Enhancing information mediation to employees at Willys: How a analysis of Willys onboarding process led to a mobile application for employees

(1)

Enhancing information mediation to

employees at Willys

How a analysis of Willys onboarding process led to a mobile application for

employees

Fanny Bergerstam

Industrial Design Engineering, master's level 2021

Luleå University of Technology

(2)

CIVILINGENJÖR I TEKNISK DESIGN

Master of Science Thesis in Industrial Design Engineering

Headtitle: Enhancing information mediation to employees at Willys. Subtitle: How a analysis of Willys onboarding process led to a mobile application for employees.

Published and distributed by Luleå University of Technology SE-971 87 Luleå, Sweden

Telephone: + 46 (0) 920 49 00 00 Cover: Photo by Fanny Bergerstam Printed in Luleå Sweden by

Luleå University of Technology Reproservice Luleå, 2021

(3)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of this project and helped me complete my master thesis, in Industrial Design Engineering, at Axfood in the autumn of 2020. There is a lot of people who have supported me along the way and made this project successful, for that I am grateful.

My supervisor at Axfood, Nicole Janssen has been a big part of the project. She has throughout the process shown great interest in the work I have done, making it more than enjoyable to work with Axfood. I would also like to thank Sophie Paus who has been apart of Nicole’s team, together they have made the project feel important and valuable. From Willys, I would like to thank Ann-Charlotte Schröder for her time and guidance. Making it possible for me to better understand their onboarding process and enabling contact with users. At Luleå University of Technology, I would like to thank my supervisor Jörgen Normark. He has throughout the process provided great support. He has helped me answer both big and small questions along the

way. He has been a feedback outlet much needed when working alone on this master thesis. Last and maybe most important, I would like to thank all participants who has been a part of the project. First, the projects user group, store workers at Willys. The participants

have taken time to provide valuable insight through interviews, surveys, and evaluation. I would also like to thank the participants who took their time to be apart of the creative workshop.

Luleå 9th of Jan, 2021 Fanny Bergerstam

(4)

ABSTRACT

A well thought out process is today a commonly used approach to enable new employees to become efficient in their new role. Axfood is a Swedish company group that operates in the food and logistics industry. The group includes chains as Willys & Hemköp, among others. With over ten thousand employees and a growing company the need for recruitment is always present. Axfood is currently in the process of reorganizing their internal onboarding processes, rebuilding it from the ground up. This master thesis has been a part of this bigger initiative and have focused on the onboarding process at the store chain Willys.

The project has followed the human centered design process, developed by IDEO. This process includes the three phases, inspiration, ideation, and implementation. The methods used to reach a final result has been in-terviews, user journey maps, creative workshop, ideation methods, wireframing, prototyping and user testing. In the inspiration phase the current state and the users experiences of the onboarding process was explored. This made it possible to identify enhancement opportunities, one of them being the fact that none of the asked employees did continuously use Willys intranet. In decision with Axfood, this opportunity was selected as the focus of the solutions proposal. When the project reached the creative phase it therefore had a new direction, which led: how can Axfood use digital tools to reach employees and distribute information in an attractive way? Throughout the creative and implementation phase a solution for this problem was explored, prototyped, tested and enhanced.

The project resulted in a solutions proposal in the form of a mobile application aimed to employees. The solution functions as an inspiration of how Axfood can mediate information to employees in a attractive and user friendly way. The content has been developed based on the user groups request and needs, providing them with information and support that make them more efficient in their role. Beyond the final result the project has also contributed Axfood with usable data of their employees needs and knowledge of how human centered methods can be used in the future.

Keywords: Industrial design engineering, human centered design, user experience design, onboarding, user

(5)

SAMMANFATTNING

En väl genomtänkt introduktionsprocess är idag ett vanligt tillvägagångssätt för att göra det möjligt för nya medarbetare att bli effektiva i sin nya roll. Axfood är en svensk koncern som verkar inomdetaljhandel. I gruppen ingår bland annat kedjor som Willys & Hemköp. Med över tiotusen anställda och ett växande företag finns alltid behovet av rekrytering. Axfood håller för närvarande på att genomföra ett koncernövergripande projekt för att effektivisera och utveckla introduktionsprocesserna. Detta examensarbete har varit en del av detta större initiativ och har fokuserat på introduktionsprocessen på butikskedjan Willys.

Projektet har följt en användar centrerad designprocess utvecklad av IDEO. Denna process inkluderar de tre faserna, inspiration, ideation och implementation. Metoderna som används för att nå ett slutresultat har varit intervjuer, user journey maps, kreativ workshop, idégenererings metoder, wireframing, prototyper och använ-dartestning.

I inspirationsfasen undersöktes det nuvarande läget och användarnas upplevelser av introduktionsprocessen. Detta gjorde det möjligt att identifiera förbättringsmöjligheter, en av dem var det faktum att ingen av de frågade medarbetarna kontinuerligt använde Willys intranät. I beslut med Axfood valdes denna möjlighet som fokus för lösningsförslaget. När projektet nådde den kreativa fasen fanns därför en ny inriktning som löd: hur kan Axfood använda digitala verktyg för att nå anställda och distribuera information på ett attraktivt sätt? Under hela kreativitets- och implementeringsfasen undersöktes, prototypades, testades och förbättrades en lösning för detta problem.

Projektet resulterade i ett lösningsförslag i form av en mobilapplikation riktad till anställda. Lösningen fungerar som inspiration för hur Axfood kan förmedla information till anställda på ett attraktivt och användarvänligt sätt. Innehållet har utvecklats baserat på användargruppernas åsikter och behov, vilket ger dem information och stöd som gör dem effektivare i sin roll. Utöver det slutliga resultatet har projektet också bidragit till Axfood med värdefull data om deras anställdas behov och kunskap om hur användarcentrerade metoder kan användas i företaget i framtiden.

