Using Emotions in Usability

Emotions are evermore present in discussions of product design and are becoming part of a usability practitioner's repertoire of evaluation criteria. Nonetheless, emotions in design are far more than simply using satisfaction and frustration as criteria, noting how pleasant or unpleasant a product is, or listing a number of emotions elicited during an evaluation. Evaluating the emotional impact of a user interaction as part of a usability evaluation requires that emotions be adequately assessed and, most importantly, interpreted to identify their source. This article aims to present a method and process of Emotional Profiling to show how emotions may be utilized to aid usability professionals in further understanding the emotional reactions to human-system interactions, thereby identifying factors that enhance or detract from the user experience.