Title: Design for user experience of control with flexible office environments - explorative user tests with prototypes

Authors: Antonio Cobaleda-Cordero; MariAnne Karlsson; Maral Babapour Chafi

Addresses: Division Design and Human Factors, Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden ' Division Design and Human Factors, Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden ' Division Design and Human Factors, Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden; Institute of Stress Medicine, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract: This study addresses the prototyping, user testing, re-design, and re-testing of an office furniture concept following a research through design (RtD) approach. The concept was intended to enable positive user experience of control over sound stimuli and related distractions in flexible offices. The aims were: 1) to explore design opportunities in relation to experience of control; 2) to gain a deeper understanding of how to design for such positive experiences. The results show a limited impact on the experience of control over sound stimuli in the offices where the concept was tested, and a noticeable positive effect on control over privacy, visual distractions, and (to a lesser extent) work tasks. In this sense, the concept was meaningful for the users and opened up new opportunities for control over stimuli in flexible offices. The context, temporality of user experiences, and prototype fidelity were the keys to explaining the results.

Keywords: UX; control; sound; distractions; office design; flexible office; research through design; RtD; design research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2023.130541

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2023 Vol.10 No.2, pp.165 - 186

Received: 20 Nov 2022
Accepted: 10 Jan 2023
Published online: 26 Apr 2023 *

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