Nyckelord: Teknisk design, industriel design, användar centrerad design, användarupplevelse design,

(6)

3.2 User interface design 16 3.7.1 Unity & variety 17 3.7.2 Hierarchy & dominance 17 3.7.3 Economy of elements 18 3.7.4 Associations & affordance 18 3.7.5 Economy of motion 18 3.7.6 RESPONSE 19 4. METHOD 21 4.1 Design process 21 4.2 Project planning 22 4.3 Literature review 22 4.4 Semi-structured interviews 22 4.4.1 Context interviews 23 4.4.2 Stakeholder interviews 23 4.4.3 User interviews 23 4.5 User journey mapping 26 4.6 Creative workshop 27 4.6.1 The worst dinner party 27 4.6.2 Brainwriting 27 4.6.3 Clustering 27 4.7 Sketching 28 4.8 Crazy 8’s 28 4.9 Site map 29 4.10 Concept Survey 30 4.11 Crazy 8’s 31 4.12 Site map 31 4.13 Wireframing 32 4.14 Digital prototyping 32 4.15 User evaluation 33 4.16 Detail development 34 4.17 Method discussion 34 4.17.1 Method for initial user research 34 4.17.2 Remote workshop 34

4.17.3 User tests 35

5. RESULTS 38

5.1 Inspiration 38

5.1.2 Exploration of current state 38 5.1.2 Context interviews 38 5.1.3 Stakeholder interviews 38 5.1.4 User interviews 38 5.1.5 User journey mapping 40 5.1.6 Identifying opportunities 40

5.2 Ideation 41

5.2.1 Selection of problem area 41 5.2.2 Creative workshop 41

5.2.3 Sketching 43

5.2.5 Concept development 43 5.2.6 Concept survey 44

(7)

APPENDIX

Appendix A.

Appendix B. Context interview template Appendix C. Context interview result Appendix D. User interview questions Appendix E. User interview result Appendix F. Summary of user interviews Appendix G. Concept survey questions Appendix H. Site map Willy intranet Appendix I. Result Crasy 8’s Appendix J. Result of wireframes Appendix K. Result concept survey Appendix L. Result of wireframes Appendix M. Instructions user evaluation Appendix N. Survey user evaluation Appendix O. Result user evaluation 5.3 Implementation 45 5.3.1 Crazy 8’s 45 5.3.2 Site map 45 5.3.3 Wireframing 45 5.3.4 Digital prototyping 47 5.3.5 User tests 50 5.3.6 Detail development 50 6. FINAL RESULT 53 6.1 Overview 53 6.2 Content sections 53 6.1 Overview 54 6.2 Content 55 6.2.1 Navigation menu 55 6.2.2 News 55 6.2.3 Campaigns 56 6.2.4 Schedule 56 6.2.3 Social 57 6.2.4 Documents 57 6.2.5 Settings 58 6.2.6 User profile 58 6.2 User experience 59 7. DISCUSSION 62

7.1 Positioning the results 62

7.2 Relevance 63

7.3 Reflection 64

7.3.1 Initiation 64

7.3.2 User group & stakeholders 64 7.3.3 Organisation & departments 64 7.3.4 Research questions 65 7.3.5 Problem setting 65

7.4 Conclusions 65

6.4.1 Project objective and aims 65 7.4.2 Resarch questions 66 7.5 Recomendations 66 7.5.1 Resarch in-store training 66 7.5.2 Research information mediation in stores 66 7.5.3 Further evaluation 66 7.5.4 Usage of digital tools while working 67

(8)

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Willys onboarding process 4

Figure 2. Homepage of the Induction portal 5

Figure 3. Homepage of Willys intranet 6

Figure 4. Material from the introcudtion course at Axfood Academy 7 Figure 5. The field of product design by Kim & Lee(2010) 10 Figure 6. The seven-factor honeycomb model by Peter Morville 12 Figure 7. Illustration of Beteendelabbets process of developing nudges. 16 Figure 8. A example of the visual effect of unity 17 Figure 9. A visual example of visual effect of hierarchy 17 Figure 10. Illustration of Fitts law in practice, the cursor is far away from the next interaction 18 Figure 12. Illustration of confirmation in practice. 19 Figure 11. Illustration of a error message in practice. 19 Figure 13. Illustration of the human centered design process by IDEO. 21 Figure 14. A draft of the first user journey map. 26 Figure 15. A printscreen of the ongoing creative workshop. 28 Figure 16. A printscreen of the ongoing creative workshop, from the method brainwriting. 28 Figure 17. The instructions for the concept survey in google forms. 30 Figure 18. A section of the concept survey, related to the two concepts. 31 Figure 19. Three of the digital wireframes created while prototyping. 33 Figure 20. Diagram over the answers of the question ”how old are you?” from the user interviews. 39 Figure 21. Diagram over the answers of the question ”Did you feel that you got enough training”. 39 Figure 22. Result of the user journey map method. 40 Figure 23. Result of the method brainwriting from the creative workshop. 42 Figure 24. Result of the method clustering from the creative method. 42 Figure 25. Extract of the result of sketching based on the creative workshop. 43 Figure 26. Extract of the result of the crazy 8’s method. 43 Figure 27. Rough sketches of the mobile application concept. 43 Figure 28. Rough sketches of the digital bulletin concept 43 Figure 29. Result of the question ”how old are you?” from the concept survey. 44 Figure 30. Result of the question ”How likely are you to use a mobile application for employees” 44 Figure 31. Result of the question ”How likely are you to use a interactive bulletin board for employees”. 44 Figure 32. Site map of the planned application 46 Figure 33. Extract from the result of the method wireframing. 46 Figure 34. Extract from the result of the method wireframing. 46 Figure 35. A overview of the digital prototype created. 47 Figure 37. Extract from the enhanced digital prototype 50 Figure 38. Photo of the application when used on iphone. 53 Figure 39. Extract from the overview of the applications wireframes 53 Figure 40. The applications final site map. 54 Figure 41. Extract from the overview of the applications wireframes 54

(9)

Figure 42. The applications navigation menu. 55 Figure 43. The applications news section. 55 Figure 44. The applications campaign section. 56 Figure 45. The applications schedule section. 56 Figure 47. The applications social section. 57 Figure 48. The applications document section. 57 Figure 49. The applications settings section. 58 Figure 50. The applications user profile section. 58 Figure 51. Photo of the application when used on iphone. 59 Figure 52. The honey comb model, with focus useful, valuable and findable. 59

(10)

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2 Stakeholders

1.3 Objectives & aims

1.4 Research questions

1.5 Limitations

(11)

1. INTRODUCTION

For a company to be able to effeciently grow there not only needs to be a recruitment process but also an structured onboarding process. This project will initate with a exploration of Axfoods onboarding process, with the objetive to identify enhancement opportunities. The introduction chapter aims to give the reader the relevant backround and information to communicate the importance of the project. This is done by a descrip-tion of the projects background, stakeholders, objective and aims. The reserach quesdescrip-tions developed to give the project structure and directions is also presented. A description of what limitations is affecting the project is also included.

1.1 Background

Axfood is a Swedish company that operates as both grocery store chains, food brands and in other forms. The group includes chains as Willys, Hemköp, and Axfood Snabbgross, which includes more than 300 company owned stores. The group also operates who-lesales businesses as DagAB and Axfood Närlivs. Beyond that they also produce food brands as Garant and Eldorado that are sold in privately owned stores. In the later years they have also expanded into e-com-merce with the online store Mat.se. Their vision and ambition are to take a leading role for the industry in food sustainability. With over ten thousand employees and a growing company the need for recruitment is always present (Axfood, 2020). To achieve a good transition for the newly recruited into the company the onboarding process needs to be effective. This is where this master thesis project will add value.

