MITS Research Proposal: Metrics for Mobile App User Satisfaction

This research proposal outlines a study focused on developing and utilizing metrics to quantify user experience satisfaction in mobile applications. The research aims to employ the Goal-Question-Metric (GQM) model to create usability metrics and determine customer satisfaction levels. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative research, such as literature reviews, with quantitative research, including surveys, to gather data. The proposal emphasizes the importance of usability metrics in assessing user satisfaction and highlights the use of Software Usability Measurement Inventory (SUMI) and DRUM components for data analysis. The research is planned to be completed within five weeks and addresses the evolving landscape of mobile technology and the significance of user-centered design in the telecommunications industry. The study seeks to contribute to the existing knowledge by identifying metrics for quantifying user experience satisfaction and extending the boundaries of knowledge in this area.

MITS Advanced Research Techniques
Research Proposal
Candidate:
Student Name
Higher Education Department
Victorian Institute of Technology
Proposed Title:
The title of the project mainly reflects on the development of metrics for the quantification of
user experience satisfaction of mobile applications.
Abstract
The paper mainly reflects on the proper development of metrics for effective quantification of
customers satisfaction while using different mobile application. The main aim of the research is to
utilize GQM model for effectively developing usability metrics that further helps in determining the
quantification of satisfaction of the customers that uses mobile app effectively. It is analyzed that in this
research paper both qualitative as well as quantitative research method is mainly conducted. Qualitative
research is mainly done by reviewing a number of journal papers as well as articles in order to gain
knowledge about usability metrics and how it assists in satisfying the customers. Moreover,
quantitative research is mainly used for conducting a survey in order to identify how many customers
get satisfied with the metrics that is developed in context to mobile app. Furthermore, the paper also
reflects the significance of the paper and showcase that the research will be conducted within 5 weeks
of time.

Outline of the Proposed Research
Background
It is found that the industry of telecommunication has generally experienced a great revolution
since the last decade and therefore mobile devices have generally become of the new fashion trend that
mainly plays an important role in everyone’s life. Due to this specific reason, it is analyzed that the
experts of major industry have generally predicted that the upcoming time will be the time for the
mobile industry and its success will be totally dependent on the consumers [4]. It is very much
important for the different vendors for properly focusing on the target audience as well as the various
requirements and needs of the consumers. It is found that in order to determine the requirements of the
users, it is needed to develop usability metrics for quantification of the user experience satisfaction of
mobile applications. It is analyzed that metrics are generally the signals that will reflect how much
satisfied the customers are by using the mobile app quite effectively.
Purpose
The main purpose of undertaking the research is to determine the metrics for proper
quantification of the user experience satisfaction of mobile app. This is mainly done by effectively
focusing on usability metric that further helps in showcasing the percentage of satisfaction that the
users generally achieve by successfully using the mobile application. In addition to this, the paper also
focuses on GQM model for effectively creating usability metric for the entire research.
Rationale
It is found that in this research paper, proper focus is on usability metrics and how that
particular metric helps in quantification of user experience satisfaction of mobile app. It is found that
usability is one of the metrics whose measurement is considered as one of the important tasks for
ensuring that the application is very much accurate and it has proper speed. Furthermore, it helps in
ensuring that the users are safe from injury as well as strain. By effectively focusing on the usability as

well as user experience an individual can be able to develop high quality of application that will satisfy
the users by meeting their needs as well as requirements [3]. Moreover, the novelty of the mobile app
as well as different features of the mobile devices are one of the main challenges in measuring the
usability related activities in mobile devices. A number of features of mobile devices including
bandwidth memory, wireless network as well as charging context are studied for making the customers
happy as well as satisfied. There are a number of examples of usability metrics which mainly includes
user performance, task effectiveness, speed temporal efficiency as well as the length of proportion
related with productive period [2]. However, it is found that strict performance-based view is unable to
reflect other types of aspect such as learnability as well as satisfaction and therefore Software Usability
Measurement Inventory is needed to be developed. This is required for providing measures of proper
global satisfaction on the basis of five usability-based criteria including efficiency, helpfulness,
learnability as well as control.
Research Topic and central research question
The research question for the paper is given below:
1) What metrics is developed for the quantification of user experience satisfaction of mobile
applications?
It is found that as per the research question it is necessary to develop metrics for quantifying
user experience satisfaction and this is mainly achieved by reviewing a number of usability
measurement-based models. It is found that quality in use integrated based measurement is found as
one of the models that helps in providing the users knowledge about the usability of mobile app. In
addition to this, it is analyzed that around 126 metrics are provided and metrics of usability generally
includes user performance, temporal efficiency, task effectiveness [7]. It is found that for analyzing
satisfaction from the mobile app SUMI is developed that will be helpful in providing user experience
satisfaction in five different usability areas that includes helpless, control, learnability, efficiency as

