Understanding And Assessing The User Burden Of Mobile Apps

When evaluating the design of a mobile app, many designers focus on a number of varying metrics related to the user experience, namely its usability, look and feel, usefulness, and overall delight that users experience when using it. However, even the most usable, beautiful, and delightful application can have an impact on its user in a negative way. Have you ever thought about how the application might burden the user, even in light of these positive attributes? For example, maybe the game that you designed to be irresistibly engaging makes the user feel guilty about how much time she spends with it. Or consider how a food-tracking application, which allows the user to take photos of his food to monitor his diet, may violate his family rules about no phones at the dinner table. Perhaps the fitness tracker you've designed to help people be more active only serves to make them feel badly about themselves for not exercising after sustaining an injury.