Usability Challenges for the Mobile Web : An Enterprise Perspective

Abstract: In today's society, a large part of Sweden's population owns a smartphone. Since the release ofthe iPhone in 2007, the phenomena of using smartphones to shop has increased every yearand is now larger than ever. Not surprisingly, developing and maintaining websites for otherdevices than a desktop, such as smartphones and tables, is now a top priority among theworld's companies. However, it has been argued that many retailers fail at providing asatisfactory user experience on the mobile web, and many customers are unsatisfied with theirmobile experiences. Previous research has investigated user experiences from a customerpoint-of-view. The aim of this thesis is to examine usability issues regarding the mobile webfrom an enterprise point-of-view, with the help of four main areas within usability. The areasare: content, site performance, navigation and accessibility. They were identified in previousresearch, which includes both a customer and an enterprise perspective in the theoreticalchapter. This research was initiated to confirm these areas as challenges from an enterpriseperspective in Sweden. Additionally, the aim of the thesis is also to gain insight in why theareas are challenging to manage for an enterprise today.This research was conducted by performing a case study at a Swedish telecom company, withfour employees participating in interviews. The data collection resulted in valuable insights,confirming that the identified main areas present challenges for the chosen company todifferent degrees. The most challenging issues were proven to be content and siteperformance, where fitting content on small screens and making sure the site speed issatisfactory from a customer perspective were seen as especially difficult aspects.Additionally, the analysis mapping theoretical and empirical findings includes suggestions ofwhy the identified main areas are seen as issues from the enterprise point-of-view. This studyproves there are challenges enterprises face, which hinders them to provide satisfactory userexperiences on the mobile web. The research confirms the main areas as challenges as well aspresenting why they are tricky to manage. Lastly, this thesis might have the possibility to actas a base for further research, such as managing the different main areas more efficiently,since it was not the aim of this thesis to offer that kind of insight.Keywords;