Axfood is currently in the process of reorganizing their onboarding process, rebuilding it from the ground up. This master thesis will be a part of this bigger initiative and will focus on their initial onbo-arding process at the grocery store chain Willys AB. When a new store employee is hired, they are given education and training to prepare for their new work role. The process aims to equip the new employee with the tools and knowledge they need to quickly become efficient in their role. This is supported with both digital and non-digital tools. This project will start by exploring this process from the view of the user, something that has not been done before to this extent. The goal is to explore and identify gaps in the employee support and propose solutions for future development.

1.2 Stakeholders

Stakeholders are defined as anyone who has a stake in the success of the project or who have an expertise to contribute to its success (Candler & Unger, 2012). In

this project the stakeholders are made up of several different people and groups. The first and most central is the user group, the people who go through the on-boarding process. They have a direct interest in com-pleting their training and getting knowledge that will be used in their future work life. Another group is the people responsible for training these users, a more ex-perienced coworker or manager, who will get positive effects out of an effective onboarding process. Higher up in the company structure is the department who is responsible for the digital training tool and education material, as they develop this tool they are invested in its success.

1.3 Objectives & aims

As Axfood proceeds into the project of enhancing the onboarding process, the need to understand how an effective onboarding is achieved becomes crucial. This master thesis will explore this question from the per-spective of the users, the newly employed that initiate in this learning experience. The project is implemen-ted with the aim of presenting a concept solution of how the user experience of the onboarding process can be enhanced. To structure the project the objecti-ves has been divided into two main objectiobjecti-ves

• Objective 1: The projects initial objective is to find enhancement opportunities in the onboarding process. This will be done by exploring the user’s context and their needs. A dialogue with stakeholders represented by Axfood will be needed to together choose which identified problem is most relevant to solve.

• Objective 2: The second objective is to develop solution proposals that can solve the identified problem and enhance the onboar-ding process. This will be done though crea-tive methods and further on evaluation with users to find the most suitable solution.

(12)

1.4 Research questions

To create a direction for the project research questions has been formulated as a starting point. The questions apply to areas or problems that will be explored in the project process. When researching the user’s context, the project aims to seek answers to the following questions:

• What is the users experiences of the current onboarding process?

• What factors are important for an enjoyable and valueable onboarding process?

• How can design be used to enhance the user experience of the onboarding process for Willys employees?

1.5 Limitations

This master thesis is dependent on several limita-tions, where some are self-created to make the project feasible. Others are created by external factors and cannot be adjusted. One factor is the set time limit for the semester, the project is to be done in 20 weeks. This also includes set dates for objectives and deadlines over the process, as an example the half time presentation. This creates a need for well-thought-out planning of the project.

Another factor that will affect my project is the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19, which limits the possible physical contact with different stakeholders. This will put pressure on the selection of methods that will be used through-out the different phases. Methods like creative workshops with user groups is no longer feasible and alternative approaches is needed. A positive aspect is that I am starting my thesis with this knowledge and can do my best to adapt to this limitation early on.

When it comes to the scope of user groups and processes in connection to Axfood some decisions have been made to make the project feasible. The project focuses on the onboarding process of new employees, which has a set time span. This means that there is a start- and ending point of the process that the users go through. As a result of discussions with supervisors from both Axfood AB and Luleå univer-sity of technology a decision to limit the user group even further has been made. This mean that the user group for this project will be limited to people who work at a specific brand store. The choice was made to go further with the grocery store Willys employees as the main user group. The aim with this limitation

is to make sure that the data gathering focuses on a small enough group to effectively identify their needs. Which further on means that the project has better possibility to solve these needs with the developed solutions.

1.6 Thesis outline

The initial chapter of this report aims to give an intro-duction of the project. The second chapter describes the current state of the onboarding process at Willys. The third chapter obtain the theoretical framework used in this project. This includes deep dives into the field of industrial design engineering, human-cen-tered design, user experience design, onboarding, e-learning, nudging and user interface design.

The fourth chapter gives an outline of the methods used in the project, which includes descriptions of the methods and how they been implemented. The fifth chapter presents the results from each method used in the project. The final and sixth chapter is dis-cussion, which includes reflections, conclusions, and future development of the project. This is followed by an appendix that contains further information and material connected to the project.

(13)

2. Current state

2.1 Onboarding process

2.2 Digital material & E-learning

2.2.1 Induction

2.2.2 Willys intranet

2.2.3 Axfood academy

2.2.4 Other material

2.2 Insights

(14)

2. C

URReNT

sTaTe

In this chapter the current state of the onboarding process at Willys is presented explained. This is done to enable a better understanding of the user groups situation. This following content describes the process different stages and goals, first with a description of the overall process and then descriptions for the digital material and E-learning tools.

2.1 Onboarding process

The onboarding process at Willys AB is built upon a combination of work training in stores and two E-learning portals.

Generally the new employee meets with their store manager to sign the employment contract. In relation to this they are given information and material about their new role. They are also provided with instruc-tions of how to reach the induction portal, which is the initial E-learning portal. Through this portal they are given the opportunitiy to learn more about Willys and their upcoming work responsibilities through a light digital training course. This aims to prepare and give them information about their new role and the Willys brand. This education is voluntary but highly encouraged by management.

In the later stages of the induction course the users are given a link to a second E-learning portal, Axfood academy. This is the second E-learning portal that the user interacts with, which is used for the whole Axfood company group. Some of the courses in Axfood academy is compulsory and compensated for in their salary. The courses at Axfood academy is aimed to be done in relation to the employees first weeks at Willys. When the employee arrives for their first workday at the store the work training begins. How the in-store training is conducted often varies from store to store. Moving into the project this was the phase that was least specified. Figure 2 is a graphic

presentation of the onboarding process phases.

According to human resources at Willys is the start and end point of the onboarding process hard to define. From the human resources point of view the start point is the first ever interaction between the jobseeker and the company. This could be an interview or the interaction with a recruitment portal where the person applies for the job. In this project the starting point of the onboarding process will be when the user gets access to the first digital education tool, as this is easier to evaluate from a product deve-lopment point of view. This will provide the project with a more defined structure of what to evaluate. The end point of the onboarding process is also described as hard to define. In this case it has a clear definition, described as the point where the person is ready to work on their own. The struggle is in this case to determine when this point is reached, the amount of time to reach this can be very different based on different aspects. Much of the work training is done in the store, depending on the current situation for the day the learning situation can be various. The learning can also take different approaches depending on the person giving instruction and what department of the store the learning takes place in. Other aspects that affect the onboarding process is aspects as the employee’s earlier experiences, conditions, and moti-vations. Therefore, it is hard to set a fix date on when the onboarding is completed and must be assessed on a personal level.

