A systematic literature review of mobile application usability: addressing the design perspective

Abstract

Advances in mobile technologies and wireless Internet services have accelerated the growth of the mobile app market. To nurture such growth, the usability of mobile apps must be addressed as a priority. Indeed, the unique characteristics of mobile phones, such as the screen size, connectivity, processing capabilities, and context of use, require a high level of usability for mobile apps. Mobile app usability requirements vary with the category of the app. However, mobile app usability is not well understood, and this may lead to the ineffective design of mobile apps and may thus influence users’ acceptance of mobile apps. This study systematically reviews and discusses mobile app usability. It identifies and interprets the relationships among the usability principles, attributes, and design features with the objective of informing mobile app usability design. It also identifies and discusses a set of common usability design features in mobile app design and a set of usability design features that are required in specific mobile app categories.

Appendices

Appendices

1.1 Appendix A. Data extraction form

1.2 Appendix B. Usability features within mobile app categories

	Mobile app categories											Study
	Pr	To	Ed	He	Li	En	Mu	Bu	Ga	So	Ne
UA1: Simplicity												[5, 11, 16, 65]
UA1F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–	√	–
UA1F2	√	√	–	√	√	–	–	√	–	√	–
UA1F3	√	√	–	√	√	–	–	√	√	√	–
UA2: Ease of use												[7, 33, 40]
UA2F1	–	–	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA2F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA2F3	√	–	√	√	–	–	–	–	√	–	–
UA3: System support												[13, 16, 92]
UA3F1	–	–	√	√	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
UA3F2	–	–	√	–	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA4: Functions integration												[13, 58, 59, 65]
UA4F1	√	√	√	√	–	–	–	√	–	–	–
UA4F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–	√
UA4F3	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA5: Consistency												[65, 90]
UA5F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA5F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA6: Learnability												[13, 41, 58, 61]
UA6F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA6F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA6F3	–	–	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA7: Visibility of system status												[7, 16, 65]
UA7F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA7F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–
UA8: Match system and real world												[7, 17, 65, 90, 92];
UA8F1	√	–	√	√	–	√	√	√	√	–	√
UA8F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA8F3	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–	√
UA8F4	–	–	–	–	√	–	–	√	–	–	–
UA9: Aesthetics design												[5, 7, 16, 25, 34, 40, 50, 65, 90]
UA9F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA9F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA9F3	–	–	√	–	–	–	–	–	–	√	√
UA9F4	√	√	–	√	–	–	–	√	–	√	√
UA9F5	–	–	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	√
UA9F6	–	–	√	√	–	–	–	√	–	√	√
UA9F7	–	–	√	√	–	–	–	√	–	√	√
UA9F8	–	–	√	√	–	–	√	√	–	–	√
UA9F9	–	–	–	√	–	–	–	√	–	√	√
UA10: Flexible input												[17, 34, 39, 65]
UA10F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA10F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	–	–	√	√	–
UA10F3	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA11: Screen readability												[16, 40, 54]
UA11F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA11F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA12: Flexibility and personalization												[7, 16, 34, 61]
UA12F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA12F2	–	–	√	√	√	–	√	√	√	–	√
UA12F3	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA13: Privacy and social conventions												[34, 40]
UA13F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA13F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA14: Error management												[7, 40, 65, 92]
U14F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA14F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA14F3	–	–	√	–	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA15: Effectiveness												[11, 50]
UA15F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA15F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA16: Efficiency												[11, 16, 17, 34, 41]
UA16F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–	–
UA16F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA16F3	–	–	√	√	–	√	√	√	√	–	–
UA16F4	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–	√
UA17: Satisfaction												[11, 40, 92]
UA17F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA17F2	–	–	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA18: Memorability												[33, 39]
UA18F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–
UA18F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA19: Cognitive load												[7, 16, 39, 40]
UA19F1	–	–	√	√	–	√	√	√	–	–	–
UA19F2	√	√	√	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	√
UA19F3	–	√	√	√	–	√	√	√	√	–	–
UA20: Navigation and control												[5, 16, 17, 34, 39,40,41, 65, 90]
UA20F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA20F2	–	–	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA20F3	–	√	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA20F4	–	–	√	√	–	√	√	√	–	–	–
UA20F5	√	–	√	–	–	–	–	√	√	–	√
UA20F6	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA20F7	√	√	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA20F8	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA20F9	–	–	√	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
UA20F10	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA20F11	–	–	–	–	–	–	√	–	–	–	√
UA21: Content provision												[5, 34, 40, 61, 90]
UA21F1	–	√	–	√	–	–	–	√	–	–	√
UA21F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA21F3	–	–	√	√	√	–	√	√	–	√	√
UA21F4	–	–	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA21F5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	√	–	–
UA21F6	–	–	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA21F7	–	–	√	√	–	√	–	√	–	–	–
UA21F8	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA21F9	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	–	√	√
UA22: Usefulness												[39, 54]
UA22F1	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√
UA22F2	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√	√

1. Pr, productivity; To,  Tool; Ed, Education; He, Health and fitness; Li, Lifestyle; En, Entertainment; Mu, Music and audio; Bu, Business and commerce; Ga, Game; So, Social networking; Ne, News, √ means Indicated; – means Not indicated