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Using conceptual tool for intuitive interaction to design intuitive website for SME in India : A case study. In
Popovic, Vesna, Blackler, Alethea L., Luh, Ding-Bang, Nimkulrat, Nithikul, Kraal, Ben J., & Nagai, Yukari (Eds.)
Proceedings of the 6th IASDR (The International Association of Societies of Design Research Congress), IASDR (The International Association of Societies of Design Research), Brisbane, Australia, pp. 1500-1521.
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Using Conceptual Tool for Intuitive
Interaction to Design Intuitive Website for
SME in India: A Case Study
Gowrishankar Mohan, Queensland University of Technology, [email protected]
Alethea Blackler, Queensland University of Technology, [email protected] Vesna Popovic, Queensland University of Technology, [email protected]
Abstract
Statistical reports of SMEs Internet usage from various countries indicate a steady growth. However, deeper investigation of SME’s e-commerce adoption and usage reveals that a number of SMEs fail to realize the full potential of e-commerce. Factors such as lack of tools and models in Information Systems and Information Technology for SMEs, and lack of technical expertise and specialized knowledge within and outside the SME have the most effect. This study aims to address the two important factors in two steps. First, introduce the conceptual tool for intuitive interaction. Second, explain the implementation process of the conceptual tool with the help of a case study. The subject chosen for the case study is a real estate SME from India. The design and development process of the website for the real estate SME was captured in this case study and the duration of the study was four months. Results indicated specific benefits for web designers and SME business owners. Results also indicated that the conceptual tool is easy to use without the need for technical expertise and specialized knowledge.
Website; Design; SMEs; Tools; Information Systems; Intuitive Interaction;
Statistical data from developing and developed countries indicate the growing number of businesses having web presence on the Internet. Web presence among Australian SMEs had a growth rate of 6.5% from 2011 to 2013 (ABS, 2013). E-commerce growth rate among retail industries in the U.S. was 5.2% in 2012 (Census, 2014). Web presence among SMEs in developing countries such as India, Vietnam, and Mexico witnessed a higher average growth rate of 9.3% (McKinsey, 2012). In order to design and maintain a website, large companies
spend huge amounts of money every year. However, designing and maintaining a website is a difficult task for SMEs. The majority of SMEs create websites which are similar to
brochures and they fail to use the full potential of the Internet (Thomas, 2010). Designing an intuitive website is not easy for SMEs as they face a number of problems, which are
discussed in the following paragraphs.
E-commerce Adoption by SMEs in Developing Countries
The majority of research activities are focused on the e-commerce adoption of large companies and little is known about SMEs (Hua, Rajesh, & Theng, 2010). For example, in Malaysia, although SMEs are aware of the importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in business, their implementation of e-commerce is slow (Ahsan, 2007; Bolongkikit, Obit, Asing, & Tanakinjal, 2006). In order to identify the factors that influence the slow adoption of e-commerce in Malaysian SMEs, a survey was conducted by Hua, et al. (2010). Their survey included 800 randomly selected Malaysian SMEs. Findings indicated that the age of the business, gender of the owner, and their education level played a
significant role in the adoption of e-commerce activities.
In order to expand their business and break the geographical barrier, the majority of SMEs adopt e-commerce activities (Chugh & Gupta, 2010). However, SMEs often stumble upon a number of problems while implementing e-commerce (Cruz-Cunha, 2010). Some of the problems are poor motivation, lack of technical skills and awareness of technology,
implementation problems, high initial cost and ongoing costs, and lack of resources (Chau & Pedersen, 2000). A study by Lawson, Alcock, Cooper, and Burgess (2003) indicated four important problems among SMEs for e-commerce adoption. The four problems are lack of technical expertise, security and privacy, cost of technical consultations, and lack of government initiatives. Another study by Cloete, Courtney, and Fintz (2002) identified problems among South African SMEs on e-commerce adoption. The problems are lack of knowledge about e-commerce models and methods, security, cost of implementation, and lack of awareness about the benefits of e-commerce.