WORK TRAINING IN STORE

INTERVIEW CONFIRMED

EMPLOYMENT FIRST DAY

INDUCTION AXFOOD AKADEMIN

(15)

2.2 Digital material

In upcoming sections on a presentation of the digital material used in the onboarding process can be found. This includes a description of the tool, how and when its used by the user. These include Induction, a specific onboarding portal for Willys, The intranet for the Willys store chain employees. Axfood academy, the E-learning portal used by all Axfood employees. The section is completed with a short description of additional digital employee material.

2.2.1 Induction

Induction is the digital onboarding portal used spe-cifically by Willys employees. This portal is external-ly developed by the company with the same name, InductionINT (InductionINT, 2018). The portal has been developed in cooperation with Willys manage-ment to suit their needs. A similar solution has been developed for the Hemköp onboarding process, which is another company in the Axfood brand group. The material presented in the portal is made for Willys store workers. The user’s interaction with the portal starts even before their first day of work. As soon as the employee has been confirmed the new work role, they are invited to the portal to start the course. The user is invited by their personal mail on initiation by their manager. The portal is available by web log in and can be reached by both computer, tablet and mobile. The invite also includes contact information to the portals support team if the user needs help.

Through a link in the invite email the user reaches the induction portal login. To log in the users gets the choice to choose new account information as email and password, or use an already used Facebook, google or LinkedIn account to log in. After the login the user is directed to the home page of the Induction portal.

On the home page the education package is presented, which is personalised for the user. To the left a visual list of the upcoming training material is presented, creating an easy understanding of what to do next. To the top right a visual timeline of the user’s progress is presented: Indicating training as not started, started and completed. Under the timeline lists of training material is presented in the same segments.

In the top-level menu different sections of the portal can be reached, indicated by symbols. These are messages, where the user’s messages can be read if they have received any. Members, describing with other users are going through similar training. Resources, where documents and other support information can be found. Goals, where the user’s goals with the training can be overviewed. And last groups, where the active users going through training is presented by which store or department they belong to.

The learning material is divided into 19 different short lectures that covers important information for the new employee regarding their new role. This includes general information about Willys as a brand, and their core values and visions. But also, more specific

(16)

mation about the work role, as contact information to managers, schedules and how to report sick leave. The information in text is short and easy to com-prehend and is complemented by clips from stores. The material is supported by interactive elements as quizzes, reflections and prompts to seek further infor-mation through links and documents.

The course is completely self-phased and can be cate-gorized as the Asynchronous learning type of E-lear-ning. Which means that the learner and instructor is not interacting with each other in the same space (Elkins & Pinder, 2015). The learning is complete ly made up of video and audio material, and from the user’s point of view there is no one who has the role of instructor. The course provides the possibility of inte-racting with other users, as co-workers and coaches. This indicates that the portal supports cohort learning activities, but this is nothing that the users need to do to complete the course.

When the employee has taken the 19 lectures and in-teractive objectives in the induction portal, they have completed the course. They are then considered ready and prepared for their first day at the store.

2.2.2 Willys intranet

Axfood uses an intranet portal to spread information and support to their employees. Through this portal a specific site for each store in the corporation group can be reached. This project focuses on the food store chain Willys. From the start page a range of different fields of information can be reached. The most important for this project is the E-learning section, that can be found under the option “co-worker” in the

menu. This interaction directs the user to the E-lear-ning portal Axfood academy, which is a separate education tool.

2.2.3 Axfood academy

Axfood academy is the learning tool used by the whole corporate group Axfood, where Willys is included. This portal can be reached by the intranet account that the employee is given when starting their role. After finishing the preparing education course in the induction portal all further E-learning is done through this tool.

The Axfood academy software and modules are ex-ternally developed by the company SAP Success-Factors (SAP SuccessSuccess-Factors, 2020) but the education material is developed by Axfood. The software also provides data and holistic benefits for the mana-gement at Axfood, providing a tool to view data of education levels over the company’s employees for example. Increasing the overview of which employees has conducted mandatory courses and who has not. This is especially important in relation to security courses that prepare the employees extreme situations as fires or robberies

When the employee logs in to Axfood academy the relevant courses are listed in the list. What lectures are listed is based on education packages depending on the employee’s role and which store they are working in. Other options are also available, as a course library where the employee can search through available lectures. Links to support and history of the conducted can also be viewed.

Aktuell nyhet

Artikel

(17)

In the course list when a new employee at Willys logs in to Axfood Academy for the first time three courses are listed to be conducted. These are named, “Introduction to Willys”, “Security in stores” and “Age control”. These three courses are clearly labelled to be done within the two first weeks of the employees start at the store. The courses are between 10-20 minutes long.

The picture above is retrieved from the course “intro-duction to Willys” where the information is structu-red into several areas. All three courses are built upon clips and voice overs that explains the knowledge to the users. The clips are short and easy to keep up with, there is never too much information to comprehend. The information that is provided though clips and sounds are recurrently complimented by interactive tasks that the user is prompted to do. These includes clicking on different pictures to learn more about specific topics, or short quizzes to repeat the infor-mation given through the sections. The three courses include various levels of interactive learning but are present in all courses.

The Axfood academy courses and the previously mentioned induction course differ in what they want to achieve and how the tools are designed, they both can be categorized in the asynchronous learning type of E-learning. The Axfood academy courses are com-pletely self-phased, and the user can by themselves plan when they have time to conduct the courses. The courses have various levels of interactive activities but the user is always taking the course or tests alone. Unlike the induction portal the Axfood academy do not provide any options to interact with other users.

2.2.4 Other material

To support the employee, several other types of material is at their disposal. In the store information is distributed through bulletin boards in the staff area. This is information that relates to information that in some cases have been provided though E-lear-ning courses, for example safety procedures. In some cases support material are created on initiative by employees, for example checklists for detailed rutines. In whay extent support material like this is used and for what is hard to estimate as it may be varying for each store.

Another type of support is the digital employee guide that can be reached through the intranet. The employee guide is a portal that provides information of a wide range of areas that could be relevant for the employee to read into. The information is divided into the fields of “starting an employment”, “ongoing employment”, “end employment”, “policies & guidelines” and “laws & contracts”. Examples of what information can be reached through this site can be regarding wellness benefits, sick leave, pension, holidays, amongst others.

