Device Transition: Understanding Usability Issues in Shifting a Device During a Task

Solutions for enhancing user experience in engaging multiple devices for a task largely imply a tight coupling between device combinations and their supporting user interface (UI) and interaction, thus usability issues may arise when end-users create own combinations of devices not foreseen by designers or developers. We propose the three design principles that foster spontaneous shifts in device engagement: partnership discoverability, role election and UI-interaction election. These principles are examined and realized through shifting cues existed in pre-transition, transition and post-transition phases of the transition pathway. Designed as independent user interfaces, shifting cues give hints to users about available nearby devices and guide the shifts in device engagement. Revisiting the design principles and know-how–so far accumulated based on the single device interaction–will be an important step towards realizing a usable interaction design that considers the increasingly common situations of using and shifting around among multiple devices while conducting a task.