Increasing User Experience

Increasing User Experience

Terms of Service Agreements (ToS) and End User License Agreements (EULA) are legal contracts between the user and the purchaser of an application that defines the terms and restrictions. These legal contracts often contain essential information that educates users on various data policies to ensure that they make informed decisions concerning how they relate with diverse applications. However, people hardly read these legal contracts, although most of them often agree to the contents of the agreement. The usability contents of the policy – in terms of their length and the use of jargon-filled language, that is often difficult to understand – makes it difficult for the users to exploit the efficiency of these legal contracts. However, most users often neglect the fact that these notices are the main primary tools to understand the essential implication of digital activities, including the software and websites they use.

Researchers have explored alternative designs for such legal contracts through the use of more structured and visual structures to convey information. Tabassum, Alqhatani, Aldossari, & Richter (2018) explains that a comic-based interface was invented to engage users in terms and help them to pay more attention when viewing the terms of service agreement. Studies show that users are more likely to perform better when using standardized and structured formats over traditional text notices. EULA has been shown to enhance the user’s attitudes, which often correlate to their comprehension. Comics are intended to engage the users to learn about security issues, including how to avoid phishing attacks and internet security risks, among others. The research shows that the use of interactive comics has the ability to increase the comprehension of security-based education, which can lead to a change of behavior. Although the comics only provide a summary of essential terms of service, the structured forms of policies may support decision making better. However, there is a need for further research in the area since the study shows that the comic version of the interface does not hold attention for longer does not increase.

Key Contribution

The study examined the potential of applying a comic-based ToS to help users hold information for longer than when they are using plain texts, an activity that is proven to improve the comprehension of the policy terms. The study has been a significant contribution to the field of legal contracts and education by illustrating that comic and visual agreements can be used as alternatives to textual agreements. Tabassum et al. (2018) has highlighted usability challenges with the use of legal contracts and provided a possible solution that can improve user experience and decision making. As explained by the author, it is common for people to agree to legal contracts without reading the policy due to limiting aspects of EULA and ToS; the legal agreements are lengthy and use language that is difficult to understand. The study reveals that most people are likely to spend more time on ToS agreements, without a direct configuration to their comprehension. It concludes that displaying essential information to users using lengthy jargon often improves the average time that one spends to read the ToS and attention. This research shows that visual representation and graphics are an essential aspect of the study, which makes it reasonable to apply the concept in education. The use of comic-based notices should be adopted in legal frameworks to make it easy for the lawyers and advocates to dispense the contracts in a more friendly manner. This model can also be utilized to train individuals on the concepts that are considered difficult to understand.

Impact of the Paper

The research findings have a positive influence on the understanding of legal contracts that are considered time-consuming by most people. It is a common practice to skim through the notice and agree to the terms without understanding. The provision of alternative procedures that facilitate easy understanding and effective decision making will improve security and reduce expenses involved in the termination of contracts made without proper considerations. The implementation of visual and graphical concepts of learning will enhance the comprehension of material facts, which will benefit the society and economy positively.

Personal Opinion of the Paper

Tabassum et al. (2018) have made a successful attempt to illustrate how the attention of users can be improved through the adoption of a comic-based policy. The paper is factual and well presented logically and understandably. It offers the possibility of achieving improved decision making and factors that can deter the attainment of this objective. The study convinces the user of the opportunity of understanding legal notices and contracts that are often considered a waste of time.

Surprising Aspects

It is surprising to find that the participants employed in the study spent more time on the ToS agreements that were comic-based than on the plain and textured contracts. It is also surprising that the textured and texts ToS were perceived similarly by the users. The addition of graphics on the textured format of the contract does not impact on the user’s aspects.

What I liked the Most

The researcher was impressed by the fact that the study adopted a wide array of metrics to examine the performance. Exposure time, comprehension, and attention were tested to determine the efficacy of the comic-based policies over text agreements. Eye trackers were also employed to make reliable design decisions and the fact that all participants under study were exposed to unbiased conditions. These aspects validate the efficiency and reliability of the research findings (Tabassum et al., 2018).

What I did not Like

The researcher was not impressed by the fact that the research study lacked diversity. The sample was made up of young adults who were technologically savvy than other populations. They could thus be familiar with the terms and conditions of the legal notices, which invalidates the time used to read the content. Besides, the sample size adopted in the study is small, which is composed of students. These aspects limit the reliability of the research findings that the use of comic-based policies improves understanding of ToS and user decision making.

References

Tabassum, M., Alqhatani, A., Aldossari, M., & Richter Lipford, H. (2018, April). Increasing User Attention with a Comic-based Policy. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (p. 200). ACM.