them to submit their most important dimension and content of the LBS application software. At the same time, we consulted the experts to further collection of the initial questions.

Based on the above work, we classified all items under seven initial dimensions (Table 102.4).

Table 102.4 Scale and initial items of lbs user experience measurement
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102.3.3 Scale Purification

We collected the data of scale purification through three channels: first, we sent the questionnaires to our friends; secondly, questionnaires are issued in the library; finally, online questionnaires are sent to students of the Distance Education College “marketing”. The data collection issued a total of 500 questionnaires, 420 questionnaires were recycled, and 363 were valid.

We improved the questionnaire by the use of exploratory factor analysis. Before the exploratory factor analysis, we conduct KMO and Bartlett test, the results KMO = 0.948 > 0.5, Chi-Square = 7205.749 and sig = 0 reveal the data is suitable for factor analysis.

Though the principal component analysis method retained the items that its load on a factor is greater than 0.5, and its load on other factors are less than 0.5. According to this standard, we deleted T11, T14, T19, T20, T24.

Then, we conducted a reliability test, deleted items T7, T8 that reduce Cronbach’s Alpha (Table 102.5).

Table 102.5 The result of reliability statistics and the CITC statistical analysis
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102.4 Result

Based on the above statistical analysis results, we deleted the items T7 and T8 which CITC are obvious lower than other items in the same dimension. After deleted these two items, the α value is increased, and the internal consistency is enhanced. Finally we get the following scale: (Table 102.6).

Table 102.6 Scale and final items of lbs user experience measurement
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102.5 Conclusion

Under the background of the rapid development of domestic LBS applications industry, this article utilized empirical research to develop a scale to measure the user experience of location-based service applications.

First, we combed the conception and the development status of LBS applications. Then we reviewed the previous studies about user experience measurement, summarized a few elements that influence user experience. According to the literature review, focus group interviews and expert advice, we classified seven initial dimensions. Finally, we purified the scale with 363 valid questionnaires, we got 39 items under five dimensions, useful, ease of use, efficiency, creditable, satisfaction, to measure the user experience of LBS applications.

Understanding how to measure the experience from a user perspective, and then to improve the shortage to enhance the user experience provide a useful reference for LBS applications’ developers and operators.