well as effectiveness. In addition to this, GQM model is also elaborated for properly developing the
usability metric which further helps in reflecting the customer experience satisfaction in context to
mobile app [5].
Methodological Approach
It is analyzed that both qualitative as well as quantitative research method will generally be
used for determining the metrics which are further helpful in quantifying satisfaction related with
customer experience on mobile app [9]. Qualitative research is mainly conducted in order to gather
information about the research topic by reviewing a number of articles as well as journal papers. The
information that is gathered with the help of qualitative research helps in providing clear idea about the
importance of metric which will be determined for successfully quantifying the user experience
satisfaction. Moreover, it is found that quantitative methodology is also used within the research and as
a result a survey will be conducted with the sample size of 35 in order to know how satisfied the
customers are by experiencing different features of the mobile app quite effectively.
Research Design
Research design is defined as a framework of research methods as well as techniques that is
mainly selected by a researcher quite effectively [10].The entire design of the research topic properly
helps in explaining the type of research that is mainly conducted in order to determine the metrics for
effectively quantifying satisfaction of the customers due to the use of mobile app. It is found that for
undertaking this particular research, survey research design is mainly used and they are generally the
procedure within the quantitative research in which a number of investigators generally administers the
survey to a sample quite effectively. It is analyzed that in order to analyze the satisfaction of the
customers, it is quite necessary to develop SUMI (Software Usability Measurement Inventory) for
measuring the usability satisfaction of the customers in context to five different criteria’s which mainly
includes effectiveness, efficiency, control, learnability as well as helpfulness [4]. Furthermore, the log

processor related component that is known as DRUM is one of the tools that helps in calculating task
time, efficiency as well as productive period that further assist in reflecting hoe much satisfied the
customers are by using the mobile app effectively.
Contribution
It is found that by undertaking the research, it is easily identified that there are different
categories of usability metrics that generally plays an important role in satisfying the customers and
those usability metrics includes performance, efficiency, effectiveness, learnability as well as task time.
The paper also helps in reflecting the use of GQM approach that is mainly employed within the study
for developing usability metric [2]. It is analyzed that the use of the model needs to be properly
validated for proper future work for making sure that the metric that is determined are quite applicable
to mobile app and are helpful in reflecting that the customers are quite satisfied. Moreover, the research
that is conducted helps in filling the gap within the knowledge and it further helps in extending the
boundaries of knowledge by effectively determining the metrics for quantification of user experience
satisfaction of mobile applications [6].
Proposed Time Schedule
The timeline that is mainly proposed for conducting the research reflects that around 5 weeks
of time is needed. The table is helpful in showcasing the duration for each of the project activities that
are required for conducting the research.
WBS Task Name Duration Start Finish
0
Development of metrics for the
quantification of user experience
satisfaction of mobile applications.
5 wks. Fri 10-04-20 Thu 14-05-20
1 Initiation phase 1.4 wks. Fri 10-04-20 Mon 20-04-20
1.1 Identification of the issue 1 day Fri 10-04-20 Fri 10-04-20

1.2 Studying the background 2 days Mon 13-04-20 Tue 14-04-20
1.3 Reflecting the purpose of the project 1 day Wed 15-04-20 Wed 15-04-20
1.4 Determining the rationale of the project 3 days Thu 16-04-20 Mon 20-04-20
2 Planning phase 1.2 wks. Tue 21-04-20 Tue 28-04-20
2.1 Developing research questions 2 days Tue 21-04-20 Wed 22-04-20
2.2 Research objectives and aims 1 day Thu 23-04-20 Thu 23-04-20
2.3 Discussion of research question 3 days Fri 24-04-20 Tue 28-04-20
3 Execution phase 2.2 wks. Wed 29-04-20 Wed 13-05-20
3.1 Methodology 3 days Wed 29-04-20 Fri 01-05-20
3.2 Research design 4 days Mon 04-05-20 Thu 07-05-20
3.3 Contribution of the study 4 days Fri 08-05-20 Wed 13-05-20
4 Closure 0.2 wks. Thu 14-05-20 Thu 14-05-20
4.1 Submitting the research proposal 1 day Thu 14-05-20 Thu 14-05-20

Literature References
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psychometrics. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 31(8), pp.481-483,
2015.
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game prototype using software attributes. In 2015 6th IEEE International Conference on
Software Engineering and Service Science (ICSESS) (pp. 730-736). IEEE, 2015.
[3].Zali, Z. May. An initial theoretical usability evaluation model for assessing defence mobile e-
based application system. In 2016 International Conference on Information and
Communication Technology (ICICTM) (pp. 198-202). IEEE, 2016.
[4].Sagar, K. and Saha, A. A systematic review of software usability studies. International Journal
of Information Technology, pp.1-24, 2017.
[5].Day, F.C., Pourhomayoun, M., Keeves, D., Lees, A.F., Sarrafzadeh, M., Bell, D. and Pfeffer,
M.A. Feasibility study of an EHR-integrated mobile shared decision making
application. International journal of medical informatics, 124, pp.24-30, 2019.
[6].Georgsson, M. and Staggers, N. Quantifying usability: an evaluation of a diabetes mHealth
system on effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction metrics with associated user
characteristics. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 23(1), pp.5-11, 2016.
[7].Riegler, A. and Holzmann, C. Measuring visual user interface complexity of mobile
applications with metrics. Interacting with Computers, 30(3), pp.207-223, 2018.
[8].Sauro, J. and Lewis, J.R. Quantifying the user experience: Practical statistics for user research.
Morgan Kaufmann, 2016.

[9].Meyers, L.S., Gamst, G. and Guarino, A.J., 2016. Applied multivariate research: Design and
interpretation. Sage publications.
[10]. Lincoln, G.S.C.Y.S., 2017. Deploying qualitative methods for critical social purposes.
In Qualitative inquiry and social justice (pp. 53-72). Routledge.