Smart Card User Experience - Essay Example

? Smart Cards Submitted to, Submitted By, of the Submitted on, [October 26th, Smart Card User Experience. INTRODUCTION The advent of modern information technology has led to the reshaping of the human society. Man now lives in an age that is completely different from that just about 4 decades ago. The indulgence of technology into our lives has revolutionized human living and it is now impossible to survive with out the use technologically advanced practices in today’s fast paced world. From laptops to palmtops, barcode readers to touch sensitive interactive machines, from smart cards to eye-tracking enabled security systems, the introduction of information technology has developed the functionality of things by manifolds. The development and further enhancement of each of the above mentioned technological advancements can truly be accredited to user experience. The importance of certain experience is such that without it no successful process module can ever be executed. In fact, it would not be incorrect to state that the mere advent of many a technologically advanced things is a resultant of the input of user experience. Seasoned tech-expert Philippe(2007) is quoted to have said the following about user experience: “User Experience is the Most Important Thing, it’s the Only Thing.” (Philippe, 2007) Thus, in order to streamline any new deliverable, its focus is sought to be in line with the user experience priorities. The larger is a group of user that adheres to a certain technology the further it exceeds in maintaining its existence. So, the inevitable aspect at hand for technologically advanced emerging modules is that they provide the best possible user experience for a certain targeted user group that makes an impact. If the users experience in that certain targeted group of users hits for your product, then you are sure to have a breakthrough of your product’s success in the extended market and user domain as well. Any of the successful companies of present day can be looked up. They invariably excel in their user experience ratings and customers/users are highly satisfied with the easy of usability that these services offer. The crux of the above discussion could be that the better a product is in terms of its interaction with users the more usable it is. This further on increases in popularity as its user experience enhances. USER EXPERIENCE ESSENTIALS Conceptually speaking, user experience is just another name for user interface as is quoted in the words of User Experience White Paper (2011) as follows: “The term user experience is often used as a synonym for usability, user interface, interaction experience, interaction design, customer experience, web site appeal, emotion, ‘wow effect’, general experience, or as an umbrella term incorporating all or many of these concepts. A clear description of UX would help to: ? Teach the basics of user experience ? Communicate the meaning of the term to people unfamiliar with it ? Clarify different perspectives on UX amongst UX researchers and practitioners ? Advance UX as a research field ? Ground practical UX work in commercial, industrial and government organizations” (User Experience White Paper, 2011) The FACTORS THAT EFFECT USER EXPERIENCE can be summarized into three main categories. These are as follows: Context With Respect to System and User: Context is a combination of change in social context, physical context, information context and task context. The people around you affect the physical condition in which a user is while using a device affects the information that is interpreted via the device affects and the parallel tasks being executed with the device’s usage also affect. User: The motivation of the user itself extremely affects the extent of user experience. If the users are motivated to use the module/device then the user experience would definitely grow. System: System’s properties, as perceived by a user, affect its user experience level greatly. The brand or image of the system also affects its user experience levels. USER EXPERIENCE AND SMART CARDS INTRODUCTION An invariably good example of such a technological advancement that has high rating with respect to user experience is smart cards. Smart cards are an extended variant of the ever famous mobile technology of the present times. Smart cards are small cards of the size of a credit card. These cards are electronically embedded with information and serve to hold information that serves as a means of electronic identification of its beholder at all the domains in which it is recognized. The information embedded on them may be retrieved via electronic readers that may be devices or terminals. Smart cards may be based on magnetic strips, optical or based on microprocessors. They embed within them information that is retrieved as and when required at respective terminals. At a bank they may serve as your atm, at your school they may serve as your electronically identifiable card, while travelling they might act as your e-travelling companion. They are extremely versatile in their usage. USER EXPERIENCE Smart card is one technology that user experience ratings depict user are comfortable with. The level of user experience comfort- ability with smart cards can be assessed by the fact that biometric identities for individuals are being embedded on the most latest smart cards that are being bought out in market. Enhancing user experience smart cards are being engraved in the US with “a six-layer, laser-engraving technique which enables a 3D photograph to be incorporated into the body of the card. In France, it seems to have been accepted that future driving licences will incorporate an electronic chip similar to the one used on e-passports.” (Smart Cards, 2011) SMART CARDS AND TRANSPORT Smart cards have an integral role to play in the transport arena. eticketing or electronic transport fare collection is the foremost mechanism that utilizes smart cards. These cards are safer, simpler and more swift than carrying cash while travelling in public transport. Moreover, corporate organizations may issue fuel management smart cards to their employees. Each smart card authorizes each respective employee to have a particular amount of fuel dedicated for their use allowed to them from the company. They are issued smart cards that enable them to get fuel filled in the company’s account. Smart cards can also be used to be utilized as fright monitoring mechanisms for corporate organizations. WORKS CITED: Warfield, B. (September 27, 2007). User Experience is the Most Important Thing. It’s the Only Thing. SmoothspanBlog. Retrieved from http://smoothspan.wordpress.com/ Zamarripa, S. (2011) Importance of Smartcard Technology | eHow.com . Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_7631787_importance-smartcard-technology.html Smart Cards (July 18, 2011.)Biometric Id Documents: a rapidly growing and increasingly diversified market. Smart Cards Trends. Retrieved from: http://www.smartcardstrends.com/det_atc.php?idu=14828&main=93e9c265c156d9ade46087479866fb58. Arami, M., Koller, M., Krimmer, R. (2004) User Acceptance of Multi Functional Smart Cards. Retrieved from http://is2.lse.ac.uk/asp/aspecis/20040008.pdf. Smart Card Alliance. 2011. Transportation Council. Retrieved from http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-councils-transportation McDonald, N. (December 8, 2000.) Multipurpose Smart Cards in Transportation. Benefits and Barriers to Use. UcTc. Retrieved from http://www.uctc.net/papers/630.pdf Smart Cards. IEEE.org. Retrieved from http://www.uctc.net/papers/630.pdf Markantonakis, K., Mayes K. (n.d.) Smart Card Technology in the Public Transportation Industry. Application Focus. Retrieved from http://www.scc.rhul.ac.uk/public/smart%20card%20centre+omnikey.pdf Accenture.(2011) Accenture integrated eticketing solution: Fare Management. Retrieved from http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/service-transportation-fare-management-eticketing-solution-summary.aspx Read More