E-commerce Adoption by SMEs in Developed Countries
Even in developed countries, the majority of SMEs fail to exploit the maximum benefits offered by e-commerce (Thomas, 2010). A study by Jones, Packham, Pickernell, and Beynon-Davies (2010) investigated the factors restricting SMEs e-commerce adoption with 500 randomly selected SMEs in the UK. Findings from the study indicated that SMEs preferred to stay and compete in local and regional markets with minimum exploitation of UK and global markets. Findings from the study identified two important factors responsible for restricting SMEs’ geographical limits and e-commerce. First, the business owners’ limited awareness of technology. Second, the business owners’ high level of ignorance regarding the potential benefits of e-commerce. Levy and Powell (2003) stated that majority of SMEs with limited e-commerce adoption had websites similar to that of product
brochures. The product brochure like websites fails to exploit the full potential of web presence.
A study by Williams, Packham, Thomas, and Thompson (2010) investigated the factors responsible for slow progress of e-commerce adoption among SMEs in the UK. Their study identified two important factors. First, there was a lack of technical knowledge among
people within and outside the business. Second, technical skills shortage in UK explained the gap between the potential of e-commerce and the level of involvement by majority of SMEs. A study by Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) investigated the level of e-commerce adoption among UK SMEs (Carter, Mason, & Tagg, 2006). Data were collected from 5089 SMEs. Findings indicated 24% of SME websites had no more than basic contact
information, 49% of SME websites had contact information and product advertisement. Based on the findings, roughly 27% of SME website utilised the full potential of web presence.
Common Problems among SMEs with E-commerce Adoption
Based on the discussed literature, it is clear that problems occur with SME’s e-commerce adoption in both developing and developed countries, and most of the problems are similar. The major source of problems for SMEs e-commerce adoption is the lack of models and tools in Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) (Koh, Saad, Maguire, Koh, & Magrys, 2007; Poon & Swatman, 1999). E-commerce adoption among large companies has been the primary focus of the majority of research studies, and most of the models and tools in Information Systems and Technology are developed to fit the context of large companies (Thomas, 2010). Overall factors affecting the slow progress of e-commerce adoption in SMEs are listed below (Table 1).
Table 1: Factors Responsible for Slow E-commerce Adoption in SMEs
Technological and Organizational Factors Lack of Tools and Models in IS and IT for SMEs (Koh, et al., 2007) Lack of Specialized Knowledge (Williams, et al., 2010)
Ease of use (El-Gohary, Trueman, & Fukukawa, 2010) Compatibility (El-Gohary, et al., 2010)
Usefulness (El-Gohary, et al., 2010)
Lack of Motivation (Morais, Pires, & Gonçalves, 2011) Limited Awareness about the Benefits of E-commerce (Jones, et al., 2010)
Addressing the Lack of Models and Tools in Information Systems and Technology Koh, et al. (2007) argued that the lack of resources and skills in technical and business areas make IT and IS tools and models unworkable for SMEs. Lack of resources and skills include limited awareness of technology, lack of qualified human resources, lack of specialized knowledge, and poor understanding of computer technology. In order to overcome this barrier, SMEs require support of knowledge management by means of education, training, newly developed tools and models to help them gain and maintain knowledge (Koh, et al., 2007). This paper aims to address the problem of limited tools and models in IS and IT to help SMEs’ web presence. Website design and development in SMEs is considered an iterative process starting from simple brochure-like websites to more complex websites as SMEs gain experience and knowledge (Williams, et al., 2010). This paper reports on the use of a conceptual tool for intuitive interaction for design and development of new and existing websites for SMEs.
Adopting the conceptual tool for intuitive interaction for website design and development has five distinctive benefits for SMEs. First, it is easy to use. Second, any layperson can understand the working of the conceptual tool, which helps to address the problem of requirement for specialized knowledge, limited technical knowledge, and the need for qualified human resources. Third, it improves web designer’s understanding of the business domain. Fourth, it helps web designers and business owners understand their customer base, the Internet landscape of their product or service, and their competitor’s web presence. Fifth, it’s use results in a more intuitive interface (Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2014), and so should increase usability of the website for customers. In order to use the conceptual tool, it is necessary to understand the tool and its use. The following sections will describe the conceptual tool for intuitive interaction in detail.