2.2 Insights

The exploration of the current state provided a better overview of the complete onboarding process and its stages. This also provided a foundation for future user reasearch and angles to explore further.

I was able to get acess to both the e-learning tools Induction and Axfood academy, making it possible for myself to conduct the same courses as the user. This made these tools easy to explore and research.

(18)

What the exploration of the current state not provided me with was a understanding of how successfull these tools were from the point of the user. This will be explored in upcoming user resarch.

The in-store training phase was the one that was hardest to research. There was no guidelines follow or a specific plan, as the training is done differently in each store. Therefore, this phase was still hard to grasp even after exploring the current state. When moving into user reasearch the focus would then lay on better understanding this phase. Another question to explore was how much the intranet and the digital employee guide was used and in what way.

(19)

3.

Theoretical framework

3.1 Industrial design engineering

3.2 Human centered design

3.3 User experience design

3.3.1 Useful

3.3.2 Usable

3.3.3 Findable

3.3.4 Credible

3.3.5 Desirable

3.3.6 Acessible

3.3.7 Valuable

3.4 Onboarding

3.5 E-learning

3.6 Nudging

3.7 User interface design

3.7.1 Unity & variety

3.7.2 Hierarchy & dominance

3.7.3 Economy of elements

3.7.4 Associations & affordance

3.7.5 Economy of motion

(20)

3. T

heOReTICal

fRamewORk

In this chapter the result of the theory study is presented. An exploration of theory fields that is relevant to the project has been made to better understand what already existing research can be used to succeed with the projects goal. Further down the relevant theory of industrial design engineering, human centered design, user experience design, onboarding, E-learning, nudging, and user interface design is presented.

3.1 Industrial design engineering

This master thesis project is the finalising step of the egineering program in industrial design at Luleå Uni-versity of Technology. Therefore the field of industrial design enginerring has been researched to better un-derstand how position this thesis.

“Even though people have designed things since prehistoric times, the field of design is relatively new, divided into many areas of specialty. Because everything is designed, the number of areas is enormous, ranging from clothes and furniture to complex control rooms and bridges.” – Don Norman, 2013, p4.

Regarding to Kim and Lee (2010) engineering design and industrial design are two main parts of the bigger field of product design. In their article for the 2010 in-ternational design conference, they discuss the need to understand these two disciplines to understand product design.

Something the disciplines share besides the name “design” are the principles and processes used.

En-gineering design has been referred to mechanical design in product design. The process that creates a solution from a need, and then an actual product. Engineering designers think about how a product or component functions and performs. On the contrary industrial design originates from “industrial art”

and traditionally have been focused on aesthetics of products. This includes refining form, shape and colour based on identified needs. To achieve this the industrial designer, need to understand how product users feel and think. With the technology develop-ment and growing areas of consumer products the role of the industrial designer has developed beyond just aesthetics and form. Today there is also a need from companies to satisfy customer needs and stand out from competitors through product design. It is not uncommon that the industrial designer today is involved in the whole user experience of the product, from purchasing to recycling (Kim & Lee K, 2010).

“The professional service of creating and de-veloping concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value, and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both users and manufacturer.” – IDSA, 2020.

According to WDO (World design organisation) Industrial design focuses the process around the human user. This requires a great comprehension of the user needs, which is created through empathy. With this a user-centered design process designer can design products, systems, services, and experiences. Through innovation these designers’ functions as a bridge between stakeholders and different professio-nal disciplines. Economic, social, and environmental impact is considered with each process, with the aim to create a better quality of life (WDO, 2020)

“Industrial Design is a strategic problem-sol-ving process that drives innovation, builds business success, and leads to a better quality of life through innovative products, systems, services, and experiences. Industrial Design bridges the gap between what is and what’s possible.” – WDO, 2020

The definitions of industrial design and engineering design will be used in this master thesis to position the result whitin the field of industrial design engi-neering.

Figure 5. The field of product design by Kim & Lee (2010)

(21)

3.2 Human centered design

In this project a human-centered design (HCD) process is used to structure and create a foundation of the project. T o use this process to its full potential understanding of the field of HCD is needed. This will increase the understanding of why the process is formed in the way it is, and why. Therefore, a literatu-re study on the subject has been made. This following section describes what the HCD approach is, and what its main components are.

Human-centered design is more of a design philosop-hy than an area of focus. The HCD philosopphilosop-hy is com-patible with both industrial design, interaction design and experience design as these are fields of design, and not practical processes. The HCD approach con-centrates on human needs and behaviour as a starting point, much time is put into understanding the users on a deeper level. This with the combination of good understanding of technology and psychology enables good design (Pratt & Nunes, 2012).

It is not uncommon that humans are unaware of their own needs, therefore observations are a common method in HCD approaches to build knowledge of the users in their natural environment. Other common methods in this approach is rapid tests of ideas and iterations in many levels. Often the project brief and problem definition are refined and updates throughout the process based on the many feedback occasions from users. The aim with this iterative process is to grant that the developed product really meets the users need (Norman, 2013). HCD puts a responsibility on the designer to test their solutions in the real world, as this is an essential aspect of the approach. This helps the designer to understand how the users use, understands, and interacts with their solutions. Without iterative testing these things are difficult to foresee with any level of certainty (Pratt & Nunes, 2012).

“Embracing human-centered design means believing that all problems, even the seemingly intractable ones like poverty, gender equality, and clean water, are solvable. Moreover, it means believing that the people who face those problems every day are the ones who hold the key to their answer.” – (IDEO.org, 2011).

IDEO (2011) further describes the role of being a human-centered designer is about learning from your users and through that your team can develop a solution that is truly needed. They describe the

approach as a balance of developing something that is both desirable, feasible and viable. Desirable comes from the what the users really want, feasible is determined by the available technology and viable because the solution needs to be financially possible to implement. Balancing these three factors is crucial to creating solutions that will be successful (IDEO. org, 2011).

According to Pratt & Nunes (2012) it is difficult to practice a process that fully centres around the user in reality. There is always a long list of other factors that is needed to be taken account of when designing a product or experience. Examples of these factors could be limitations in technology, economic budget, time limitations and conflicting aim from stakehol-ders.

In this thesis project, the concept of human centered design influences the way the project has been planned and will be conducted. The knowledge from this section wil be used to make sure that the chosen human centered design process is used to its full potential and that the user group is the focus of the work.

3.2 User experience design

The objective in this thesis project is to evaluate a onboarding process from the view of the user, and to then develop a suitable solutions proposal. To be able to do this successfully, the users experiences needs to be taken into account, both in research, ideation and evaluation. Therefore the field of user experience design has been resarched.

