A methodology for extracting expectation effect in user-product interactions for multisensory experience design

The study proposes a methodology for extracting and applying expectation effect in multisensory user-product interaction to balance the design attributes that satisfy must-be and attractive qualities in the Kano model. Satisfying both qualities is assumed to be an objective of product design. This study modeled users' cognitive process of cyclic user-product interactions. Using the model, the proposed method extracts users' cognitive structure and state transitions while interacting with a product. The cognitive structure reveals the design attributes affecting must-be and attractive qualities as well as prior cue of the expectations of these qualities. Tolerance for design attributes to satisfy both qualities and the expectation effect of prior factors are discussed. The methodology is validated using a hair dryer as a case product. Another case product (camera) demonstrates how cognitive cues work as well as sensory cues as expectation effect. The proposed methodology supports designers and researchers in structuring multisensory user-product interactions as a series of state transitions of users' cognitive model. The structure helps to extract product attributes that affect both attractive and must-be perceived qualities and attributes involving expectation effect on product qualities. The method of experiment 1 can be applied to assess tolerance for product attributes to satisfy perceived qualities. The method of experiment 2 can be applied to assess the effect of prior expectation induced by both sensory and cognitive attributes, such as a product class, on perceived quality.