Conceptual Tool for Intuitive Interaction
Over the past decade and a half, several different researchers on four different continents using a variety of products, interfaces and experiment designs have all found that prior experience is the leading contributor to intuitive use (Blackler, 2008; Fischer, Itoh, & Inagaki, 2015; Hurtienne, 2009; O'Brien, 2010), and intuitive interaction has become strongly linked with familiarity or prior experience (Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2010; Blackler, 2008; Fischer, et al., 2015; Hurtienne & Blessing, 2007; Hurtienne & Israel, 2007; Marsh & Setchi, 2008; Mohs et al., 2006; O'Brien, Rogers, & Fisk, 2008; O’Brien, Rogers, & Fisk, 2008). Familiar features are used more intuitively, and people with higher
Technology Familiarity complete tasks more quickly, with more intuitive uses and less errors (Blackler, et al., 2010).
Based on the research into intuitive interaction and how it can be enabled, Blackler (2008) developed a conceptual tool for creating intuitive interfaces. The conceptual tool was created to assist designers in understanding and applying users’ familiarity during the design process
in order to develop an intuitive interface (Figure 1). The tool consists of an iterative spiral, which represents a design process with a variety of entry and exit points. Each loop of the spiral has three layers. These layers represent the factors function, appearance and location (Figure 2). The factors are addressed in this order as appearance has more effect on intuitive interaction than location (Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2005),so needs to be addressed before location. However, appearance and location cannot be determined for a feature that has no associated function, so function needs to be determined first, followed by appearance and then location.
As a first step, before starting design, designers and business owners need to identify the potential users for the product or service, and users’ familiarity with other relevant
technologies. These data can be gathered from existing customers of the business domain or potential users of the new product or service using a Technology Familiarity (TF)
questionnaire (Blackler, 2008). Designers then need to go through the spiral twice (Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2006). Firstly the structure or form of the system or product needs to be established. Secondly, features that need to be included in the interface or product are established.
The conceptual tool has been designed so that a designer can enter the spiral at a suitable point and leave it when necessary. However, it is of course possible to have different features on the same product or system which are at different levels, depending on their function and requirements. The five levels of the spiral are based on the continuum of intuitive interaction developed by Blackler (2008). They are explained below.
Body Reflectors: The continuum starts from the simplest form of intuitive interaction; body reflectors, which are based on embodied knowledge learned so early that it seems almost innate. These are equated with physical affordances (Blackler & Hurtienne, 2007; McEwan, Blackler, Johnson, & Wyeth, 2014), but have been shown to be less relevant for intangible interfaces such as websites (Desai, Blackler, & Popovic, In Press).
Population Stereotypes: At a more complex level, intuitive interaction employs population stereotypes which are engrained from an early age (e.g. clockwise to increase, red for stop, green for go).
Familiar Features from Same Domain: At the next level again intuitive interaction can work through similar features from the same domain. For example, menus and hyperlinks which are consistent across many other websites or specific features and terms common to similar businesses and websites.
Familiar Features from Other Domains: This level requires transfer of features from differing domains (either different types of interfaces or technologies or things from the physical world transferred to the virtual world).
Metaphor from Other Domain: At its most complex level, intuitive interaction requires the application of metaphor, used to explain a completely new concept or function. When a
person has relevant experience in a different domain, metaphors could be used to relate that knowledge to a new situation.
Figure 2: Detail of Three Loops within Each Spiral (Blackler, et al., 2014)
Finally, Blackler (2008) emphasised that internal consistency within the design needs to be maintained so that function, appearance and location of features are consistent between different parts of the design and on every page, screen, part and/or mode. This is shown by the dotted line in Figure 1. Keeping internal consistency allows users to apply the same knowledge and metaphors throughout the interface. This tool has been applied to product design, and designers found it useful if somewhat complex to use (Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2007; Blackler, et al., 2006). It has also been empirically shown to improve intuitiveness and familiarity of a microwave interface (Blackler, et al., 2014). However, it had not been previously trialled in a web design context.
Case Study – Intuitive Website for Real Estate SME in India
This paper reports on a case study in which the conceptual tool was used to design a website for a real estate SME in India. The research question was:
How can a designer implement the conceptual tool for intuitive interaction in the design or redesign process of a website?
