Development and pre-validation of the Multi User eXperience-Scale (MUX-S): A French Tool for Measuring Multi-User Experience

Traditionally, User eXperience (UX) design has focused on the experience of the individual user, often overlooking the influence that interactions with others can have on their overall experience. In addition, in recent years, the advancement of digital technologies has increasingly focused on social applications (e.g., social networks, videoconferencing tools, etc.). This evolution underscores the need to redefine the concept of UX towards a Multi-User eXperience (MUX). The aim of this research was to develop a measurement scale for the assessment of the Multi-User eXperience (MUX-S). Five dimensions (social presence, perceived quality of human-to-human interaction, matching user needs, matching user expectations, and a sense of belonging to a community) of MUX were identified in the initial phase of the study. The relevance of these dimensions was validated through exploratory interviews (N=7 participants) who use social digital applications. This initial work resulted in the formulation of a preliminary set of items which were subsequently refined following the pre-experiment (N=20 participants). A validation experiment (N = 211 participants) was conducted on the questionnaire items. This experiment enabled us to reduce the questionnaire to 16 items which were grouped into three factors: Social Presence/Interaction, Interactive co-experience and Alignment of other users with my expectations. This paper presents a preliminary validation; further studies will be needed to definitively validate the questionnaire.