Information Knowledge Systems Management 7 (2008) 121–144 121 IOS Press Mobile interaction design: Integrating individual and organizational perspectives Peter Tarasewicha, Jun Gongb, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nahc and David DeWesterc aISOM Department, Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University, 8 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108 USA E-mail: [email protected] bGoogle, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA E-mail: [email protected] cDepartment of Management, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Abstract: While mobile computing provides organizations with many information systems implementation alternatives, it is often difficult to predict the potential benefits, limitations, and problems with mobile applications. Given the inherent portability of mobile devices, many design and use issues can arise which do not exist with desktop systems. While many existing rules of thumb for design of stationary systems apply to mobile systems, many new ones emerge. Issues such as the security and privacy of information take on new dimensions, and potential conflicts can develop when a single mobile device serves both personal and business needs. This paper identifies potential issues and problems with the use of mobile information systems by examining both personal and organizational perspectives of mobile devices and applications. It provides a set of guidelines that can assist organizations in making decisions about the design and implementation of mobile technologies and applications in organizations. 1. Introduction Mobile computing continues to provide organizations in a wide variety of industries with an increas- ing number of information systems implementation approaches and alternatives (e.g. [5,11,49,67,79]). Hundreds of mobile applications and technologies have been developed, but it is often difficult for an organization to determine whether or not they will benefit from such innovations, or what limitations and problems they may encounter. Since mobile devices can potentially be used in any context and are often constrained by their relatively small form factor, new design and use issues arise with mobile applications that do not exist with desktop systems. While many rules of thumb for designing mobile information systems carry over from stationary systems, many new ones emerge, and issues such as the security and privacy of information take on new meanings and dimensions. There are also potential conflicts when a single mobile device or system serves both personal and business needs; mobile devices that are well accepted by individuals may not be suitable for the corporate world. For example, organizations need to be concerned about achieving the right balance of controlling and empowering employees with the appropriate level of access to organizational data, and maximizing the continuity of organizational pro- cesses and activities while managing any disruptive activities arising from the use of mobile computing in organizations. 1389-1995/08/$17.00 2008 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved 122 P. Tarasewich et al. / Mobile interaction design: Integrating individual and organizational perspectives The goal of this paper is to identify the potential issues and problems with mobile interface design and use in organizations, and present a set of general guidelines that can be used by organizations to assist decision making about the design and implementation of mobile technologies and applications. First provided is an overview of current mobile device input/output interaction technologies, along with the challenges they pose to organizations. Oftentimes, mobile device interface design is more restrictive than desktop interface design due to factors such as relatively limited computing and communication power, smaller platform sizes, always-changing context, and user attention being split between multiple tasks. Next, the paper addresses security and privacy issues related to the use of mobile computing by organizations. While mobile computing can facilitate access to organizational data, security and privacy concerns must be taken into account to achieve the appropriate balance of access control. The portable nature of mobile devices makes them more vulnerable to loss, abuse, and theft than systems that remain behind locked doors. If wireless networks are used, data is also susceptible to unintended interception or theft by third parties. Security and privacy of stored or transmitted data is often maintained through methods (e.g., encryption) that keep it from being read by any unauthorized parties. But in a public setting, information displayed to a user (e.g., client data viewed on a laptop while on an airplane) may potentially be overseen by competitors or thieves. Furthermore, the classification of information as “private” may not be absolute. Privacy levels from organizational and personal perspectives may differ, which can potentially lead to conflicts when a device supports both personal and business use. Finally, this paper provides guidance to organizations on how to design, implement, and manage mobile applications on both individual and enterprise levels. While many general rules of thumb for interface and interaction design exist, there have been no similar guidelines provided to enterprises. Most of the existing guidelines are derived from the perspective of an individual’s use of mobile applications in dynamic contexts. But there are unique needs and concerns that must be considered for successful organizational use of mobile applications, that is, notions that go beyond individual use and may sometimes even conflict with personal use. We present a set of guidelines that are grounded in previous research, and provide examples where appropriate. 2. Mobile device interaction and challenges to organizations Handheld mobile devices, including personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cell phones, have become increasingly prevalent. Given the unique constraints of mobile devices, a well-designed and usable interface is critical in order for employees of organizations to accept the use of mobile technology [31, 54,88]. Some of the most challenging issues facing mobile interface designers include [28]: – Constantly changing context of usage, e.g., business executives who are always on the move – Limited user attention given to the device and application, e.g., using the device when walking – Mobile device user’s hands are typically occupied with other physical tasks, e.g., holding a briefcase or shuffling paperwork – High mobility during tasks, as well as the need to adopt a variety of positions and postures, e.g., activities of maintenance crew – Interacting with devices while in motion (at high speed), driven by external environment, e.g., in a public transport system such as a subway or train Other organizational issues also arise, including adherence to policies and standards, security and privacy of proprietary information, and the potential conflicts of using a single mobile device for both personal P. Tarasewich et al. / Mobile interaction design: Integrating individual and organizational perspectives 123 and business activities. To address these problems and challenges, the stage is set by providing a brief review of existing input/output interaction methods with mobile devices as well as security and privacy issues in the mobile environment. Mobile device interface design is generally more restrictive and problematic than desktop interface design because of constraints such as limited computing power, dynamic (and potentially unsecured) contexts, smaller platform sizes, and limited user attention [22,68]. 2.1. Input interaction Input interaction refers to the different ways in which users can enter data or commands. Commonly used technologies for input interaction with mobile devices include keyboards, keypads, styluses, buttons, cameras, microphones, scanners, and sensors (including those that determine the location of the device). The standard QWERTY keyboard found on typewriters and personal computers is being used on laptop computers and handheld devices such as Blackberries. The problem with using this full keyboard on these devices is that users must adjust to smaller keys, which may even require users to learn to type messages with both thumbs. Smaller keys pose data entry problems and increase error rates. On the other hand, devices such as phones and handhelds usually rely on a limited keypad for input because of limited device space. As such, data entry can be very cumbersome for organizational use and adoption. Most phones use a standard 12-button numeric keypad, with each of the keys from 2 through 9 corresponding to three or four English letters. Some common approaches for entering text using a keypad require pressing keys multiple times for each desired letter. Other approaches use dictionaries of words and linguistic models to “guess” the word intended by a series of keystrokes. Mackenzie and Soukoreff [46] provided an excellent review of existing mobile text entry methods, including small keypad based methods and stylus based methods, such as handwriting recognition, soft keyboards, and gesture input methods (e.g., Graffiti, Jot). As another alternative, keyboards (or other key configurations) can be created virtually on a screen. These “soft-keyboards” use a stylus to press the virtual keys and are often implemented as text entry options on PDAs and smart phones. Another way to eliminate the use of a keypad