“Experience design is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and en-vironments with a focus placed on the equality and enjoyment of the total experience.” – (Norman, 2013, p4)

As the name indicates user experience design is about designing a good experience for the people using a product or a service. This can be applied on physical products as a book or a kitchen tool, as well as digital products as a website or a mobile application. Services like renting a car also be included in this way of thinking of designing experiences. As tech-nology have evolved over the years the ways to reach the users through different mediums have increased. With the possibility of new technology, the level of complexity in products have also increased, which puts more pressure on good design to create enjoyable

(22)

experiences for the users (Soegaard, N, d). To create a enjoyable experience with a product or service, the first goal is to meet the needs of that specific user. But great user experience goes way beyond just meeting the users basic needs, the experience should add to the users life. A company should aim to create a great user experience throughout all the channels that interacts with the users, for example, engineering, design, support and marketing (Norman & Nielsen, n,d).

It is important to understand that the user experien-ce spans over the whole experienexperien-ce of the product. In de industry today there is times where the concept of User experience design is used wrong, for example it is used when talking about the UI of an website or application, but not the overall experience of the product. The user meets this product in many more ways than just the UI, and that is the whole concept of user experience design (Norman & Nielsen, n,d).

“User experience is basically the flow of feelings that the customer gets when using your device, webpage, or system. In many businesses, the user experience of the product is already the key battlefield. Forget about launching the newest technologies unless you have designed a great user experience around them. Being first is no longer enough, and the winner is often the company that makes the new thing better than anyone else has.” – (Kraft, 2012, P16)

According to the interaction design foundation there is seven factors that can be used to explain user ex-perience design. The seven-factor honeycomb model was created by Peter Morville, a pioneer in the field

VALUABLE CREDIBLE USEFUL USABLE FINDABLE DESIRABLE ACCESSIBLE (Soegaard, n. d). 3.3.1 Useful

A product or service must be useful to fill a gap on the market to succeed. The one who decides if product is useful is the user, and who that is is highly dependent on the product and field. Therefore, the product does not need to be useful for every person out there, which would be an impossible goal. Useful can also be viewed as non-practical use, as form and aesthetic appeal. If it has a purpose and is useful to a user group this factor is fulfilled (Soegaard, n. d).

3.3.2 Usable

When a user interacts with a product, they most likely have a goal with the interaction, this is where usability comes in. This factor is about how effective-ly and efficienteffective-ly the user can achieve their task with the product. It is not likely that a product that has bad usability will succeed even if it can happen from time to time. If different generations of products are produced, the successors are often refined to create better usability based on user feedback, compared to the first version (Soegaard, n. d).

3.3.3 Findable

A product should be easy to find and understand. This factor is simplest to explain in the regard of informa-tion or digital products. An applicainforma-tion or website that have lots of content needs to be easy and un-derstandable to navigate. A user that cannot find the information they are looking for will stop and look for it elsewhere. This can also be regarded physical products. For example, newspapers and magazines with a non-logical content order is frustrating to read. People like to have clear overview of content and a logical system to lean on while using a product (Soegaard, n. d).

3.3.4 Credible

With a growing market for digital products as app-lications and websites there are often many different options for the same objective for the user to choose between. Today products are rarely given a second chance if they let down the user on the first try. Therefore, the factor credibility exists, this is the ability to create trust in the product and its delivery. It is not enough to create trust in that the product delivers what it promises but that it also does in a reasona-ble time and that the result is reliareasona-ble. Otherwise, the products experience is harmed, and it is likely that the

Figure 6. The seven-factor honeycomb model by Peter Morville

(23)

user will use another option in the future (Soegaard, n. d).

3.3.5 Desirable

Even if the basic needs of the product are met the factor of desirability can have a big impact of a market. This is distinctly seen in the markets where both low-end and high-end product are available. These products have the same functions but still have options or brands that are more desirable than others, examples could be car and watch brands. This is often created by a well though out strategy that is built upon brand, marketing, image, emotional design and aest-hetics (Soegaard, n. d).

3.3.6 Accessible

Accessibility is about making the product usable for everyone, included people with disabilities. These di-sabilities can for example be in the areas of learning, vision, hearing, and motion. A common misconcep-tion is that this group of users are smaller than it is, and companies often overlook these issues with the argue of wasting money and resources. User expe-rience design pushes for accessibility as this not only makes the product easier to use for people with di-sabilities but also for other in the process. This is nothing you do as a favour for these user groups, it should be a priority. More and more legal regulations regarding digital accessibility is created to make sure that products can be used by everyone, therefore this topic is important (Soegaard, n. d). The aspect of accessibility is becoming even more relevant with the European Unions accessibility directive which entered into force in 2019. The directive describes ac-cessibility reqiurements that should be supported by law in the membering countries, related to products and services (Myndigheten för delaktighet, 2020). 3.3.7 Valuable

The final factor is about the value the product the creates from the view of the user. When people buy a product from a company, it needs to deliver a value otherwise it will hurt the image of both the product and company. Value is one of the main factors that drives the purchase decision for the user. This also comes into the pricing aspect of a product, the value needs to be worth the price to give the user a satisfy-ing experience (Soegaard, n. d).

3.2 Onboarding

This project focuses on the onboarding process and

its stages from the experience of the user, in this case the new Axfood AB employee. Therefore, a study on the topic of onboarding was made to better un-derstand what theory lays beyond the concept. This section explores what onboarding means, what an onboarding process is and how the process should be designed for best results.

According to the Cambridge dictionary onbo-arding is defined as “the process which new employees gain the knowledge and skills they need to become effective member of an orga-nization” – (Cambridge dictionary, 2020)

Davila & Rina-Ramirez (2018) explains onboarding as the critical step of introducing a newly hired employee to the organization. This includes bringing them into a new role and connecting them with the right people. A lot of factors must be taken account to in this process, type of organization, culture, and which role the newly employed is starting, for example. They further explain that onboarding is not limited to new people joining the organization. A current employee who is set to take on a new role in the organization also has a need for effective onboarding to succeed. Effective onboarding processes has shown to greatly affect the employee’s engagement, both in short, and long term. The onboarding process is an extensive experience that is crucial for both the new employee and the organisation.

The goal of the onboarding process is to, in the least possible time enable the person to contribute in an effective way in their new role. This is made by simpli-fying the journey they person take to become part of the organization in an effective way. An onboarding process should have a set timeline, for easier manage-ment for the organization and clarity for the partici-pants. For example, the participants will know when education in what field is given, and managers will know when the participants are ready to producti-vely enter their role. Clear information and instruc-tions will provide an easier transition for all involved parties (Davila & Pina-Ramirez, 2018).