Two major problems were faced by the real estate SME which formed the business case for designing a website. First, like most SMEs in developing and developed countries, the real estate SME wanted to expand and increase its customer base by breaking the geographical barrier. Second, the impact of ICTs on the real estate business domain was inevitable. The real estate SME had relied on traditional ways of doing business such as face-to-face
customer relationships, and word-of-mouth. Although these strategies were successful in the past, the times are changing and the impact of technology had made its mark on every business and customer. Development in technology created new customer segments and growth in the local economy. Therefore, the real estate SME decided to get the best of technology and turn it in to an opportunity by designing a website.
Procedure
The procedure for designing and developing the website involved two steps, based on the two components in the tool – investigation component and design process component (Blackler, et al., 2007)
Step 1: Identifying Technology Familiarity of target users: A. Identifying user group
B. Identifying user familiarity
Step 2: Tailoring the conceptual tool and applying it for intuitive website design: A. Entering the spiral (design of structure of website)
B. Re-entering the spiral (detailed feature design)
Step 1: Investigating Technology Familiarity of Target Users
Before starting the design process, it is important to know the target users and their level of familiarity. This was achieved through TF questionnaires in Step 1.
Identifying User Group
The Technology Familiarity (TF) questionnaire was adapted from Blackler, et al. (2005) and modified for this study. A copy of this TF questionnaire is available from the authors, and previous examples of TF questionnaires are available from Blackler (2008) and McEwan, et al. (2014). Participants were randomly selected customers of the SME and the number of participants was limited to 100. Data were gathered over a period of two months. The TF questionnaire was split into four sections. The first section gathered location of the customer and how they came to know about the SME. The second section gathered information on the customer’s frequency of Internet usage and whether they accessed the Internet through computer or mobile. The third section gathered information on the customer’s frequency of social media usage, as well as web 2.0 usage and frequency. Examples of web 2.0 tools are YouTube, Google Maps, Flickr, and blogs. The fourth section gathered information about the customer’s frequency of Internet search for real estate information, and a list of real estate websites which were familiar to them.
Findings from the questionnaire helped to identify the user group for the real estate SME. Results indicated that 36 out of 100 customers used the Internet via computer and 25 out of 100 customers used the Internet via mobile device (Figure 3). Although the percentage is low, it is set to increase for the future. Avendus (2013) report on India’s mobile Internet indicated smartphone usage in India had the highest growth rate (145%) in comparison with other countries. A McKinsey (2012) report on the Internet’s impact on India indicated India to be the third largest Internet population in the world by 2015. It also indicated that 10 out of 100 people in India use the Internet. Considering the numbers, the Internet has a huge role to play in the Indian market.
Figure 3: Chart Indicating Internet Usage of 100 ASR Customers from Computer and Mobile
Identifying User Familiarity
In order to identify users’ familiarity with using real estate websites, customers were asked to name the real estate websites frequently used by them in the TF questionnaire. Results indicated nine different competitor websites which are popular among 36 Internet using customers (Figure 4). The competitor websites were used to identify similar features and terminologies used across real estate websites in the locality.
In order to verify the correctness and completeness of information used in competitor websites, the business domain of the real estate SME was studied by the designer. This helped the designer to understand terminologies and procedures which were commonly used for buying a property in the particular State of India. Each State in India has its own property development authority, set of procedures, and terminologies. This level of detailed
information was necessary at the later stages of the designing process.
8% 5% 0% 100% Mobile 100 75% 0% 1% 8% 11% Computer 100 64% 1% 2% 2% 10% 13% Never
Only ever used it once or twice Every few months
Every few weeks Once or twice a week Several times a week Everyday
Figure 4: Number of Customers Familiar with Competitor Websites
Step 2: Tailoring the Conceptual Tool and applying it for Intuitive Website Development
The conceptual tool for intuitive interaction is a versatile tool to aid product and interface development. One can enter the spiral at a suitable point and leave it when necessary. Like any other interface, a web interface has distinctive properties such as website structure, features, and functions. It is important to understand the website properties and synchronize the conceptual tool for website development. Figure 5 briefly describes the synchronization process. The majority of the real estate websites identified using the TF questionnaire followed a distinctive template which included certain web pages, features, and functions. However, the websites differed in terms of content representation, use of graphics, colours, and location of some features. In order to create an intuitive website for the real estate SME, it was necessary to follow the template but also to express creativity. Therefore, the
conceptual tool was tailored to include spirals related to familiar features from same domain by following the template (which largely dictates location and function) and metaphor for creativity in appearance. Competitor 9 Competitor 8 Competitor 7 Competitor 6 Competitor 5 Competitor 4 15 Competitor 3 3 Competitor 2 19 Competitor 1 8 6 4 13 7 16
Figure 5: Synchronizing the Conceptual Tool for Website Development
For developing the website structure, similar web pages from the same domain and their functions were considered. Other spirals and layers were ignored. However, designing features for each and every web page was a complicated process. Firstly, it involved identification of functions and location for each feature from websites in the same domain. Secondly, appearance of each feature was developed and designed according to the
characteristics of the real estate SME using metaphor. Therefore, the conceptual tool was tailored to accommodate functions and location from same domain, and appearance from metaphors (Figure 6). Other spirals and layers were ignored.
