Each user of interactive systems experiences prolonged engagement with applications, products and systems. Because of limitations of contemporary long-term user research methods and imperfection in human memory, approaches for longitudinal user experience are still under-explored. In this paper, we review a recent methodological shift in user research aimed at applying visual approaches to the capturing of prolonged interactive use. We analyze and discuss selected examples of existing visual approaches that support the examination of longitudinal use and represent and visualize changes in interactions. We discuss potential merits of visual approaches for user experience longitudinal research. We also discuss the drawbacks of these approaches. Overall, we argue that visual approaches have the potential to support certain aspects of user experience research, especially in relation to issues concerning temporality.
['Chung-Ching Huang', 'Erik Stolterman']
Capturing prolonged interactive experiences: a review of visual approaches in user research