User experience in automotive industry: user perspective on functionality and entertainment

Abstract: The impact of technology is increasing in the automotive industry resulting in user experience to have a significant role in the industry. Previous studies have researched the use of user experience in the automotive industry describing the importance of it. Studies have also described the user experience in connection to in-vehicle functions. Contrariwise, a gap has been identified in relation to the actual use and users’ preferences to these functions. The aim of this study is to analyze the users’ perspective in the automotive industry and how a high level of user experience can be achieved by identifying the preference of the users. This paper aims to identify if functions related to entertainment or functions related to functionality are preferred by the users. It is important to note that the study is not excluding any of the two different type of functions but investigates the preference of the users. Mixed method was used to respond to the research question. Two interviews with experts of the domain of automotive were conducted, where important aspects of the experts’ perspective were covered and was used to develop the survey. In order to achieve a full understanding of the user experience, a survey was sent to identify users’ preferences. The study proved user experience to be important for the organizations in the automotive industry. Moreover, it discovered a discrepancy between the experts’ perspective and the users’ perceptions. Experts expressed customer satisfactions and fulfillment of their demands to be of the primary aim of organizations in the automotive industry. Contrariwise, users expressed that organizations may consider the preference of the users but only to achieve economic and concurrent benefits. Additionally, users expressed a preference to in-vehicle functions related to functionality. More specifically, in-vehicle functions in relation to safety, connectivity and assistance in driving. As a result, this study suggests for organizations in the automotive industry to include the above functions to their vehicles in order to satisfy the demands of their customers and achieve high level of user experience but not exclude the functions related to entertainment.