Structureof a Website
Home About us Contact us Real Estate SME Website
Features of a web page Promotional Message Customer Feedback Customer Enquiry Form Home
Appearance of each feature • How competitors or others have done it • Elements included in each feature (Headings,
Pictures, Graphics, Maps, etc.)
• Appearance of each elements in the feature Location of each feature
• How competitors or others have done it • Location of elements inside each feature • Location of the feature inside the web page
Website Development Using the Conceptual Tool
Function Structure Location Appearance Function Feature Entering the Spiral Re-entering the Spiral Function of each feature
• For known features, their functions are compared from competitors or others • For new feature, metaphor is applied
A
B A
Figure 6: Conceptual tool (Blackler, et al., 2014) Tailored for Real Estate SME Website
Entering the Spiral (Design of Structure of Website)
The website structure for the real estate SME was identified by inputs from two different sources. One of the sources included the real estate SME itself. The other source was the TF
questionnaire. First, a list of competitor websites which were familiar to the customers of the real estate SME was obtained from the TF questionnaire. Second, another list was produced containing the number of web pages under each competitor website. Third, from the list, similar web pages were identified and analysed by the web designer and business owner to decide on the structure for the real estate SME website (Figure 7). Therefore, the final website structure of the real estate SME precisely reflected their business model.
Figure 7: Structure of Real Estate SME Website
Re-entering the Spiral (Design of Each Feature)
The spiral was re-entered to design features for the identified web pages in the website structure. In this example, design of some of the features from the home page alone is discussed. The design process started with the identification of features for the home page. First, similar features across competitors’ home pages were identified. Second, features specifically requested by the real estate SME were compared and analysed with the similar features identified from competitor websites. Finally, the home page of the real estate SME was set to include features such as the logo, menu, social media menu, promotional message, real estate news, information about the SME, customer feedback, and customer enquiry form. In this example, design of the logo, menu, and promotional message is discussed. The following paragraphs will briefly discuss the design process considering the three layers i.e. function, location, and appearance.
The main function of the logo is to uniquely represent the business as a branded entity. Some of the logos from competitor websites used acronyms with tag lines focused on investment and real estate while others relied on symbolic graphical representations. The main function of the menu in the home page is to indicate what is available in the website and what is not. Typically, the menu contains names of the web pages contained within the website. For the
Upcoming
Layouts Completed Layouts Current
Layouts
Home About us Layouts Buyer’s Guide GuideNRI TeamCore Contact us
real estate SME, terminologies commonly used to represent certain products or services across the competitor websites were identified. For example, the term ‘layout’ was
commonly used to represent land layouts. The main function of the promotional message is to inform customers about the latest offers, new products, achievements, etc. The majority of competitor websites contained promotional messages in graphical form.
Following the identification of functions for the logo, menu, and promotional message, the location for the three features were identified. Universally, logos were always located at the start or top left corner of the home page. Similarly, menus were placed horizontally below the logo. The majority of competitor websites positioned their promotional messages below the menu. The promotional messages occupied a good portion at the centre of the screen to grab attention of the customers. Following the identification of function and location of each feature in the home page, low fidelity prototypes were generated as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8: Home Page Prototype for the Real Estate SME
The next step was designing the appearance for features on the home page. This involved the use of metaphors because the appearance of each feature uniquely represents the
characteristics of the real estate SME. The traditional old logo of the real estate SME was redesigned as a part of the e-commerce adoption (Figure 9). Metaphors were used in the redesigning process. The real estate SME wanted the design of the logo to portray its role of giving prosperity to its customers. In the local culture, the colour yellow is compared to sunlight and prosperity, the colour orange is considered sacred, and the colour green is
compared to life and happiness. The majority of philanthropy logos portray the act of giving care by showing hands. Therefore, the newly designed logo included a hand, sunlight in yellow, green, and orange colours.
