Researching UX in Mobile Cybersecurity Apps
- Curtis Blair
- Jan 3, 2021
- 2 min read
Overview
Research concluded UX is not a significant obstacle to adopting mobile security.
I assisted with several research methods focusing on user perceptions of mobile cybersecurity, and the impact UX design has on adopting cybersecurity apps. I used tools like personas, heuristic evaluations, sentiment analysis, and triangulation to understand the user’s perspective.
Client
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs,
Technical Communication and Information Design Program
Process
Research, Sentiment Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, Survey, Triangulation
Problem Statement
The research project aimed to explore current users' preferences and attitudes toward mobile cybersecurity while potentially identifying methods for strengthening usability.
Research Questions
What impact does the user experience design of cybersecurity software have on the adoption of these applications?
What perceptions do users have about securing their mobile devices?
Results
Our research findings reveal that the mobile cybersecurity field has vast potential for future research regarding user experience.
A few questions raised by this research project.
Why are users complacent without mobile security?
How might design persuade users to install cybersecurity apps?
What design components could guide user behaviors to adopt security practices?
Role
UX Researcher
UX Skills
Qualitative Research
Sentiment Analysis
Heuristic Evaluation
Triangulation
Survey Design
Tools
Google Suite
UXPressia
Miro
Research Process
My Responsibilities
As a UX Researcher, I collaborated with team members to develop research inquiry efforts and gather data for analysis. Collaborating with other researchers allowed us to reduce bias while triangulating our findings to produce insights.
I was responsible for conducting and coordinating research efforts and later analyzing data to refine our research efforts to develop insight into users’ perspectives.
Initial Tasks
Secondary Research
Establish mobile cybersecurity basic knowledge through secondary research
Annotated Bibliography
Documented research as annotated bibliography focusing on previous research efforts
Influenced our research focus and the implementation of our user survey and personas
Heuristic Evaluation
Rate Design & Usability
Explored UX design and usability of the 3 highest downloaded security apps: Norton, McAfee, and Avast
Congruence Refinement
Refined evaluation ratings with a congruence measurement to form baseline measurements
Influence
Heuristic evaluations assisted with developing user journey maps and prioritizing red route matrix tasks
Survey and Personas
Strengthen Data Collection
I created a survey to triangulate data and collaborated to uncover user motivations
Survey Analysis
Survey results provided details to understand user perspectives, tasks, and attitudes
Persona/ User Roles
Personas focused on user tasks to examine if the design presented adoption obstacle
Sentiment Analysis
Random Sampling
Compiled a random sampling of user comments to uncover patterns and themes
Tag Data
Coded comments based on negative or positive sentiment and then divided into groups
Align Categories
Aligned categories by frequency of occurrence with the Nielsen/Molich model
Influence
Sentiment analysis provided insights into current user activities and frustrations
Results
Our research findings reveal that the mobile cybersecurity field has vast potential for future research regarding user experience.
Future Research Efforts
Why are users complacent without mobile security?
How might design persuade users to install cybersecurity apps?
What design components could guide user behaviors to adopt security practices?