According to Buffet, Janicik, Gallegis, Quagiotto & Aahwell (2010) it can take between 8 to 26 weeks for a new hired to fully reach its productivity in their role. The amount of time is highly dependent on the type of role and how specialised it is in its field, from cleric to executive for example. Further on they explain that the main component of effective onbo-arding is helping the newly hired to build a network of relationships in the new organization. They also

(24)

have a shared view of the importance of a great on-boarding process with Davila & Rina-Ramirez (2018) and repeats that it creates value for both the newly employed and employer (Buffet, Janicik, Gallegis, Quagiotto & Aahwell, 2010).

In a survey done in 2008 by the Aberdeen Group the importance of experience of the newly employed of the organisation becomes clear. According to the research 86% of employees make their decision to stay or leave in their role in their first year. This makes the need for a good onboarding process distinctly clear and why many companies have a process in use. Further on another survey indicates that around 68% of corporate human resources executives say they have an ongoing onboarding process.

Buffet, Janicik, Gallegis, Quagiotto & Aahwell (2010) argues that these processes often focuses on delivering information through different mediums but misses out on the important task of creating relationship networks. They lay out several advantages of an onbo-arding process that can deliver more than just formal information. By also making sure that the newly employee are building the necessary relationships in the organization these benefits can be accomplished:

• Opportunities of knowledge transfer between new and current employees. In an effective organization the knowledge flows both ways, creating growth for both parties. • Faster clarity of the role description by

interacting with different co-workers. This creates a understanding on which areas the role affects.

• Enables relationship development withing the organization, both on a personal and professional level. It is important to be able to build trust in work groups, if enabling this early on increases the chances of the newly employed getting the information it needs to succeed in their work tasks (Buffet, Janicik, Gallegis, Quagiotto, & Aahwell, 2010).

The insight of this section will be used to analyse the current onboarding process at Willys, making it possible to relate it to theory of the field.

3.2 E-learning

Axfoods onboarding process aims to provide and prepare the new employee with knowledge that will help them succeed in their new work role. To be able to do this the company rely on several digital tools

for learning, therefore the field of E-learning and the theory behind the concept has been explored.

“E-learning is a combination of methods, structures and networked electronic tools or-chestrated into systems that bring about, or are intended to bring about, learning” – (Anderson & Dron, 2016, p537).

Elkins & Pinder (2015) defines E-learning as any form of structured learning or course that uses an electro-nic medium achieve its purpose. This can be done in many different forms. It often mimics the traditional forms of learning, as through text, audio, tests etc but uses a computer or similar, to enable or enhance learning. For example, learning something from a YouTube clip is a form of E-learning.

The authors further describe how E-learning can be grouped into three different main types. The types are synchronous learning, asynchronous learning, and cohort learning. What determines what group a E-learning approach belongs to is based on what type of instructor is used, the level of involvement with others and time span of the course. Which type of E-learning is most suitable is determined for each situation. The variables that are important to base the decision on is for instance, the learner’s knowledge level, learning speed, available time and where the learners are geographically in relation to the in-structor. Learning courses often combine different types of learning, and it is a blended learning process if it combines more than two types (Elkins & Pinder, 2015).

Synchronous learning is when both the learners and instructor is physically participating in the same space. This is the learning most of us have gone through, the traditional classroom lectures as an example. This type of learning means that the group goes through the objectives together, and therefore the E-learning approach works in the same way. This could be a E-learning course that has a set timeline for objectives where all the students perform the objectives at the same time, but through electronic mediums. Another example could be a webinar where the instructor presents information in real time, to a group of students that are listening in through video software. The instructor’s presentation can be supple-mented with discussions, polls, and other interactive activities where the learners participates (Elkins & Pinder, 2015).

(25)

self-pa-ced learning. In opposite to synchronous learning, this is when the learner and instructor does not par-ticipate at the same time. In some cases, the role of instructor is not necessary at all to achieve learning. A traditional example of this type of learning could be homework, where the learner is on their own given the responsibility to decide when to complete the objective. The E-learning version could be a comple-tely self-paced learning process where the learner can access the material when they have time available. If this process does not need collaboration with other learners or an instructor, it can be seen as asynchro-nous learning (Elkins & Pinder, 2015).

In Cohort learning there are activities that the in-structor gives the learners and that must be completed before a deadline. These activities can be readings, discussions, assignment, and project. Some of them may include that the learners communicate with each other. But when these discussions and tasks are done is up to the learners to plan and implement between themselves. The instructor’s responsibilities include introducing activities and grading the learner’s work. With cohort is done through E-learning the learners are often connected through a digital platform that enables their coworking in an easy way (Elkins, D, Pinder, D, 2015).

The theory study on the field of e-learning will be used to analyse the current state of the onboarding process at Willys. This will make it possible to under-stand how the two e-learning tools relates to theory.

3.2 Nudging

The thesis project second objective is to develop a solutions proposal for how to enhance the user expe-rience of the onboarding process. In the later stages of the project, this took the form of developing a way to mediate the information of the Willys intranet to employees in a attractive way. The concept of nugding has been reasearched to potentially be used in the solution to increase the users engagement.

Nudging was first used in the field of behaviour economics in the book Nudge, improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness by Thaler & Sunstein (2003). The word nudge is used to explain the action of pushing someone to get their attention, but in the field of behaviour economics it is tied to the action of pushing people to make more holistic decisions. Holistic decisions are described as something that is good for the person and their society (Beteendelab-bet, 2019). An example of how nudging can be used is

in connection to the ongoing pandemic of covid-19. Several successful experiments have been made to influence humans to increase their hand hygiene with the help of nudging (Weijers, Koning, 2020).

“By knowing how people think, we can make it easier for them to choose what is best for them, their families and society” – Richard Thaler, 2008

To create successful nudges knowledge of how people, act and behave. The theory of nudging also considers that people do not always act rational which can affect their decision making. A decision is always made in an environment, and this environment can be designed to help make the “right” decisions (Beteendelabbet, 2019). To understand the theory behind nudging an understanding for dual processing is needed, which is a psychological concept that examines how humans process information and make decisions. This is easiest explained by two modes, which people process information by, system 1 and system 2. System 1 is something that happens unconscious, automatic and with low cognitive action. System 2 is unlike the first on done conscious, controlled and with an active cognitive action. The first system is more likely to be influenced by changes in the persons decision environment, while system two is slower processed. Nudging can be used to affect the first system (Bammert, Köning, Roeglinger, Wruck, 2019).

In nudging the focus is places on people’s behaviour and not their attitudes, as these often differ. What someone describe that they do, and they actually do, is not always the same. This is here nudging can be used, in the gap between will and act. The thought is not to force people to act in a certain way but rather to help people make the decisions that they already want to make. The reasons why they don’t act the way they want to can be many, and by nudging you can make the decision making easier, by for example removing obstacles (Beteendelabbet, 2019).