Figure 9: Designing the Appearance of the Logo
The appearance of the menu designed for the real estate SME website followed the colour themes uniquely represented in the logo (Figure 10).
Figure 10: Designing the Appearance of the Menu
Similar to the logo, the appearance of the promotional message was designed using metaphor. The theme of the promotional message was to depict the achievement and reputation of the real estate SME to the Internet customers. The SME had 25 years of
experience, sold 45 different land layouts, and served nearly 10,000 customers. The vision of the real estate SME was to increase the land layout sales and customer base, particularly foreign investments. Therefore, a graphic of a mountain climber who is midway on his journey and scaling upwards was used to portray the message (Figure 11).
Likewise, appearance of other features in the home page and other web pages were designed using metaphors. A screenshot of the home page is shown in Figure 12.
Evaluating the Website
The review of past literature reveals a limited number of studies discussing intuitive interaction. The most recent and appropriate methodology suitable for evaluating
intuitiveness in websites comes from Blackler and her colleagues. Her experiments using a digital camera (Blackler, Popovic, & Mahar, 2002, 2003) and remote control (Blackler, 2006) provide insights on identifying and evaluating how intuitive a website might be. Following her approach, an experimental observation is recommended for evaluating intuitiveness in websites (Blackler, et al., 2002). It consists of three steps. First, identify participants through a TF questionnaire. Second, conduct observation by providing scenarios and tasks to complete in the website. Third, conduct a structured interview. More
information on how to design the experiment, collect, and analyse data can be found in the study by Blackler, et al. (2002). However, the experimental observation requires equipment and software which are expensive. It may not be suitable for low budget SMEs. Future research will be aimed at tailoring the experimental observation to deliver a simple, low budget solution to evaluate intuitiveness in websites for SMEs.
Addressing the Shift in User Familiarity
Depending on the SME’s business model, their website gets updated and redesigned from time to time. For websites that are redesigned, there will be a shift in user familiarity and it is unavoidable (Kubacki, 2014). The transformation from old website to new website can affect the users and customer relationships. The magnitude of the effect can range from decreased online presence to total shutdown of the redesigned website (Khosrowpour, 2007). However, using the conceptual tool for redesigning websites helps in smoother transformation from old to new website. The structure, feature, function, appearance, and location (Figure 5) used in the design of new website is already familiar among its users. Therefore, it helps the shift in user familiarity from old to new website. Moreover, studies have indicated that user’s prior experience is transferable from both the same and different domains (Blackler, et al., 2006). Outcomes
The real estate SME was very much satisfied with the design of the website. Many of the customers and even competitors appreciated the website for its quality of contents,
simplicity, and ease of use, according to verbal feedback. There are specific benefits for web designers and SME business owners in using the conceptual tool for website development. For web designers, there are four distinctive benefits. First, it helps web designers to develop intuitive websites by following a step by step approach. Second, it helps web designers understand the business domain in more detail. Third, it helps web designers identify target users and their web familiarity. Fourth, understanding the business domain and target users helps web designers to develop accurate contents for the website. For SME business owners, there are three distinctive benefits. First, it helps them understand the process of website development in a step by step approach. Second, it helps them identify the volume of
Internet customers. Third, it helps them understand the Internet landscape including the number of competitors and their e-business strategies. Therefore, the conceptual tool for intuitive interaction is beneficial for both the web designers and SMEs.
