Developing and Evaluating a Reliable Measure of User Engagement

Heather L. O'Brien, Elaine G. Toms, E. Kevin Kelloway and Elizabeth Kelley

ASIS&T 2008 Annual Meeting (AM08 2008)
Columbus, Ohio, October 24-29, 2008

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Summary

Increased emphasis on user experiences with technology demonstrates that systems must be not only usable, but engaging. Past research identifies engagement as a process characterized by aesthetic appeal, novelty, perceived challenge, feedback and control, attention, motivation, and affect. Recognizing the multidimensionality of engagement, we developed a scale to measure this construct. We administered the instrument to online shoppers (n=440) to evaluate its reliability and construct validity. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that engagement is comprised of six reliable factors: perceived usability, aesthetics, flow, involvement, novelty, and endurability. Results indicate that engaging user experiences are comprised of user, system, and task variables and confirm that systems must not be merely usable, but fun, aesthetically appealing, and enjoyable.

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