Towards stress-less user interfaces: 10 design heuristics based on the psychophysiology of stress

Authors:
Neema Moraveji;Charlton Soesanto
Affiliations:
Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA;Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA
Venue:
CHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Year:
2012

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Abstract

In this paper we identify 10 design heuristics used to minimize the number of stressors in an interface. They are meant to complement other interface design heuristics. The heuristics are based on characteristics of stressors drawn from decades of empirical study. These include both evolutionary (survival) and psychosocial sources of stressors. The list is followed by the results of an exploratory heuristic evaluation conducted on four different mobile Twitter clients. It shows how the heuristics complement Nielsen's usability heuristics by enabling designers to evaluate and differentiate interfaces along two dimensions: usability and potential for stress. The results of the paper are useful for designers and scholars interested in systems that induce, or mitigate the risk of inducing, negative psychophysiological state change. Current methods of evaluating interfaces on this dimension require user interviews and physiological monitoring.