Discussion
Typically, websites of different business domains follow different sets of conventions. For example, travel websites such as travelocity.com, expedia.com, and priceline.com are almost indistinguishable. The travel websites display information at certain locations and using certain terminologies. Similarly, when a group of real estate websites follow certain
conventions by displaying certain types of information at certain locations and using certain types of terminologies, it is necessary to follow them. However, all of the websites differed in terms of representing information. They showcased their creativity and innovation in terms of content generation and appearance. For example, travel websites share distinctive colorful images in their promotional messages, distinctive graphics for displaying
information, etc. Likewise, the real estate SME website has a distinctive home page which contains unique contents and appearance.
One issue that is raised by this case study is the heavy use of existing websites as exemplars for design of the new website. Hurtienne, Klöckner, Diefenbach, Nass, and Maier (2015) discuss how new interfaces can be made to be intuitive and inclusive but also innovative. They reveal successful methods for combining all three of these properties. And indeed, the tool discussed here can be used to develop more innovative interfaces which are still
intuitive (e.g. the one described and tested by Blackler, et al. (2014)) when more levels of the spiral are used. However, when working with the highly conservative and risk-averse SMEs who have been described in the literature reviewed here, basing the function and location on familiar features from the same domain and allowing more innovative appearance through metaphor was a good approach to leading the clients as well as their customers towards a web-enabled business model. The next iteration of the website could potentially aim to be more innovative as well as intuitive.
Conclusion
The case study discussed in this paper explains the successful implementation process of the conceptual tool for intuitive interaction for SMEs website design and development. This is important for SMEs because their e-commerce adoption in developing and developed countries is greatly affected by a number of factors. Lack of tools and models in IS and IT for SMEs, lack of technical expertise and specialized knowledge from within and outside the SME are the main source of the problem. This paper addresses the problem by introducing a new tool for design and development of websites for SMEs. The conceptual tool for intuitive interaction is cost effective, easy to use, and does not require too much technical expertise or specialized knowledge. In order to educate SMEs and web designers on how to use the conceptual tool for designing or redesigning websites, a case study of the implementation
and design process of a real estate SME website in India is discussed in this paper. The majority of SMEs adopt e-commerce to break the geographical barrier and target new Internet-based customer segments. However, the Internet landscape is hugely competitive and designing an intuitive website using the conceptual tool helps SMEs level the
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Author Biographies Gowrishankar Mohan
Gowrishankar Mohan is a doctoral candidate at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. His area of interest in research includes web technologies, design, intuitive interaction, information systems, and information searching behaviours. He has worked on web projects for a number of SMEs’ in India and UK. He received ‘Tech Savvy’ award for his passion towards technology from McKinsey & Company. He also received ‘Northumbria India Scholarship’ award for pursuing his Master of Science in Business Information Systems Management in UK and graduated with a ‘Distinction’ award for his performance. His Master’s research focused on investigating user learning and usability using eBay’s bidding and buying help pages ([email protected]). Alethea Blackler
Associate Professor Alethea Blackler (PhD) is Head of Discipline in Industrial Design at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Her principle area of research interest is intuitive interaction, in which she is one of the world leaders. She pioneered the first empirical work in the field, and has led a prestigious ARC Discovery project on Facilitating Intuitive Interaction for Older People. She recently edited a special issue of the OUP journal Interacting with Computers on Intuitive Interaction and is continuing work on developing design methodology for intuitive interaction as well as applying intuitive interaction into other areas, such as gaming, children, navigation and expertise. She has published extensively, been invited to give presentations internationally and is the recipient of several awards. She has regularly reviewed papers for international conferences and journals and is long papers co-chair for IASDR2015. Associate Professor Blackler is a member of the Design Research Society (DRS) ([email protected]).
Vesna Popovic
Vesna Popovic (PhD) is a Professor in Industrial Design at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Her research focus is within experience and expertise, intuitive interaction and intuitive navigation domains. She has made an international
contribution to design research where she has integrated knowledge from other related areas and applied to the artefact design (e.g. human factors/ergonomics, product usability, design and cognition, expertise and experience) in order to support and construct design
applications. In particular, she has been a founder and Director of People and Systems Lab domain at QUT. The impacts of Vesna’s research lies in the cross-fertilisation of knowledge across humanities and technologies to design humanised artefacts/ systems by facilitating the understanding of diverse expertise and experience. Vesna is a Fellow of the Design Research Society (UK) and Design Institute of Australia (DIA). She is the recipient of four Australia Research Council grants ([email protected]).
