Negotiation strategies in ubiquitous human-computer interaction: a novel storyboards scale & field study

In today’s connected society, self-tracking technologies (STTs), such as wearables and mobile fitness apps, empower humans to improve their health and well-being through ubiquitous physical activity monitoring, with several personal and societal benefits. Despite the advances in such technologies’ hardware, low user engagement and decreased effectiveness limitations demand more informed and theoretically-founded Human-Computer Interaction designs. To address these challenges, we build upon the previously unexplored Leisure Constraints Negotiation Model and the Transtheoretical Model to systematically define and assess the effectiveness of STTs’ features that acknowledge users’ contextual constraints and establish human-negotiated STTs narratives. Specifically, we introduce and validate a human-centric scale, StoryWear, which exploits and explores eleven dimensions of negotiation strategies that humans utilize to overcome constraints regarding exercise participation, captured through an inclusive storyboards format. Based on our preliminary studies, StoryWear shows high reliability, rendering it suitable for future work in ubiquitous computing. Our results indicate that negotiation strategies vary in perceived effectiveness and have higher appeal for existing STTs’ users, with self-motivation, commitment, and understanding of the negative impact of non-exercise placed at the top. Finally, we give actionable guidelines for real-world implementation and a commentary on the future of personalized training.