Example

Lisa is on her way home by bus, and wants to know how her husband is doing on a business trip. The bus is crowded and she did not get a seat, but she wants to use the time to contact her husband by phone. What affects her user experience with the mobile phone?

Lisa’s own mental state and characteristics (motivation, expectations, mood, know-how) and current physical resources (only one hand available for the phone)

The context, i.e. the current situation:

Physical (moving bus, views passing by, lighting, noise – the environment Lisa feels via her senses);

Social (fellow travelers, code of conduct, husband's availability - how other people affect UE);

Temporal (the duration of the bus trip – time constraints);

Infrastructural (availability of network, cost of calls and text messages, legal restrictions); and

Task (sending a text message is part of a bigger "task" of two-way dialogue, other ongoing activities such as monitoring when to step out of the bus, possible interruptions).

This context motivates Lisa to use text messaging as the means to communicate with her husband. The context also affects the interaction with the mobile phone and thereby the user experience.

The system needed for text messaging (mobile-phone and text-messaging service in this case): user interface and functionality (e.g. text-messaging software and keypad), design and brand, the replies coming from the husband. The primary value comes from the discussion itself, and all other parts of the system should support this purpose.

Depending on husband's messages, Lisa's emotions may range from delight to sorrow, from excitement to despair. User experience focuses, however, on Lisa's feelings about using the mobile phone, not about her husband. Did the system enable her to communicate with the husband in the way she wanted in this context? Did the system delight her by exceeding her expectations or by attracting positive reactions from others?