For someone without experience it can be hard to understand what a nudge is and what is not. For example, a ban for something is not a nudge. While placing something in the right height at a store for the customers to see it better, is a nudge. Sometime a nudge can be created without any extensive research and testing. But other cases are much more compli-cated, and there are many examples of where nudges have failed. Therefore, to practice nudging as a tool often requires experience in behaviour research (Be-teendelabbet, 2019).

(26)

To enable a success full development of a nudge has the company Beteendelabbet developed a structure that they follow, illustrated in figure 7. With this structure they combine psychology, service design and behaviour economics. The process is divided into four steps, behaviour check, behaviour insight, nudge and testing. The process aims to better under-stand the users and their context on a deeper level. By doing this, solutions can be developed, tested, and evaluated. The steps can be done individually or in a sequence, it can even be looped until a certain result is gained Beteendelabbet, 2019).

Digital nudging can be described as a special form of nudging, in the form of digital and online environ-ments as user interfaces. Digital nudges are delivered by the design of information technology, where the UI serve as the environment. The most used nudges in user interfaces are incentive, salience,

precommit-groups, they tend to act from what the group norms are. Scarcity is about that humans tend to choose rare items over abundant ones (Bammert, Köning, Roeg-linger, Wruck, 2019).

The concept of nudging are a subject of discussion and debate. Thaler and Sunstein (2003) advocates that nudging can be practices by governments and organisations without limiting the freedom of choice. His idea is in line with the idea of libertarian pater-nalism (Hausman, Welch, 2010). Libertarian pa-ternalism is the idea that it is both possible and le-gitimate for private and public institutions to affect behaviour while also respecting freedom of choice, as well as the implementation of that idea (Thaler & Sunstein, 2003). In the article Nudge or not to nudge by Hausman and Welch, the authors debates Thalers view of that nudging does not limit the freedom of choice. They state that it is true that nudging does not exclude “bad” decision options. The authors reflect on the meaning of this, does not the action of deli-berating making one choice easier to make in some ways alter the freedom of choice? Especially as all nudges are not designed to directly benefit the user but an organisation or society. A nudge can be used without informing the user of the bigger picture. They further discuss the fact that nudging takes advantage of flaws in the decision-making system of humans. Nudging is always presented with positive aspects as “influence” people to make the right choice, but what happens when this word is replaced with “ma-nipulation”. Another factor that makes the theory of nudging fuzzy, is that the concept is mainly explained by examples by Thaler (Hausman, Welch, 2010). The theory of nugding has been used to explores ways of how to can engage users to continously use the final result. Both in a hollistic way and for specific content.

3.2 User interface design

In this thesis project the final solution took the form of a digital applicaiton. To be able to develop a solution that creates good user experience through digital medium the field of user interface design has been resarched. This knowledge has been used to create detailed wireframes and interactive prototypes that follow user interface guidelines and insights.

The Interaction design foundation defines user interface (UI) design as the process that designers go through to develop interfaces in software. The focus in this field is on creating interfaces that is pleasurable and easy to use. They also list three under groups of UI

1.

2.

3.

4.

Figure 7. Illustration of Beteendelabbets process of developing nudges.

ment, default setting, additional information, social norms, and scarcity (Bammert, Köning, Roeglinger, Wruck, 2019).

Incentive nudge focuses of showing the consequences of a decision made by the user, making it easier to un-derstand its effect before making the choice. Salience is about delivering information; studies shows that humans mainly focus on information that is easy to access. Precommitment is about creating a commit-ment to the choice, an example could be an exercise plan with a contract that the participants signs. This makes it easier for people to stick to their goals. Default setting takes advantage of the fact that people follow other. Making changes to default settings also means extra work and decision making for the user. Decision making can be affected by provide additional information for the users to make their decision on. Social norms highly affect humans in different social

(27)

design, based on mediums. Graphical user interfaces (GUI) are the interface connected to digital control panels, as desktops and smartphones. Voice-con-trolled interfaces (VIU) is products were the users interact through voice control. The third and final is gesture-based interfaces, were the user interacts with the product with body motions. Examples for this is virtual reality products (The interaction design foun-dation, 2020). In this project the main focus is on GUI design. In this section a number design guidelines for GUI design are presented.

3.7.1 Unity & variety

With the help of concious design decisions unity between elements can be created. This is the creation of association between elements and can be done in many ways, one way is illustrated in figure 8. To achieve this shapes, style, positions, and colours can be used (Chandler & Unger, 2012). Unity relates to symmetry, which has been associated with beauty for centuries. Symmetry can be found in countless forms in nature, for example the human body, plants, and animals. The benefits of something symmetrical is that it is easier to recall than more asymmetrical forms or elements. Symmetrical forms also tend to be simpler to understand. These advantages have made unity something to thrive for in creating understan-dable designs, in both physical and digital products (Lidwell, Holden, Butler, 2003) To create interest and mediate the elements different meanings some level of variety is needed. The balance between unity and variety is needed to create interesting while still un-derstandable applications (Chandler & Unger, 2012). 3.7.2 Hierarchy & dominance

The established order of how the elements is being viewed can be described as hierarchy. The higher an element is in hierarchy the more prominent it is, which increases the likeliness for it to stand out.

Elements lower in hierarchy is less prominent and may seem less important to the viewer. This affects the way the viewer processes a webpage or application and what path they follow through it. This can be used to guide the viewer in a specific direction, depending on what the purpose of the medium is (Chandler & Unger, 2012). Using Hierarchy to describe relations is one of the most effective ways to enable understan-ding for complex systems. Some well known examples are book outlines, digital multi-level menus (Lidwell, Holden, Butler, 2003)

Things that ads and decreases hierarchy is the elements locations, colour, sizes, and length of text. Objects that are larger, brighter and have a high contrast are generally high in hierarchy. Shorter texts prompts are also generally higher in hierarchy than longer ones. These things make the element seem more dominant than others in comparison. Pictures are also likely to connect with viewers, depending on the content. For example, human faces create a natural interest and dramatic pictures is prone to be more dominant than others. How positions should be used to create dominance can differ depending on culture, as the order of reading is different. For example, users that are familiar with western languages tend to process information from left to right, from top to bottom , as in figure 9 (Chandler & Unger, 2012).

3.7.3 Economy of elements

To create a usable website, there is often a limit to how many design elements that can be present at the same time. Of this limit is exceeded a site can be

Enhancing information mediation to employees at Willys: How a analysis of Willys onboarding process led to a mobile application for employees