Glanceability Evaluation of a Physical Activity Feedback System for Office Workers

This paper presents the results of a user evaluation to design a glanceable user interface presenting physical activity feedback to office workers during the workday. The feedback is presented on a central and public display next to the coffee machine in the office building. Users should be able to receive the feedback quickly and easily while getting a cup of coffee − the user interface should be glanceable. The feedback should communicate the (real-time) amount of physical activity and the progress toward the goal of the user for a day. Three mock-ups of user interfaces were developed and evaluated in a user evaluation study. Differences on reaction time and user preferences were found. None of these results were significant. Adding group information to the mock-up increases reaction time and therefore lowers the glanceability negatively.