A new method for content selection on a mobile device

Abstract

In this modern, fast-paced society people must be able to work while away from their desks. The rise and adoption of mobile devices have improved productivity for many people who can now start or continue work which was traditionally limited to a computer. Many still choose to limit these tasks to short communications or reading emails, due to a perceived lack of ease of use on mobile devices.This study investigated the current method of text selection and interaction for mobile document writing. The study determined that there are shortcomings present in the current method of text selection from both a practical and user experience point of view. Users are much more comfortable with traditional selection methods that utilise familiar inputs such as mouse and keyboard. These input methods were investigated to create a selection analogue for mobile devices. The desktop-inspired features promoted faster and less error-prone text selection, maintaining a positive user experience with a minimal learning curve. Using the desktop analogue, a new selection method, referred to as “Writing Toolbox”, was designed, developed, and tested, which outperformed the current selection method. The proposed method was tested through practical usage tests and a user experience survey. The results of the tests were promising; showing an average text selection speed improvement of 52.9% while also reducing overall error frequency by more than 59%. The reported user experience improvement showed a 96% preference for the proposed method. Participants of the survey reported an increased incentive to make use of mobile devices for productivity tasks if the proposed selection method was available for use in the software suite. This indicated that the quality of available tools is a significant motivator for mobile productivity software adoption. Lessons learnt from the development and testing of the current and proposed selection methods are described. Additional shortcomings, identified by the user experience survey, are provided as future areas of study. The provided guidance aims to enhance mobile productivity software and in doing so improve user adoption rates and provide a more intuitive and performant text selection method.