1G-12 An Analysis of Relationship among Ubiquitous Service Attributes, Usability Factors and SERVQUAL Dimensions

Joohwan Lee, Ilsun Rhiu, Wonjoon Kim, Sangwoo Bahn, Myung Hwan Yun
2013 The Japanese Journal of Ergonomics  
The emergence of ubiquitous technology and subsequent changes in life are bringing about incoming issues in service industry. Just as mobile payment system enabled users to replace annoying cash exchange in return for new problems of privacy and security, so is happening with commercial prevailing of ubiquitous service. It is, therefore, important to put all possible issues into consideration in evaluating a service with new technology, which necessitates interdisciplinary approaches [1] .
more » ... sing the usability was recognized as one of the good way to evaluate ubiquitous services. Ubiquitous service can be evaluated from the perspective of user because ubiquitous services are commonly in pursuit of replacing user's intellectual, behavioral judgment and action [2] . However, many usability studies directly rush upon evaluation without seriously asking what the ubiquitous service is. Currently, ubiquitous technology and applications are still on the verge of mass commercialization. Many studies are focused on evaluating ubiquitous devices of computing performances while the relationship between ubiquitous computing and its service is not fully understood. In spite of ambiguity and on-going debates, ubiquitous service is inherently part of a service system. Hence, service quality (or quality of service, QoS) approach can be an alternative for evaluating the performance of ubiquitous services. Basic motivation of this paper is to examine whether the two approaches, usability and service quality, are sufficient for the evaluation of the performance of ubiquitous services. Prior to examination, current service concepts of ubiquitous system are observed, and related literatures are reviewed to delineate the attributes of ubiquitous service. Then, collected attributes of ubiquitous service are categorized into 3 perspectives: technology-, service-, and user-oriented attributes. User-oriented attributes are examined if they can be evaluated by typical usability approaches. Similarly, both technology-and service-oriented attributes are examined if they can be evaluated by service-quality approaches. Abstract The emergence of ubiquitous technology and subsequent changes in life are bringing about incoming issues in service industry. It is important to put all possible issues into consideration in evaluating a service with new technology, which necessitates inter-disciplinary approaches. The purpose of this study is to review literatures on the usability of ubiquitous service, and examine whether two approaches-usability and service quality approaches-are sufficient for the evaluation of ubiquitous service. Prior to examination, current service concepts of ubiquitous system are observed, and related literatures are reviewed to delineate the attributes of ubiquitous service. Then, collected attributes of ubiquitous service are categorized into three perspectives: technology-, service-, and user-oriented attributes. User-oriented attributes are examined if they can be evaluated by typical usability approaches. Similarly, both technology-and service-oriented attributes are examined if they can be evaluated by service-quality approaches. For usability approach, 'invisible' and 'unobtrusive' attributes of ubiquitous service is hard to be captured because typical usability test is dependent upon what user perceives. Also, service quality approach lacks holistic point of view to evaluate the scope of service properly. An analysis of various evaluation methods presents that the evaluation of ubiquitous services should consider the purpose of evaluation, the focus of evaluation and various evaluation techniques for further development. It is expected to contribute to promoting awareness, improving understanding of ubiquitous service and providing new direction of evaluation method for ubiquitous service.
doi:10.5100/jje.49.s467 fatcat:4tjw44lydfa3vdhfxrxef5p32y